Baths
Cleanliness is one of the achievements of urban culture, for the forced cohabitation of many
people in confined spaces calls for hygiene and decency. Baths thus became a distinctive feature
of urban life in Greek and Roman Antiquity from early on, as few houses had their own water
supply. Yet bath houses offered much more than just cleaning the body: they were hubs of social
life, meeting points and entertainment venues. City dwellers spent much of their day there, since
apart from washing they could enjoy the relaxing properties of water, meet up with friends and
acquaintances, talk about business, catch up on news and exchange ideas. For women, who had
few opportunities to appear in public, going to the baths was a chance to display their finery and
bathing utensils, as well as to engage in conversation, dance and sing songs.
Bath houses, also known as valaneia, were buildings of unique architecture that made use of
special technology to transport, use and heat water. The thermae or bath houses in imperial cities
were public buildings often of monumental character. They were entire complexes of large halls
and small rooms, lavishly decorated with marble walls and floors, mosaics and statues, paintings
and images from nature and imperial iconography. Private baths also existed, but they were
smaller and only offered the basic facilities found in the large thermae. The toilets and changing
rooms were in the antechamber, where people changed their clothes, leaving them in the custody
of attendants known as kapsarioi. There followed a series of rooms, either in a row or at right
angles to each other – areas for the cold bath (psychrolousion or frigidarium), the warm bath
(chliaropsychrion or tepidarium), and finally the area for the hot bath (zeston or caldarium). In the
changing rooms there were clothes racks and changing benches; the cold rooms had small pools
for preliminary cleaning and taps for footbaths and body washing, while in the hot baths the body
perspired and was cleaned for the last time. If they wished, bathers could then have a cold bath
before drying off, being anointed with unction and getting dressed.
The hot baths were heated by the hypocaust, a system that used a very low basement below a
raised floor resting on dense rows of small piers or poles. Air heated in an adjoining charcoal
furnace (prefurnium) circulated in the area under the floor, as well as in the walls and vaulted roof:
clay pipes (tubuli) embedded in the walls allowed hot air to rise, cool and descend to the floor
again. Air circulation and a continuous supply of fuel helped maintain the high temperature in the
hot bath.
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The baths were open all days of the week including Sundays, except in the case of drought,
earthquake or war. They were visited by men and women of all ages and social class, usually in
the mornings or evenings, though also on occasion at night, when they were illuminated by oil
lamps. Most bath houses were in pairs, with two separate entrances and wings, one for each sex,
but used a common hypocaust for fuel economy. If the bath was not paired then men and women
used it at different times and days. There is, however, evidence for the existence of mixed baths,
despite protests from the Church Fathers. Even since Roman times the use of mixed baths had
been seen as a sign of moral laxity, and emperors such as Hadrian, Marcus Aurelius and
Alexander Severus forbade members of the opposite sex from bathing at the same time. Visitors
paid an admission fee, the valaniko, the value of which varied down the centuries. Admission was
free on special occasions: the baths of Zeuxippus in Constantinople opened for free on 11th May
every year to celebrate the city’s inauguration.
Doctors and medical books of the time recommended frequent bathing. According to them, this
was advocated no more than four times in January, six times in March and eight times in April.
Similarly, the number of baths allowed for a monk per year was prescribed by the typikon or rule of
the monastery he belonged to, and varied from one monastery to the other. Despite the Church’s
strict stance on limiting bath house use so as to avoid excess, and the stress placed on going
unwashed as an ascetic virtue, even clerics would visit the public baths, and several Church
Fathers spoke favourably of them.
From the 7th century onwards the large thermae fell into disuse, and were eventually abandoned
due to population shrinkage, lack of resources to ensure water supply and high maintenance
costs. This resulted in a significant reduction in their number and size, not only in the capital but
also in provincial cities. Very few Byzantine bath houses from this time have survived to the
present day: one paired secular bath from the Palaeologan era is preserved in Ano Poli (the Upper
City) in Thessalonica, but most of the remaining ones belong to monasteries. Nevertheless,
whether luxurious or not, the bath house tradition was maintained in the palaces of Constantinople
and in aristocratic circles in general, as evidenced by the foundation of baths by Leo VI. Unlike the
Byzantines, among whom frequent bathing was taken for granted, in the West it was a sign of
illness. Sent to marry King Otto II of Germany, the Byzantine princess Theophano was accused by
her contemporaries of being frail on account of the frequent baths she took.
