iPedia Free Information Center

Information about Public Bath

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'.

Cultures and Countries

England

In the late 1790's ritual, and elite baths were available, but it wasn't until the mid 1800's that Englands first true public bath house was opened (in Liverpool). This was individual (washing), or men's only (swimming) however, and it wasn't until 1914 that family bathing was allowed. [1] The introduction of bath houses into British culture was a response to public's desire for increased sanitary conditions, and by 1915 most towns in the country had at least one. [2]

Greece, Ancient

In The Book of the Bath, Françoise de Bonneville wrote, "The history of public baths begins in Greece in the sixth century B.C.," where men and women washed in basins near places of exercise, physical and intellectual. Later gymnasia had indoor basins set overhead, the open maws of marble lions offering showers, and circular pools with tiers of steps for lounging. Bathing was ritualized, becoming an art -- of cleansing sands, hot water, hot air in dark vaulted "vapor baths," a cooling plunge, a rubdown with aromatic oils. Cities all over Ancient Greece honored sites where "young ephebes stood and splashed water over their bodies."

Rome, Ancient

The first public thermae of 19 BC had a rotunda 25 meters across, circled by small rooms, set in a park with artificial river and pool. By 300 AD the Baths of Diocletian would cover 1.5 million square feet (140,000 m²), its soaring granite and porphry sheltering 3,000 bathers a day. Roman baths became "something like a cross between an aquacentre and a theme park," with pools, game rooms, gardens, even libraries and theatres. One of the most famous public bath sites is Aquae Sulis in Bath, England.

Ottoman Empire, Ancient

Main article: Turkish bath
During the Ottoman Empire, public baths, inherited from the Byzantine Empire, were widely used. The baths had both a religious and popular origin deriving from the Qur'an (ablution ritual) and the use of steamrooms by the Turks.

Japan, Ancient

In Japan, nude communal bathing for men, women, and children at the local unisex public bath, or sentō, was a daily fact of life until the mid-1800s and an increase in Western influence.

Japan

In contemporary times, many administrative regions require public baths to have separate facilities for males and females. Public baths using water from onsen, hot springs, are particularly popular.

Famous Baths

Public Baths in Different Cultures

See also

References

1. ^ [1]
2. ^ [2]

External links

Social structure is a term frequently used in sociology and more specifically in social theory — yet rarely defined or clearly conceptualised (Jary and Jary 1991, Abercrombie et al 2000).
..... Click the link for more information.
The culture of the United Kingdom is rich and varied, and has been influential on culture on a worldwide scale.

It is a European state, and has many cultural links with its former colonies, particularly those that use the English language (the Anglosphere).
..... Click the link for more information.
Fragrance oil(s), also known as aroma oils, aromatic oils, and flavor oils, are blended synthetic aroma compounds or natural essential oils that are diluted with a carrier like propylene glycol, vegetable oil, or mineral oil.
..... Click the link for more information.
The term ancient Greece refers to the periods of Greek history in Classical Antiquity, lasting ca. 750 BC[1] (the archaic period) to 146 BC (the Roman conquest). It is generally considered to be the seminal culture which provided the foundation of Western Civilization.
..... Click the link for more information.
Baths of Diocletian (Thermae Diocletiani) in Rome were the grandest of the public baths, or thermae built by successive emperors. Diocletian's Baths, dedicated in 306, were the largest and most sumptuous of the imperial baths and remained in use until the
..... Click the link for more information.
For other uses, see Square.
The square foot is an Imperial unit / U.S. customary unit (non-SI non-metric) of area, used in the United States, United Kingdom and elsewhere. It is defined as the area of a square with sides of 1 foot (0.333...
..... Click the link for more information.
Amusement park is the generic term for a collection of rides and other entertainment attractions assembled for the purpose of entertaining a large group of people. An amusement park is more elaborate than a simple city park or playground, usually providing attractions meant to
..... Click the link for more information.
Roman Baths complex is a site of historical interest in the English city of Bath. The complex is a very well-preserved Roman site of public bathing, and is a major tourist attraction. The buildings, the upper portions of which date to the 18th century, are grade 1 listed.
..... Click the link for more information.
Bath

