Classical Studies 2300 Lecture Notes - Lecture 18: Aqua Virgo, Pliny The Elder, Apoxyomenos

• School: Western University
• Department: Classical Studies
• Course: Classical Studies 2300
• Professor: Charles Stocking

Document Summary

Balnea - small privately owned facilities, open to the public for a small fee. 1st century bce - 170 balnea in rome. By end of roman empire - 1,000 balnea in rome. Primary function: hygiene, since most people did not have private access to running water. Romans began building thermae on a grand scale, due to advances in engineering that made warm water possible. The first hot water swimming pool given to the roman people by gaius maecenas, patron of the arts during the. Built over a graveyard on the esquiline hill in rome. After the death of maecenas, the gardens of maecenas became property of the emperors. Floor was raised above the ground, supported by pilae stacks (layers of tile and concrete) Hot air supplied from a furnace would circulate under the floor and rise through tunnels in the walls, and out of flutes in the roof.