Glossary (5)
thermae or baths: public or private baths that first appeared during the Roman period, later
adopted by the Byzantines
mosaic: patterns or images composed of small, colored tesserae. Mosaic decoration can be
applied to all the surfaces of a building: floor, walls or ceiling.
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unction: yellow or brown fragrant resin obtained from various plants and trees and used in
perfumery.
furnace: term indicating either a hearth (oven) or more generally the place where the hearth was.
Church Fathers: a group of theologians and church authors that lived during the first five
centuries of Christianity and exerted great influence. Among them are: Tertullian, Basil of
Caesarea, Gregory of Nazianzus, John Chrysostom, etc.
Information Texts (3)
The city: Constantinople, the capital city of the Byzantine Empire, was built on the site of the
ancient Greek colony of Byzantium, on the triangular peninsula formed by the Golden Horn, the
Bosporus and the Sea of Marmara. This was an excellent location that controlled trade routes
linking the Aegean to the Black Sea. Emperor Constantine founded Constantinople in 330 AD as a
city to rival Rome in splendour, wealth and power. The city grew fast, leading to problems of space
and facilities, so Theodosius I extended it to the west by building new strong walls that protected
Constantinople until the end of the Byzantine Empire. The city was laid out after Rome. A main
road, the Mese Odos, linked the palace to the Golden Gate. On this road was the Forum, a
circular plaza with a statue of Constantine mounted on a column, surrounded by public buildings.
Theodosius I and Arcadius later built more forums decorated with their own statues. Following the
Nika riots in the 6th century, Justinian adorned Constantinople with magnificent edifices, palaces,
baths and public buildings. This time also saw the construction of Agia Sophia (the Holy Wisdom),
the church which served as the seat of the Ecumenical Patriarchate throughout the Byzantine
period. During the 7th and 8th centuries Constantinople faced major problems that threw it into
disarray: attacks by the Avars (a siege in 674) and Arabs (attacks in 674 and 717-718); natural
disasters (a powerful, destructive earthquake in 740); and epidemics (plague in 747). Limited
building activity resumed in the 8th and 9th century, mainly concentrated on strengthening the
city's fortifications. With the recovery of the Byzantine Empire from the 9th to the 11th century,
Constantinople became the most populated city in Christendom; the majority of inhabitants were
Greek-speaking, but many other ethnic groups lived alongside them, such as Jews, Armenians,
Russians, Italians merchants, Arabs and mercenaries from Western Europe and Scandinavia.
Many public, private and church-owned buildings were erected at the time, with an emphasis on
establishing charitable institutions such as hospitals, nursing homes, orphanages and schools.
Higher education flourished, thanks to the care of the state and the emergence of important
scholars. This renaissance lasted until the mid-11th century, when economic problems due to poor
management set in, compounded by the adverse outcome of imperial operations beyond the
borders. The Crusaders left Constantinople entirely unscathed when first passing through, but in
the Fourth Crusade of 1204 the Franks conquered and ransacked the city, slaughtering those
inhabitants they did not take prisoner or drive out. In 1261 the city was retaken by Michael VIII
Palaeologus, who rebuilt most of the monuments and the walls but proved unable to restore the
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city to its former splendour and glory. Enfeebled as it was, the empire was incapable of checking
the advance of the Ottomans, and in 1453 Constantinople finally fell into their hands. The fall
signalled the end of the empire. Nevertheless, the Byzantine intellectual tradition remained
significant, as many scholars settled in the Venetian dominions of Crete and the Peloponnese, as
well as in European countries, conveying Greek learning to the West.
