Ancient Roman bathing Ancient Roman bathing Bathing played a major part in ancient Roman culture and society. It was one of the most common daily activities in Roman culture, and was practiced across a wide variety of social classes. Though many contemporary cultures see bathing as a very private activity conducted in the home, bathing in Rome was a communal activity. While the extremely wealthy could afford bathing facilities in their homes, most people bathed in the communal baths thermae. In some ways, these resembled modern-day spas. The Romans raised bathing to a high art as they socialized in these communal baths. Communal
Thermae A public bath was built around three principal rooms: the "caldarium" (hot bath), the "tepidarium" (warm bath) and the "frigidarium" (cold bath). Some "thermae" also featured steam baths: the "sudatorium", a moist steam bath, and the "laconicum", a dry hot room much like a modern sauna. By way of illustration, this article will describe the layout of Pompeii's Old Baths adjoining the forum, which are among some of the best-preserved Roman baths. The references are to the floor plan pictured to the right. The whole building comprises a double set of baths, one for men and the other for women.