Ephesus - The Aegean Coast - Cities and Towns in Turkey - Turkey - Home
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These baths were built in the first century C.E., yet expanded in the
fourth century. Baths were a very important part of Roman society. Here
are typical components of Roman baths: Apodyterium = changing room Caldarium = the hot tub Frigidarium = cold bath Palestra = Greek style wrestling room Tepidarium = a warm bath The Roman men would generally utilize the baths during the late afternoon, while conducting business and socializing with friends and patrons/clients. One
would first enter the Apodyterium where they would change out of their clothes and prepare for the baths. Some baths were equipped with a Palestra for
exercise and training. Some baths had separate bathing areas so that the women could utilize the facilities as well, but for those baths that did not have
separate bathing areas, the women probably bathed between nine and three o'clock. Lucian (120–180 C.E.) describes a newly designed bathing facility in his
day. Click here to see what Lucian wrote. |
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Public baths originated from a communal need for cleanliness. Often the term public is misleading to some people, as they will have restrictions based upon who can use the facility — elite members of the culture, men only, religious only. As societies advance, public baths often disappear as private washing stations become possible, or they become incorporated into the social system and now are 'meeting places.' Roman bathhouses offered amenities in addition to the bathing ritual. Ancillary spaces in the bathhouse proper housed food and perfume-selling booths, libraries, and reading rooms. Stages accommodated theatrical and musical performances. Adjacent stadia provided spaces for exercise and athletic competitions. Inside the bathhouses proper, marble mosaics tiled the elegant floors. The stuccoed walls frequently sported frescoes of trees, birds, and other pastoral images. Sky-blue paint, gold stars, and celestial imagery adorned interior domes. Statuary and fountains decorated the interior and exterior. |
| Thus, the Romans elevated bathing to a
fine art, and their bathhouses physically reflected these advancements.
The Roman bath, for instance, included a far more complex ritual than a
simple immersion or sweating procedure. The various parts of the bathing
ritual — undressing, bathing, sweating, receiving a massage, and resting
— required separated rooms which the Romans built to accommodate those
functions. The segregation of the sexes and the additions of diversions
not directly related to bathing also had direct impacts on the shape and
form of bathhouses. The elaborate Roman bathing ritual and its resultant
architecture served as precedents for later European and American
bathing facilities. Formal garden spaces and opulent architectural
arrangement equal to those of the Romans reappeared in Europe by the end
of the eighteenth century. Major American spas followed suit a century
later. The public baths in Ephesus were not only used by the Romans. There is a very interesting tradition via Polycarp about John in the baths in Ephesus. Click here to see what Polycarp had to say. |
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The entranceway is lofty and has a wide flight of steps which are low rather than steep, for the convenience of people walking up them. You enter into a very spacious hall which provides a large waiting area for slaves and attendants. To the left of this hall are rooms designed for relaxation, and therefore particularly well suited to a bath building—elegant, well-lit, and private rooms. Next to these is a meeting room larger than one normally finds in a bath building, but necessary for reception of the wealthy. Beyond this room are two spacious locker rooms and, between them, a lofty and brightly lit hall which contains three cold-water swimming pools. It is decorated with slabs of Laconian marble and with two white marble statues....
Upon leaving this hall, you enter into a large room which is long, rounded at each end, and slightly warm, rather than being confronted suddenly with intense heat. Beyond this room and to the right is a very bright room which is quite suitably arranged for rub-downs with oil. At each end it has an entryway decorated with Phrygian marble to provide access for those coming in from the exercise area. And then near this room is another large room, the most beautiful of all rooms, very well designed for standing about or sitting down, for whiling away time without fear of reproach for occupying your time most profitably. It, too, gleams from top to bottom with Phrygian marble.
Next you enter a passageway heated with hot air and faced with Numidian marble. It leads into a very beautiful room which is filled with bright light and resplendent with purple. This room contains three hot tubs. Once you have bathed, you don't need to go back again through the same rooms. Instead, you can go immediately through a small, slightly warm room to a cold room.Every room has a great deal of sunlight coming in. In addition, the height of each room is of good proportion, and the width corresponds well with the length.... The cold room lies in the north part of the building, but the rooms that need a lot of heat are situated in the south, east, and west....
The building also has two privies and many entrances and exits, and provides two devices for telling time—a loud water clock and a sundial. Lucian, The Baths 5–8 (quoted in Shelton, 313-314).
Polycarp
There are also those who heard from [Polycarp] that John, the disciple of the
Lord, going to bathe at Ephesus, and perceiving Cerinthus within, rushed out of
the bath-house without bathing, exclaiming, "Let us fly, lest even the
bath-house fall down, because Cerinthus, the enemy of the truth, is within."
CLICK HERE for
additional photos of Ephesus
and
HERE for photos of some of the intricate
detail work to be found in Ephesus.
| It is best to visit Ephesus with a good
guide - especially if it is your first visit. Although there are many licensed,
official tour guides, I believe that Can (John) Yigit is one of the best. One of
the main reasons is, not only does he love this place, but he worked here beside
the archeologists when he was in college. And, is very personable. His English
is excellent and he makes the place come alive with his narrative. Contact
information is as follows: Can Yigit Gsm +90 532. 426 63 35 Tel +90 256. 612 83 30 email: guidecan68@yahoo.com P.O. Box 152 09400 Kusadasi / Aydin / Turkey Here
are a couple of comments about John. |
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