School dictionary of Greek and Roman antiquities . f that age, which contained noappliances for luxury beyond the mere con-venience of hot and cold baths, whereas the BALNEUM. latter name was given to those magnificentedifices which grew up under the empire,and which comprised within their range ofbuildings all the appurtenances belongingto the Greek gymnasia, as well as a regularestablishment appropriated for bathing. Bathing was a practice familiar to theGreeks of both sexes from the earliesttimes. The artificial warm bath was takenin a vessel called asaminthus {aiToifjLivdos) byHomer, and p
School dictionary of Greek and Roman antiquities . f that age, which contained noappliances for luxury beyond the mere con-venience of hot and cold baths, whereas the BALNEUM. latter name was given to those magnificentedifices which grew up under the empire,and which comprised within their range ofbuildings all the appurtenances belongingto the Greek gymnasia, as well as a regularestablishment appropriated for bathing. Bathing was a practice familiar to theGreeks of both sexes from the earliesttimes. The artificial warm bath was takenin a vessel called asaminthus {aiToifjLivdos) byHomer, and puelus (Trvekos) by the laterGreeks. It did not contain water itself,but was only used for the bather to sit in,while the warm water was poured over Greek vases, however, we never findanything corresponding to a modern bathin which persons can stand or sit; but thereis always a round or oval basin (XovTrjp orXovri)piov), resting on a stand, by the sideof which those who are bathing are stand-ing undressed and washing themselves. BALNEUM. 53. GREEK BATH. In the Homeric times it was customaryto take first a cold and afterwards a warmbath ; but in later times it was the usualpractice of the Greeks to take fiirst a warmor vapour, and afterwards a cold bath. AtAthens the frequent use of the public baths,most of which were warm baths (^aKauela,called by Homer ^epfia Aoerpo), was re-garded in the time of Socrates and De-mosthenes as a mark of luxury and efTemi-nacy. Accordingly, Phocion was said to have never bathed in a public bath, andSocrates to have used it very seldom. After bathing both sexes anointed them-selves, in order that the skin might not beleft liarsh and rough, especially after warmwater. Oil (eAotoj) is the only ointmentmentioned by Homer, but in later timesprecious unguents (fivpa) were used for thispurpose. The bath was usually taken be-fore the principal meal of the day (SetTrvoj/). The Lacedaemonians, who consideredwarm water as enervating, used two kindsof
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