Baths

 =Roman Baths  = The Ancient Romans loved their baths. There were over 900 baths in Rome alone by the early 5th Century B.C. [1]. They used their baths to clean themselves, but baths were much more than that. They also served as community centers, restaurants, fitness centers, bars, performance centers, libraries, art galleries, and gardens [2]. The baths were practically a Roman mall.  ==**About the Baths**   == <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"> The baths operated all day. Women generally went in the morning and males went in the afternoon [3]. Some baths were also open in the evening and lit by torches. They were filled with bathers, masseurs, food vendors, bartenders, slaves, poets, and musicians. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"> ==<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">**The Bathing Process** <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">    == ===<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">**Palaestra**   === <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Bathers started out with exercise in an open courtyard called the Palaestra to work up a sweat before their baths. Men ran, wrestled, lifted weights, boxed, fenced, and played ball games including one similar to handball. Women swam and played a game called Trochus where they rolled a metal hoop using a hooked stick. Some also worked out with weights and dumbbells, but were criticized for doing male things. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"> ===<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">**Apodyterium**   === <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"> After exercising, they went to the Apodyterium to leave their clothes while they bathed. If you did not bring your own slave to watch your clothes, you could hire one at the baths, called a capsarius, to protect your possessions from thieves.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">**Tepidarium**
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"> The Tepidarium was used for a variety of purposes. You could be cleaned by covering yourself with oil to loosen dirt and then having a slave wipe off the oil with a curved metal tool called a strigil. You could also have a massage or have all of your body hairs plucked out in a process called Depilation.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Caldarium**
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> The actual bat began in the Caldarium, which was a hot, steamy room with a pool of hot water. The over 100 Degree Fahrenheit water was supposed to help open your pores. If you got overheated, slaves would refresh you with cool water.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Hypocaust**
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> The baths, specifically the Caldarium and the Tepidarium) were heated by a large furnace called a Hypocaust. It was located below ground and stoked by slaves.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Frigidarium**
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> The Frigidarium was a cold bath to refresh visitors and close their pores. It was often the final stage of the bath.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Entertainment**
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> There would be a half stadium in the baths where Romans could watch juggling, gymnastics, jesters, and musicians. They could also listen to philosophical discourses and poetic readings or sunbathe.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Art**
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> The baths contained statues that were brightly painted and sometimes even gold. However, the baths themselves were art. The actual building was a combination of carved marble, paintings, and glass mosaics.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Food**
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> At the entrance and around the perimeter of the baths, you could by a variety of food. There were nuts, hog’s fat, bread, cutlets, sausage, and various confections as well as drinks, such as wine.

[1] http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/lostempires/roman/day.html [2] Wild, Fiona. "Baths of Caracalla."__Eyewitness Travel Guide- Rome__. First American Edition. 1003. [3] [|http://www.vroma.org/~bmcmanus/baths.html] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">