section_path: History/Europe/Antiquity
section_name: Antiquity
paragraph_text: Antiquity
  
  Regular bathing was a hallmark of Roman civilization. Elaborate baths were constructed in urban areas to serve the public, who typically demanded the infrastructure to maintain personal cleanliness. The complexes usually consisted of large, swimming pool-like baths, smaller cold and hot pools, saunas, and spa-like facilities where people could be depilated, oiled, and massaged. Water was constantly changed by an aqueduct -fed flow. Bathing outside of urban centers involved smaller, less elaborate bathing facilities, or simply the use of clean bodies of water. Roman cities also had large sewers, such as Rome's Cloaca Maxima, into which public and private latrines drained. Romans did not have demand-flush toilets but did have some toilets with a continuous flow of water under them. The Romans used scented oils (mostly from Egypt), among other alternatives.
  
  Christianity has always placed a strong emphasis on hygiene. Despite rejecting mixed bathing, early Christian clergy encouraged believers to bath, which contributed to hygiene and good health according to the Church Fathers Clement of Alexandria and Tertullian. The Church built public bathing facilities that were separated by sex near monasteries and pilgrimage sites.