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Thermae and Baths in Asia Minor

Συγγραφή : Kazakidi Natalia (14/7/2005)
Μετάφραση : Velentzas Georgios , Sioris Georgios (11/11/2005)

Για παραπομπή: Kazakidi Natalia, "Thermae and Baths in Asia Minor", 2005,
Εγκυκλοπαίδεια Μείζονος Ελληνισμού, Μ. Ασία
URL: <http://www.ehw.gr/l.aspx?id=7015>
Θέρμες και Λουτρά στη Μ. Ασία (23/1/2006 v.1) Thermae and Baths in Asia Minor (23/1/2006 v.1) 
 

1. Introduction

Bathing occupied an important place in the life of the ancient Romans and Greeks, as indicated by the numerous references in ancient literature and the plentitude of remains of baths preserved from the ancient Greco-Roman world. Facilities with hot and cold water are known to have existed already from Prehistoric years,1 while evidence of public baths, dates from at least the mid-5th century BC.2 The baths were widely spread in the Hellenistic period (330-30 BC) either as part of the gymnasium or as separate public buildings.

2. Roman Thermae

The thermae, a distinctive type of monument intended for hot baths, developed in the early Imperial years. They were monumental buildings, either public or private, including symmetrically arranged large bath chambers, which were connected with an open-air space for physical exercises. This type of monument was soon spread over the entire Roman Empire and flourished throughout the Imperial years. It is one of the most typical examples of Roman architectural monument.

3. Research
The first to study the Roman thermae and classify them, according to the style of their architectural design, was D. Krencker in 1929. Research on ancient bathing facilities has become systematic, however, in the last two decades, when a considerable number of monographs and articles studying their architectural style and dealing with issues concerning their operation were published.3 Significant contribution was made by the International Association for the Study of Ancient Baths, established in 1992, the issuance of Βalnearia, which included the relevant publications from 1992 until 1997, and the creation of a website.4 Today there is substantial information about the names and the function of the separate rooms of the Roman thermae, which allows the general recomposition of the bathing process.

4. Bath Chambers and Subsidiary Rooms of the Roman Thermae

The visitors first undressed in the apodyterion, which included either built or wooden (loculi) benches and closets along its walls, in which they kept their clothes. The task of keeping the clothes was assigned to the slaves, who often escorted their masters to the bath. An open-air space, the palaestra, which consisted of a large square yard (atrium) surrounded by stoes (portici), offered the visitors the opportunity to indulge in rigorous exercise before the bath.

There were three separate bath chambers: a) the frigidarium – a rectangular chamber for cold bath, which usually had rectangular or semi-circular niches symmetrically opened in the walls; the niches included small tanks with spouts for cold water, b) the tepidarium – usually a smaller chamber for tepid bath, which functioned as the transitional stage from cold to hot bath or conversely and c) the caldarium – the chamber for hot bath.

The caldarium was rectangular or circular including semi-circular or rectangular niches with one or more basins with hot water (alvei). The same chamber often had a circular, shallow basin on a podium or a base (labrum) with cold water, where the bathers could cool themselves during their hot bath. Sometimes the caldarium was connected with a smaller space, the laconicum or sudatorium, intended for dry perspiration, which was usually circular in early buildings and rectangular or square in the later ones.5 Hot chambers were usually directed to the southern or the southwestern side of the buildings so that they could benefit as much as possible from natural lighting and heat from the Sun in the afternoon.6 The largest complexes had an open-air pool for swimming (natatio) or even big fountains, the nymphaea.

Apart from the main bath chambers, various subsidiary spaces are known to have existed. They usually were smaller rooms, such as the aleipterion, where the visitors were anointed with oil before their physical exercises, the destrictarium, where fat was scraped off after exercising and the unctorium, where they were perfumed. Furthermore, the thermae had spacious rooms intended for various functions, such as specially arranged spaces for the Emperor’s and the gods’ worship, libraries, assembly rooms and classrooms. There were also underground passageways, through which the slaves could move and serve the visitors.

In the Roman years the thermae complexes often included public urinals (latrinae), the so-called vespasians –thus expressing the people’s spite against the taxes Emperor Vespasian (69-79) had imposed for the use of the thermae. Along the walls of these rooms there was a marble bench with special circular openings (sella pertusa). Directly under the bench was the catch drain with running water from the thermae, while on the floor there was a small ditch for taking the dirty water away7 (pic. 1).