The city: Around the top of the Thermaic Gulf there were several small ancient towns with intense
commercial activity, which further expanded after the destruction of Olynthus by Philip in 348 BC.
According to Strabo, King Cassander founded a new city in 316 BC, naming it Thessaloniki after
his wife, sister to Alexander the Great. The few traces of Hellenistic buildings identified to date - an
important administrative building complex in Governing House Square, and the east part of the
wall - indicate that from the outset the city was intended to be a major political and military centre.
Thessaloniki’s geographic location at a key point on Macedonia’s land and sea routes was an
important factor in its growth down the centuries. From the mid 2nd century BC onwards it was the
most important military and trading post on the Via Egnatia, which crossed the Balkan Peninsula
from Durres to Byzantium (later Constantinople). Its port also began to flourish, lying as it did at
the end of the road leading from the Danube to the Aegean. The city thus became the crossroads
of the major trading routes heading East-West and North-South in the Roman Empire. Christian
history in Thessaloniki began with the arrival of Paul the Apostle, who preached in the city’s
synagogue in 51 or early 52 AD, though archaeological traces are thin on the ground until three
centuries later. The 1st century saw the foundation of the Roman forum, along with several public
buildings such as the library, the gymnasium and the Gallery of Figurines, which may have
belonged to the imperial bath complex. In 298-299 Caesar Galerius moved his headquarters from
Sirmium in Panonnia to Thessaloniki, adorning it with new monumental buildings such as the
palace, the hippodrome, the theatre-stadium and the Rotonda, which was originally a temple
modelled after the Pantheon in Rome. The famous Arch of Galerius, a dedicatory tetrapylon
known locally as the Kamara, was erected at this time, decorated with scenes from Galerius’s
victories against the Persians. In 322 Constantine the Great built the port at the southwest end of
the shore. Thessaloniki became an important ecclesiastical centre from the late 4th century
onwards. In 380, while staying in the city with his court in preparation for a campaign against the
Goths, Emperor Theodosius I was baptized by Bishop Acholius (or Ascholios) and issued a decree
forbidding sacrifices throughout the empire. Around the same time, the bishop of the city was
promoted to archbishop and vicar (representative) of the Pope of Rome, with jurisdiction over the
entire prefecture of East Illyria. The Christian churches built over the next two centuries changed
the city, as they were the tallest buildings and most important landmarks in the new town plan
developed on either side of the imperial road (the Via Regia), along the axis of what is now
Egnatia Street. The Episcopal Church was a large five-nave basilica, possibly dedicated to Agios
Markos; the Church of Agios Demetrios became the city’s major pilgrimage shrine. The large
public buildings of the past either fell into gradual decline and were abandoned (such as the forum,
which became a quarry for rocks and clay), or changed function (such as the Rotonda, which was
converted into a Christian church). Excavations in the city’s historic centre have brought to light
numerous early Christian buildings, the majority of which are houses. Most are urban villas in the
city’s north and east section, with a spacious vaulted banquet room (triclinium) and a peristyle
surrounded by rooms, baths, storage areas or cisterns. The cemeteries outside the city walls
contained graves of all types, from pit graves to cist graves and tiled versions etc. Most important
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of all are the vaulted tombs, with fresco decorations in the interior. From the late 6th century
Thessaloniki was repeatedly raided by the Avaro- Slavs and suffered earthquakes which
destroyed many buildings. Combined with a general decline in the state economy, the raids and
earthquakes altered living conditions in the city. This change can be traced in the construction of
smaller, humbler houses with one or at most two rooms, erected on the ruins of old buildings.