Bath, Somerset ()
|240px|Bath, Somerset (

..... Click the link for more information.
Turkish bath (Turkish: hamam; from Arabic: حمّام,
..... Click the link for more information.
Ottoman Empire or Ottoman Caliphate (1299 to 1922) (Old Ottoman Turkish: دولت عالیه عثمانیه Devlet-i Âliye-yi Osmâniyye, Late Ottoman and Modern Turkish:
..... Click the link for more information.
Byzantine Empire or Byzantium is the term conventionally used since the 19th century to describe the Greek-speaking Roman Empire of the Middle Ages, centered on its capital of Constantinople.
..... Click the link for more information.
The Qur’ān [1] (Arabic: القرآن
..... Click the link for more information.
Ablution is a term referring to washing, and can mean:
  • Ordinary washing:
  • Hand washing
  • Washing of the body
  • by extension, ablutions

..... Click the link for more information.
Turkic peoples are a group of peoples residing in northern, central and western Eurasia who speak languages belonging to the Turkic language family. These peoples share, to varying degrees, certain cultural traits and historical backgrounds.
..... Click the link for more information.
Editing of this page by unregistered or newly registered users is currently disabled due to vandalism.
If you are prevented from editing this page, and you wish to make a change, please discuss changes on the talk page, request unprotection, log in, or .
..... Click the link for more information.
onsen (温泉
..... Click the link for more information.
The gymnasium in ancient Greece functioned as a training facility for competitors in public games. It was also a place for socializing and engaging in intellectual pursuits. The name comes from the Greek term gymnos meaning naked.
..... Click the link for more information.
Esalen Institute, is a center in Big Sur, California, in the United States, for humanistic alternative education and a nonprofit organization devoted to multidisciplinary studies ordinarily neglected by traditional academia.
..... Click the link for more information.
balnea or thermae were the words the ancient Romans used for the buildings housing their public baths.

Most Roman cities had at least one, if not many, such buildings, which were centers of public bathing and socialization.
..... Click the link for more information.
This article or section needs copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone and/or spelling.
You can assist by [ editing it] now. A how-to guide is available, as is general .
This article has been tagged since June 2007.
..... Click the link for more information.
The sweat lodge is a ceremonial sauna and an important ritual used by North American First Nations or Native American peoples. There are several styles of sweat lodges that include a domed or oblong hut similar to a wickiup, a teepee, or even a simple hole dug into the ground and
..... Click the link for more information.
indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of the Americas, their descendants, and many ethnic groups who identify with those peoples. They are often also referred to as Native Americans, First Nations
..... Click the link for more information.
sauna (IPA pronunciation: ['sɔːnə] or ['saʊnə], Finnish ['sɑunɑ]
..... Click the link for more information.
Finnish ( suomi   (help info ) , or suomen kieli) is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland (91.
..... Click the link for more information.
Turkish bath (Turkish: hamam; from Arabic: حمّام,
..... Click the link for more information.
onsen (温泉
..... Click the link for more information.
Bathing played a major part in Ancient Roman culture and society.

Of all the leisure activities, it was one of the most important, since it was part of the daily regimen for men of all classes, and many women as well.
..... Click the link for more information.
Bathing is the immersion of the body in fluid, usually water, or an aqueous solution. It is generally practiced as part of regular hygiene.

Some spa facilities provide bathing in various other liquids such as chocolate or mud, and there have been examples of bathing in
..... Click the link for more information.
Gay bathhouses, also known as (gay) saunas or steam baths (and sometimes called, in gay slang in some regions, "the baths" or "the tubs"), are places where men can go to have sex with other men. Not all men who visit such bathhouses consider themselves gay.
..... Click the link for more information.


This article is copied from an article on Wikipedia.org - the free encyclopedia created and edited by online user community. The text was not checked or edited by anyone on our staff. Although the vast majority of the wikipedia encyclopedia articles provide accurate and timely information please do not assume the accuracy of any particular article. This article is distributed under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License.
Herod_Archelaus


page counter