The technique of bathing is thought to have followed a standardized pattern, which remains somewhat vague, though. It is certain that Galen (129-199), the physician of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, recommends first a hot and then a cold bath to his patients.8

5. Typology of the Roman Thermae

The main chambers of the Roman thermae were symmetrically arranged, thus serving the functionality of the building. According to the way the warm (tepidarium, caldarium) and the cold (frigidarium) chambers were arranged, D. Krencker divided the great Roman thermae into three main architectural types: a) the thermae where the bath chambers were along a central axis so that the visitors could follow a straight line from the apodyterion to the caldarium and conversely, b) the ring type, where the chambers were arranged on a ring and the bathers had to move from the frigidarium to the caldarium and c) the imperial type (divided into the large and the small imperial), where the bath chambers were arranged along an axis in the centre of the building and the subsidiary spaces were symmetrically arranged. The great imperial thermae of Rome, which is the most complicated and impressive building, belong to the last type.9

6. Monumental Bath Complexes in Asia Minor

The monumental complexes of hot baths in the Greek cities of Asia Minor, built already from the early Imperial years, were inspired by the Roman thermae of the West. They included chambers and subsidiary rooms serving similar purposes and were equally large and lavish. However, they were often quite unusual as regards the general arrangement of their floor plans and developed their own architectural styles. They differed from the thermae of Rome and western provinces because of the different local traditions concerning the use of building materials and the selection of manufacturing techniques, but also because the operation of the bath in Greek culture was closely connected with the operation of the gymnasium.

In Hellenistic years the gymnasia included bath chambers regularly. Hot baths, first founded in the Imperial years according to the western model, were originally included in the existing premises of the gymnasia in Asia Minor cities. Gymnasia and hot baths had interdependent operations (Pergamon) or were separate buildings. However, hot baths were in direct contact with the gymnasium (such as the Baths of Vergilius Capitus in Miletus) or the city’s stadium (such as the Baths of Vedius in Ephesus, the Baths of Faustina in Miletus and the Baths in Laodicea).10 These bath complexes in Asia Minor, which already from the 1st century combined a part of the Hellenistic gymnasium’s operations with the new Roman thermae, are described in current literature as baths-gymnasia.

7. Typology of Monumental Bathing Facilities in Asia Minor

These buildings, which had a large variety of floor plans, were divided into three types by F. Yegül, according to the style of their architectural synthesis and the symmetrical arrangement of the separate spaces.

The first type includes the baths where the hot and cold chambers are arranged in two oblong and parallel zones along the side of the palaestra. The most typical examples of the first type are in the valley of the Maeander River. They are the Harbour Baths in Ephesus and the Baths in Laodicea and Termessus. Hot chambers are arranged along an exterior zone and the caldarium is centrally positioned, while larger and oblong chambers for cold bath (frigidarium) and smaller subsidiary rooms are arranged along an interior zone. The zone of cold chambers between the hot chambers and the open air of the palaestra aimed at better insulating the cold chambers.

The Baths of Aphrodisias and Hierapolis in Caria as well as the two Baths in Magnesia ad Μaeandrum and the impressively large Thermae of Caracalla in Ankara, inspired by the imperial type of the capital’s thermae, are architecturally similar to the first type.11

The second architectural type is characterised by 3 large and oblong chambers, arranged in Π-shape, on the three sides of the rectangular complex, which surround the bath chambers.12 The caldarium, the tepidarium and the frigidarium are along a central axis, with smaller separate rooms symmetrically arranged on either side of the axis. Through the palaestra the bather first entered the oblong chambers and then he could go either directly to the caldarium through the subsidiary rooms or to the last oblong chamber before going back again from the cold to the hot bath. The large oblong chambers surrounding the bath chambers were intended for better insulation. The Eastern Baths13 and the Theatre Baths14 in Ephesus, as well as the Baths in Alexandria Troas belong to this type.15

The third type combines the features of the two previous ones. The large, oblong chambers are now arranged between the palaestra and the main bath chambers, thus serving as an insulation zone, similar to the zone of cold chambers in the first type. The Baths of Vedius in Ephesus as well as the Baths of Sardis and Aezani belong to this type.16

Apart from the baths characterised by the symmetrical arrangement in their architectural design and belonging to one of the above 3 types, there is a number of buildings with asymmetrically arranged chambers, which often result from the particular conditions and restrictions imposed by the building plot. This category includes the baths annexed to the Hellenistic gymnasium of Pergamon in the Imperial years, the Baths of Scholastica in Ephesus and the Baths of Faustina in Miletus.

In parallel with the great bath complexes there were smaller baths of simpler architectural styles, which sometimes lacked a palaestra. In minor provincial towns, such as in mountainous regions of south and southwestern Asia Minor (Lycia, Pisidia, Pamphylia and Cilicia), the baths were usually in a humble architectural style.