Descriptions of the houses preserved in legal documents of the Mount Athos monasteries provide
an idea of life in the city; workshops and houses stood cheek by jowl, around shared courtyards
with ovens and wells. House walls often incorporated earlier ruins and were constructed of various
materials - some were of plaster coated wooden boards. Small churches and chapels were
founded in the neighbourhoods on monastery-owned land. The Archbishop of Thessaloniki came
under the Patriarchate of Constantinople and the new Cathedral of Agia Sophia was built in the
late 8th century, decorated with mosaics sponsored by the emperor. The establishment of the
Theme of Thessaloniki in the early 9th century offered security to the inhabitants and stability in
the region. The markets filled with goods and the number of visitors grew. The city was proud of its
scholar Bishop Leo the Mathematician and of two brothers: Constantine, who became a monk
named Cyril, and Methodius. In 863 they travelled to Moravia, where they created the Old Slavonic
alphabet and translated the Bible, the Divine Liturgy and important canonical texts into the
language of the newly converted Slavs. Over the next centuries many more chapels and churches
were built, such as Agios Euthymios, next to Agios Demetrios, and Panagia Chalkeon (1028).
After Thessaloniki fell to the Saracens in 904, the next wave of destruction occurred when the city
was wrested by the Normans in 1185. The Crusaders made it the capital of the Frankish kingdom
from 1204 to 1224. From then onwards Thessaloniki frequently changed hands between Greek
rulers who laid claim to the imperial throne, until 1246, when it was annexed to the Empire of
Nicaea along with the rest of Macedonia. In 1303 Irene-Yolanda of Montferrat, second wife of
Andronicus II, came to the city and remained there until her death in 1317, while in 1320 Emperor
Michael IX died in the city. Important monuments of Paleologan art and architecture still survive
from the first third of the 14th century, such as the churches of Agioi Apostoloi, Agia Aikaterini,
Agios Panteleimon, Agios Nikolaos Orfanos and the Taxiarches (Archangels). Art production
continued over the subsequent turbulent decades, though on various scales: the Church of Christ
the Saviour, built after 1340, is the smallest church in the city, while that dedicated to the Prophet
Elijah, built after 1360, is one of the largest. Several vacant plots within the city walls were turned
into vegetable gardens or cemeteries. During the conflict between Andronicus II and his grandson
Andronicus III, the Serbs and Ottomans became involved in the internal affairs of the empire as
allies for one or other party vying for the throne, drawing ever closer to Thessaloniki and its
surroundings. From 1342 until 1349 the city was tormented by discord between the Zealots and
the Hesychasts. In 1387, following a four-year siege, the city was surrendered to the Ottomans. In
1403 it returned to Byzantine rule under Manuel II. In 1412 and 1416 it was besieged by Musa,
one of the aspiring successors of Sultan Bayezid. Fearing a new conquest by the Ottomans, in
1423 Andronicus Palaeologus handed the city over to the Venetians, on conditions that were
never honoured. Thessaloniki finally fell to the Ottomans in 1430.
Leo VI : Byzantine Emperor from 886 to 912. Leo was also known as the Wise or the Philosopher
on account of being highly cultivated. He distinguished himself as an accomplished writer and
enthusiastic orator, writing poems, speeches and a military textbook, the Taktika. As emperor he
attempted to restore order to internal political life in the empire. His foreign policy might be
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regarded as a failure, since during his reign Byzantium lost many provinces, while large cities such
as Thessaloniki and the capital were besieged and plundered. He married four times in order to
produce a male heir, thus incurring the disapproval of the church; in order to obtain permission for
his fourth marriage he appointed Euthumios to the patriarchy in place of Nicholas Mystikos, who
was against him. Amid stormy protests he eventually married Zoë Karvounopsena, who gave birth
to the future emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus.
Bibliography (7)
1. Velmans T., La peinture murale a la fin du Moyen Age, 1977
2. ‘ Η κοινωνική ζωή στο Βυζάντιο’ in Ψηφίδες του Βυζαντίου
3. Χαρκιολάκης, Βυζαντινά λουτρά στην Ελλάδα, Μάιος 2001
4. Yegul, F., Baths and Bathing in Classical Antiquity, New York, 1992
5. Μουτζάλη, Α., Η φροντίδα για την καθαριότητα του σώματος και τα βυζαντινά λουτρά, 1989
6. Κουκουλές Φ., Βυζαντινών Βίος και Πολιτισμός, Παπαζήση, Athens, 1954
7. Berger, A., Μοναστηριακά και ιερά λουτρά, Μάιος 2001
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