Thermae

Thermae are large public bath complexes built in ancient Rome and throughout its territories. The term derives from Latin thermae, plural of therma, itself from Greek therma meaning hot bath. In Roman usage, thermae referred to monumental facilities intended for bathing, socializing, and other activities, as opposed to smaller public baths called balneae. The concept spread widely, from Italy to North Africa and Britain.

A typical thermae contained a sequence of rooms and spaces designed for bathing, exercise, and leisure. Visitors passed through changing rooms (apodyterium) to exercise in the palaestra, then moved through progressively warmer and hotter rooms: the tepidarium (warm), caldarium (hot with a bath), and frigidarium (cool pool). Many complexes used hypocaust heating to warm floors and walls, with aqueduct-fed waters supplied to pools and baths. In addition to bath functions, thermae often included libraries, gardens, shops, and exercise courts, reflecting their role as social and cultural centers.

Historically, thermae were integral to daily life in the Roman world, supporting hygiene, relaxation, business, and sociability. Notable examples include the Baths of Caracalla and the Baths of Diocletian in Rome, and other extensive complexes in Pompeii, Herculaneum, and across the empire; the city of Aquae Sulis (modern Bath) in Britain is another famous site. Following the decline of the Western Roman Empire, many thermae fell into disrepair, though some were revived or reinterpreted in later periods; today the term remains linked to historic public baths and to modern spa facilities.