8. Masonry

Walls and, in particular, the facade usually used ashlar masonry (opus quadratum), which were big or small orthonormal ashlars (usually local porous stones or limestone) placed alternatively widthways and lengthways. Bricks were used for the construction of an hypocaust system, while mainly in the early Imperial years they were little used in vaulted roofs, in contrast to western habits. Such plinths replaced the stones of the upper floor, which included curved walls and arched structures, mainly from the 2nd century onward (opus testaceum). A local type of cement (opus caementicium) was used for smaller vaults.17

The walls were externally covered with successive layers of mortar. The marble was fixed with the help of iron connectors over the mortar. The large central chambers of the bath and some smaller subsidiary rooms were usually vaulted. The chambers were lighted through skylights and large windows, filled with panes of glass from about the mid-1st century.18

9. Water Supply, Sewage and Heating System

Water was supplied by aqueducts or tanks, through lead and clay pipes that ended in drains in bath chambers. Drainage of the building was usually based on a system of narrower clay drain pipes ending in wider central pipes.

The chambers were heated by a system of hot air circulation inside the hollow walls and in special spaces under the floor (hypocausts). The floors were supported by small pillars (suspensurae) made of bricks (less often of stone), placed at very small intervals. The arrangement of the small pillars allowed hot air to pass through and heat the floor. Hot air was produced by burning wood in the praefurnium, a specially arranged furnace in a corner of the room. Hot chambers (tepidarium and caldarium) were equipped with such floors. Sometimes the floor was heated so much (about 50 to 60º C) that the bathers were able to walk only in wooden shoes or sandals. Hot air similarly passed through clay pipes (tubuli), which were vertically placed inside the hollow walls. According to Pliny (NH ΙX.168), the hypocaust was invented by some Caius Sergius Orata. However, the Greek origin of the word shows that an early type of the system may have been formerly used in Greece and was later put into operation in the Roman Thermae.19

10. Decor

As regards the decor of these imposing buildings, evidence comes from ancient written sources and archaeological findings. The interior walls were sheathed with different types of coloured marble. The largest chambers had coloured mosaic floors from stone and glass inlay and decorative motifs or themes often depicting thiasoi of water life. There were also sculptures, such as statues of gods, particularly those related to hygiene (Asclepius and Hygeia), and statues of water deities. Finally, there were statues of heroes, emperors and other noble men. The statues were put up in assembly rooms and baths (mainly in frigidarium), on pedestals or in special niches opened in the walls. The architectural parts of the buildings were also adorned with relief figures and decorative elements.20

11. Chronology

The earliest baths in Asia Minor, such as the Western Baths in Pergamon (c. mid-1st century) and the Baths of Vergilius Capitus in Miletus (47-52), are incorporated into the complex of the Hellenistic gymnasium of the city or are built in direct contact with it. In eastern provinces the symmetrical arrangement of the chambers in two parallel zones of hot and cold bath (first architectural type, according to Yegül) is first noted in Harbour Baths of Ephesus in the years of Emperor Domitian (80-90). The rest of the examples and the versions of this type were built in the following century, in the years Hadrian took over the administration of the empire, in Aphrodisias, Hierapolis and Laodicea, while both baths in Magnesia ad Μaeandrum date from the mid-2nd century.

Baths whose floor plan shows three oblong chambers in Π-shape (second type, according to Yegül) have been preserved since the mid-2nd century in Ephesus (Theatre Baths and Eastern Baths), where this type probably appeared. The Baths in Alexandria Troas, similarly designed, were built about the same period.

The baths of the third type, according to Yegül (the Baths of Vedius in Ephesus and the Baths in Sardis and Aezani), must have been founded in the 2nd century. However, the Hume-I Tepe Baths in Miletus, an earlier example of this type, has been preserved since the 1st century.

Already from the mid-1st century, when they first appeared in the east, the baths of Asia Minor cities show a variety of architectural designs. Their heyday was in the 2nd century, when most of them were founded. However, the baths were widely used in the two following centuries as well, as indicated by the subsequent changes and restorations carried out in older buildings (such as the Baths of Scholastica in Ephesus) as well as the foundation of new buildings.

12. Operation

Each bath had its special regulations defining the hours and conditions of operation.21Baths in Antiquity were not only places for cleanness, hygiene and body care but also places for physical exercise, social activity and entertainment.22 There were also special rooms for the worship of emperors and gods.23 The services offered by the Hellenistic gymnasium, as a centre for physical and mental education, were offered to a certain extent by the open-air space and the stoes of the palaestra in bath complexes in the cities of Asia Minor.24

1. Weber, M., Antike Badekultur (München 1996), p. 22 onwards.

2. The oldest reference to the souces is about a bolth from the middle of the 5th century BC in Olympia, however the architectural remains from public baths have been preserved just from the 4th century BC in Pireaus, Eretria and Megara Hyblaea, see Ginouvès, R., Recherches sur le bain dans l’antiquité greque (Paris 1962), p. 6· Weber, M., Antike Badekultur (München 1996), p. 23 onwards.

