[Red Badger]

Romans must have been an awfully clean bunch..........

[oldplayer]

Wine and Toga parties! Let’s go!

[SunkenCiv]

I think that there wouldn’t have been as many large public baths built in Rome over its heyday had the Roman public not been stinking up the place. It’s probably why the Emperors tended to rule from Capri, Ischia, Ostia, and other places out of the city. 😊

[Rockingham]

Romans were not especially clean by our standards, except for wealthy Romans with private baths. The public baths used by most Romans were unsanitary because the bath water was thoroughly used before being discharged in favor of fresh water. Think of it as using the same bathwater that others have already used many times.

Why then did Romans use and enjoy the public baths so much if the water was commonly nasty and clouded? For ordinary citizens, the baths were better than nothing, especially if one got in when the water was fresh and hot enough to ease aches and pains. Moreover, the baths were a communal meeting place, while the better public baths also offered massages, food, and other services. One could also attend lectures and meetings and conduct business in adjoining rooms.

For Rome's imperial rulers, the construction and operation of public baths made for large works projects that employed thousands of people and gave ordinary citizens a sense of luxury. This helped to alleviate popular grievances at Rome's stunning inequalities of wealth and built loyalty to the emperor. Rome survived for centuries on a formula of free grain, free circuses and gladiatorial combats, and hot baths. All backed of course by highly capable legions and an efficient system of conquest and taxation.