Roman hot bath spas

Greek hot springs, Roman hot baths, Arab hamams, Turkish hamams, European spas, Garden saunas, American hot tub spas, Garden hot tub spas

There are natural hot springs to the south of Rome and is probable the Romans used them for bathing and then invented the artificial method of making hot baths which was used throughout the Roman empire. The Emperor Agrippa created a famous thermae c 25 BCE and the provision of public bathing facilities became one of the routes to imperial popularity. As at the Baths of Caracalla in Rome, the range of facilities was similar to that in a Greek gymnasium. They included areas for sport and wrestling in addition to hot, tepid and cold baths. The setting or Roman baths had the characater of a public garden or park. They are direct antecedants of the modern health spa in a hotel - and of hot tubs in private gardens.