This book examines the survival, transformation and eventual decline of Roman public baths and bathing habits in Italy, North Africa and Palestine during Late Antiquity.

Abstract: In antiquity, bathing was not the private affair it is today. It was a public activity involving all classes of Roman society. Baths dotted the landscapes of cities across the empire, and even villages, military forts, monasteries, and villas contained public (or semi-public) baths. After an introductory chapter, chapter two provides an introduction to the rich bathing culture of the early Roman empire. It details the social world of the baths, engaging such topics as the role of health care in bathing culture and the nature and extent of mixed bathing in the early Roman world. It then proceeds to an overview of the material evidence, presenting several different types of baths from four select regions in the Roman world. Chapter three analyzes the nature of late antique Christian discourse on baths and bathing. After a discourse analysis I juxtapose other forms of evidence against the ascetic-monastic literature and work toward an understanding of social practice in late Roman bathing culture. Ultimately, the chapter demonstrates that rigorist Christian discourse on baths and bathing in late antiquity served important ideological functions within the Christian community, but should not be taken as an accurate reflection of social practice or mentalities concerning bathing in late antiquity. Chapter four presents a regional study of baths of central and southern Greece, the province of Achaea, and it includes select baths from the islands and Crete. The chapter begins by presenting the archaeological evidence itself. After explaining and presenting the evidence, I analyze the architectural evolution of this body of baths in late antiquity. Ultimately, the architectural evolution of baths in late antiquity offers an opportunity to see how material and cultural forces intersected. I argue that our explanations for the important changes to the architectural design of baths in late antiquity must be sought in the nature of politico-administrative change, economic and fiscal trends and the local and municipal level, and shifting patterns and modes of patronage. In chapter five, I analyze the imperial thermae of Rome in the city's late antique landscape. I argue that the thermae's polyvalent meanings ensured their survival in times of stress and change in late antique Rome. The thermae were important monuments to imperial power, aspects of the built environment through which the emperors propagated a propagandistic stance and image of themselves toward their subjects, one rooted in their power, benevolence, and status as connoisseurs and supporters of classical culture. Chapter six concludes the study by summarizing the dissertation's arguments, drawing some broader connections between chapters, and looking to the Byzantine and Islamic periods. An appendix discusses directions for future work. The dissertation carries implications for how scholars understand the evolution of concepts of the body in late antiquity and the nature of Christianization itself, especially the limits imposed upon the Church when confronted with social practices that were deeply rooted in Roman imperial history. Yet it also demonstrates that bathing in public remained central to daily life at this time.

This book discusses social, religious and medical attitudes towards bathing in Late Antiquity. It examines the place of bathing in late Roman and early Byzantine society as seen in the literary, historical, and documentary sources from the late antique period. The author argues that bathing became one of the most important elements in defining what it meant to be a Roman; indeed, the social and cultural value of bathing in the context of late Roman society more than justified the efforts and expense put into preserving bathing establishments and the associated culture. The book contributes a unique perspective to understanding the changes and transformations undergone by the bathing culture of the day, and illustrates the important role played by this culture in contributing to the transitional character of the late antique period. In his examination of the attitudes of medical professionals and laymen alike, and the focus on its recuperative utility, Zytka provides an innovative and detailed approach to bathing.

This text reviews and analyzes the structure, function and design of baths, seeking to integrate their architecture with the wider social and cultural custom of bathing, and examining in particular the changes this custom underwent in Late Antiquity and in Byzantine and Islamic cultures.

In 11 in-depth essays and over 500 encyclopedia entries, a cast of experts provides fresh perspectives on an era marked by the rise of two world religions, unprecedented upheavals, and the creation of art of enduring glory. 79 illustrations, 16 in color.

Bathing culture was one of the pillars of Roman society and bathhouses are one of the largest categories of a particular type of construction excavated in the Roman world. The large number of surviving remains and their regional variety make bathhouses vital for the study of the local societies in the Roman-Byzantine period. This book presents the archaeological evidence of close to 200 Roman-style bathhouses from the region of Iudaea/Syria-Palaestina and Provincia Arabia, part of the provinces of the Roman East, constructed from the reign of Herod the Great (second half of the 1st century BCE) to the end of the Umayyad rule (mid-8th century CE). The bathing complexes of the Roman, Byzantine, and the Early Islamic periods, ranging from large public thermae to small bathing suites, are for the first time analyzed as unified data with an unprecedented amount of detail, considering a variety of parameters – from dating and setting, through building techniques and materials, to plans and decorations. Typologies of the bathhouses and their components are supplemented by exploration of the socio-cultural insight provided by this particular type of construction. The historical narrative of the regional bathing facilities is updated in the light of new information. The full raw data used for the study is provided in the expandable open-access online database.