Gymnasium and Bath

Abstract

In the Greco-Roman Mediterranean, gymnasiums and baths served complex social functions. More than simply places to cleanse the body or engage in exercise, these became venues for public spectacle, a purpose suggested by the design features and artistic decoration that went into the construction of these spaces. By the first and second centuries ce, in the Roman world spaces dedicated to exercise were fully integrated into multipurpose bathing venues. In their developed forms, the gymnasia and the baths were both places to view and display the body and to sustain ideological discourse focusing on youthful and dynamic physicality.