1.  
   1. bathing was daily, and occurred during the afternoon hours
   2. social- haircuts, massages, prostitutes, snack shops
   3. Greek origin: hot air and steam baths date from the 5^th century BC

                                                               i.      Came to Italy in the 2^nd century BC

1.  
   1. Around 1000 small bathhouses in Rome by the 4^th century AD
   2. Authors who wrote about bathing:

                                                               i.      Seneca the Younger- Moral Epistle 56 (living above a bathhouse); and 86 (description of a simple, not grandiose bath)

                                                             ii.      Lucian- The Baths (description of the baths)

1.  
   1. built on the Tiber
   2. perfected the transport of water into Rome through underground systems or arches above the ground

                                                               i.      average gradient: ~0.4% (so water wouldn’t flow too fast)

                                                             ii.      under Augustus, every inhabitant of Rome had more than a cubic meter of water per day

1.  
   1. aqua Appia: first aqueduct built in 312 BC
   2. aqua Alexandrina: last aqueduct built in AD 226
   3. castellum: place where water was deposited in the city, and then directed to (a) public fountains for drinking, (b) bathhouses, (c) private homes (levels of the castella- most important at the bottom, least important at the top)

1. de Aquis: written by Frontinus- contains detailed information about the aqueducts and even the personnel employed in this sector
2. curator aquorum (curator of the aqueducts): Frontinus’ position in AD 95, appointed by Nerva

1. later bath houses with hypocaust system and differentiated rooms
   1. as the thermae developed, bathing became a communal activity
   2. bathing complexes became elaborate
   3. differentiated rooms allowed for the circulation of bathers throughout the building

1. artificial columns used to suspend floors
   1. one element of a hypocaust system (another is tubuli- the tubes placed between the walls in order to heat them)

1. porticoed enclosures with a field in the middle for exercise
   1. Greek origin- palaestrae were the wrestling schools and gymnasia

1. floor decorations with designs of cut and shaped marble
   1. waterproofing (?)

1. (AD 104-109, opened to public in 109)
   1. Designed by Apollodorus of Damascus, Trajan’s architect
   2. Built of brick-faced concrete, and fed by the aqua Traiana (aqueduct of Trajan) and the Sette Sale (reservoir)

1. (AD 212-216)
   1. built by Caracalla

                        i. structures in outer precinct were built before the death of the last Severan emperor, Alexander Severus (AD 222-235)

1.  
   1. could have accommodated about 10,000 people at once

1. (dedication in AD 305/6) last main bathing complex of Rome
   1. fed by aqua Marcia, which was augmented for that purpose
   2. may have been able to accommodate ~10,000 people