Baths

evidence

The picture above which shows the female changing room

The video above shows an accurate background about how ancient Romans spent in the baths and the visual structure of the unique Suburban Baths.

Suburban baths

The Suburban Baths in Pompeii had two stores, the bottom floor being used as a public baths while the upper floor consisted of three apartments. Like the Suburban Thermae baths in Herculaneum there is no sign of a women's section. Either men and women shared these facilities, using the baths at different times of the day or different days of the week, or they were for men only.

Erotic images found at the scene

In pompeii, The walls of the changing room were decorated with eight fresco paintings of a highly erotic nature. This initially led archaeologists to discover that this area must have been a brothel where men had come to the baths to visit prostitutes, but this apparently obvious interpretation has thought other wise. In this case, the erotic frescoes were probably a humorous method of reminding customers where they had left their clothes by assigning a number and an amusing painting to each of the various chambers.

structure

The Suburban Baths appear to be built by Proconsul M.Nonius Balbus as a gift to the town whose statue and memorial altar stands in the terrace in front of the building. The baths held up extremely well against the eruption and are in a remarkable state. The main entrance consist of a long corridor that leads to the baths which consists a portal of columns supporting a tymphanum. A flight of stairs leads down from there to the vestibule (b), these baths were not segregated, and were probably used alternately by both sexes: male and female. In the north east corner of the vestibule (b) a doorway (c) opens up onto a service area (coloured blue on the diagram) which gives access of a corridor to a private residence, the House of the Relief of Telephus. Between the two service areas, a door leads to a large vaulted room (e) with a fine marble floor which served as a combined apodyterium and frigidarium. On the east side of the room is the cold pool (pictured opposite). The room is decorated in a style with red panels above a marble panels separated by bands and capped with a marble rail. The upper zone contains architectural motifs on a white ground.To the east of the tepidarium is a room (h) with a large heated swimming pool (pictured above). In the north east corner of the room is a doorway which leads through to a laconicum (i), a small round room with an intense dry heat.

The picture above shows a lesbian encounter, which depicts the "only example of Sapphic art in the ancient Roman world".

significance

The significance of the Suburban baths was that it was a social occasion. the construction of the baths were significant because it showed perserved valid knowledge and information of Roman life in the 1st Century BC. This can be seen through the erotic art on the wall of the changing room where sources say that baths were a way for men to interact with women. Buildings, arts left behind shows how life was back in Rome before the eruption of Mount Vesuvius.

Suburban baths

Suburban Baths are located in Pompeii, Italy. It was included in Pompeii's ruins which was destroyed on August 24th 79 AD, when Mount Vesuvius erupted, burying the entire city (along with Herculaneum) and consequently preserving them. The Suburban Baths were built around the end of the 1st century BC against the city walls north of the Marina Gate. They served as a public bath house to the residents of Pompeii, They were originally discovered in 1958 and have since been excavated and restored. Excavation of the Suburban Baths have given historians a glimpse into an aspect of the social and cultural workings of Roman life in Pompeii. In Roman times, people were normally occupied with their daily life. The morning was for working filled by a light lunch, the afternoon, however was was for bathing and the evening for dining. The daily routine for a citizen must have been very pleasant. The bathing part of the programme was for hygiene but also for exercise and social interaction. The baths were segregated which shows in the design for the Stabian Baths and Forum Baths. The two separate bathing areas drew on the same source of heart but had separate entrances. In Pompeii the baths combined two functions: The Palaestra and the Natatio. The Palaetra provided a facility for exercising while the Natatio provided a cold pool, so water exercise was possible. The spacious bath rooms were luxuries with richly decorated walls and vaulted ceilings, marble baths and basins with small fountains and mosaic floors. the order of use was optional but it was generally a cold plunge. Undergarments was a compulsory must to wear during the baths, such as for the women they wore a bikini while men wore a tunic, kilt or linen wrap.