Thermae be applied to those magnificent edifices which grew up under the empire, in place of the simple balneae of the republic, and which comprised within their range of buildings all the appurtenances belonging to the Greek gymnasia, as well as a regular establishment appropriated for bathing. Writers, however, use these terms without distinction. Thus the baths erected by Claudius Etruscus, the freedman of the Emperor Claudius, are styled by Statius "balnea", and by Martial "Etrusci thermulae". In an epigram by "Martial"—"subice balneum thermis"—the terms are not applied to the whole building, but to two different chambers in the same edifice.
Diocletian window Diocletian window Diocletian windows, also called thermal windows, are large semicircular windows characteristic of the enormous public baths ("thermae") of Ancient Rome. They have been revived on a limited basis by some classical revivalist architects in more modern times. Diocletian windows are large segmental arched windows (or other openings) which are usually divided into three lights (window compartments) by two vertical mullions. The central compartment is often wider than the two side lights on either side of it. Diocletian windows are named after the windows found in the Thermae (Baths) of Diocletian (AD 302) in Rome. (The Thermae is now