3. Some of the most important monographs of the latest years regarding Roman thermae and with issues relevant to their operation are the following: “Les thermes romains”, in Actes de la table ronde organisée par l’École française de Rome, Rome 11-12 Νovembre 1988 (CEFR 142, Rome 1991)· Weber, M., Antike Badekultur (München 1996)· Fagan, G.G., Bathing in Public in the Roman World (Ann Arbor 1999)· Nielsen, I., Thermae et Balnea (Aarhus 1990)· Yegül, F., Baths and Bathing in Classical Antiquity (New York 1992).

4. See: Webliography

5. Vitruvius, De Architectura V.10.5· Weber, M., Antike Badekultur (München 1996), p. 59· Nielsen, I., Thermae et Balnea (Aarhus 1990), p. 158 onwards.

6. Vitruvius describes this practice in De Architectura V.10.1.

7. The latrines of the Baths of Scholasticia in Ephesus are preserved in good condition, while the Baths of Vedius in the same city have inscriptions with the names of those who used them.

8. Weber, M., Antike Badekultur (München 1996), p. 54.

9. Massive thermae were built by emperors Titus (81), Domitian (95), Trajan (approximately 100), Caracalla (217) and Diocletian (approximately 302). Κrencker, D. – Krüger, E. – Lehmann, H. – Wachtler, H, Die Trierer Kaiserthermen I (Augsburg 1929).

10. For this category of monuments see Farrington, A., “Imperial Bath Buildings in South-West Asia Minor”, in Macready, S. – Thompson, F.H. (ed.), Roman Architecture in the Greek World (London 1987), pp. 50-59· Yegül, F., Baths and Bathing in Classical Antiquity (New York 1992), p. 250 onwards and 307 onwards· Nielsen, I., Thermae et Balnea (Aarhus 1990), p. 105 onwards.

11. Yegül, F., Baths and Bathing in Classical Antiquity (New York 1992), p. 273, fig. 258 and p. 276, fig. 341.

12. These oblong halls which are common characteristic of the archietcture of the Roman thermae are mentioned in bibliography with the conventional name basilica thermarum (mainly for the thermae of Italy and the western provinces) or with the name ambulacrum (for the baths in Asia Minor). See Yegül, F., Baths and Bathing in Classical Antiquity (New York 1992), pp. 414, 415 with note 1. Nielsen, I., Thermae et Balnea (Aarhus 1990), p. 106.

13. Nielsen, I., Thermae et Balnea II. Catalogue and Plates (Aarhus 1990), p. 37: C298· Yegül, F., Baths and Bathing in Classical Antiquity (New York 1992), p. 279 onwards, where all previous bibliography is presented.

14. Nielsen, I., Thermae et Balnea II. Catalogue and Plates (Aarhus 1990), p. 37: C300· Yegül, F., Baths and Bathing in Classical Antiquity (New York 1992), p. 279 onwards, where all previous bibliography was presented.

15. Smith, A.C.G., “The gymnasium at Alexandria Troas. Evidence for an outline reconstruction”, AnatSt 29 (1979), pp. 23-50.

16. Yegül, F., Baths and Bathing in Classical Antiquity (New York 1992), p. 270 onwards.

17. These new building techniques, such as baked bricks and concrete, were introduced from Italy in the East and initially they were applied to buildings, sich as Baths, where they proved particularly suitable for barrel vaults and hypocausts. Characteristic combination of ashlar masonry and baked bricks can be found at the Baths of the Theatre of Ephesus, the Baths at the gymnasium of Pergamum and to those of Tralles and Aspendus, se Yegül, F., Baths and Bathing in Classical Antiquity (New York 1992), p. 266, fig. 325 and p. 269, fig. 331.

18. Weber, M., Antike Badekultur (München 1996), p. 51.

19. The oldest example of heating with hypocausts was found in Olympia and dates from approximately 100 BC., see Weber, M., Antike Badekultur (München 1996), p. 47.

20. From a most beautiful examples of relief architectural components in thermae of Asia Minor are the colossal relief masks of Heracles, Medusa, Perseus and Minotaur, which decorated the entablature of the palaestra of Hadrian's thermae in Aphrodisias.

21. There are multitude of testimonies in literature and inscriptions regarding the operation and the importance of thermae to ancient society. There are gathered in Nielsen, I., Thermae et Balnea (Aarhus 1990), pp. 195-208.

22. For the operation of the baths in the Roman Empire see Pasquinucci, M. (ed.), Τerme romane e vita quotidiana (Bologna 1987).

23. Such halls are kept in relatively good condition in Sardis and Aphrodisias.

24. Yegül, F., Baths and Bathing in Classical Antiquity (New York 1992), p. 307 onwards.
     
 
 
 
 
 

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