Roman Baths
People today think of bathing as a private activity, while Romans usually bathed in public facilities that in some ways resemble modern spas or health clubs. Roman baths were generally used for entertainment, healing, or to just simply get clean. There were 170 baths in ROme during Octavius' reign and by 300 A.D. that number had increased to over 900 baths.
The baths were vast buildings built at either public expense or by rich emperors who wanted to impress their subjects. Occaisionally rich Romans who were trying to gain popularity would pay entry for a whole day for anyone who wished to use the baths. Small bathhouses, or balneae, might be privately owned, but in the sense that they were open to the public for a fee. Large baths, called thermae, were owned by the state and sometimes covered several city blocks. Some famous bathing houses were the Baths at Caracella, the Baths of Diocletian, and the baths at Bath.
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