Ancient bathing culture, Greece (5th-6th Century)*

Artist/Designer: Designer Unknown

Project Location: Greece

Figure 1: Greek athletes in the public baths. The inscription ΔΗΜΟΣΙΑ (PUBLIC) is very obvious in the middle of the bathing vessel. Image from a lost vase, Tischbein, 1791, vol. 1, pl. 58 ( Source | Accessed : June 10, 2020 | Photographer: Unknown )

Figure 2: Three bathing women and two servants holding oils and perfume. Image from a lost krater, Tischbein, 1791, vol. 4, pl. 30 ( Source | Accessed : June 10, 2020 | Photographer: Unknown )

Figure 3: Women taking a shower, Vase image form Bilder antiken lebens, Hrsg. von Theodor Panofka, 18, 9 ( Source | Accessed : June 10, 2020 | Photographer: Unknown )

Figure 4: Clay Bath Vessels of Thesprotians,
400 BC -200 BC
Archaeological Museum of Igoumenitsa, Greece. ( Source | Accessed : June 10, 2020 | Photographer: Unknown )

Figure 5: Bathtub from the Nestor Palace in Pylos, 1300 BC ( Source | Accessed : June 10, 2020 | Photographer: Wiki Commons & Alun Salt )

Style/Period(s):
No Style/Period Assigned.

Primary Material(s):
Ceramic

Function(s):
Health Facility

Related Website(s):

AJA Online Greek Baths Article | Accessed : November 30, 2020

Wikipedia Article | Accessed : November 30, 2020

Greek Medicine.net Article | Accessed : November 30, 2020

TMI Aquatics Post | Accessed : November 30, 2020

Significant Date(s):
B.C.E, 5th Century, 6th Century

Additional Information:
Bathing images that are mainly represented on vases from sixth to fifth-century B.C.E. These images show either nude young women or nude young men washing their entire bodies at high pedestal basins (louteria). Genders are strictly separated in these scenes, but bathing is still performed predominantly collectively, in groups of 2–5 persons.

Publication/text in print:

Anne Hrychuk Kontokosta. "Building the Thermae Agrippae: Private Life, Public Space, and the Politics of Bathing in Early Imperial Rome." American Journal of Archaeology 123, no. 1 (2019): 45-77.

"Bathing and Hygiene." In To Live Like a Moor: Christian Perceptions of Muslim Identity in Medieval and Early Modern Spain, edited by Vose Robin, by Constable Olivia Remie and Nirenberg David, 63-103. PHILADELPHIA: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2018.

Cook, J. M. "Bath-Tubs in Ancient Greece." Greece & Rome 6, no. 1 (1959): 31-41.

Lucore, Sandra K., and Trümper Monika. Greek Baths and Bathing Culture New Discoveries and Approaches. Leuven: Peeters, 2013.

McDavid, Allyson. "The Roman Bath in New York: Public Bathing, the Pursuit of Pleasure, and Monumental Delight." In Classical New York: Discovering Greece and Rome in Gotham, edited by Macaulay-Lewis Elizabeth and McGowan Matthew M., 182-210. NEW YORK: Fordham University Press, 2018.

Walsh, Casey. "Bathing and Domination in the Early Modern Atlantic World." In Virtuous Waters: Mineral Springs, Bathing, and Infrastructure in Mexico, 15-33. Oakland, California: University of California Press, 2018.

Greek baths and bathing culture- new discoveries and approaches by Sandra K Lucore; Monika Trümper

Building Address: Greece

Significant Dates: 5th - 6th Century

Tags: Bath culture, Vases, Ancient Greece, Bathtubs, Agamemnon (King), Bathing culture, Ancient, 5th Century, 6th Century, BCE. Ceramic, Bathing, aqueous, hygiene, hygienic, health,

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