Though we have denominated the thermee of the Romans, tram baths, it appears from many passages in Seneca and Martial, that their temperature was so high as to entitle them to the appellation of hot baths, (Mart. Epig. lib. iii. 25.) The use of very hot baths had become excessive during the reigns of Adrian and Severus ; but about the time of Galen they had fal len into disrepute.
Bathing appears to have been an established cus tom, as an article both of diet and luxury, among the Asiatics at a very early period ; but it became uni versa] 'among the followers of Mahomet, after the pro mulgation of the Koran. The precepts on this head; like many others of the Arabian prophet, appear to have been borrowed from the law of Moses, and they were readily adopted from their congeniality with the manners and customs of his disciples. The Maho metans consider bathing as a necessary of life ; and, Besides the numerous public baths in their cities, and even villages, almost every family of dis tinction has bathing apartments within their own dwel lings, for their private accommodation: These consist of two small chambers communicating with each other, and usually joined to the house by a small room in which the bathers undress. The passage between the two chambers is secured by double doors lined with felt, inclosing between them a space where the bathers may stop, before they enter either chamber from the other. The chambers are heated by a fur nace. below the innermost apartment ; and over this furnace is placed a cauldron that is immediately un der the marble floor of the apartment, and from which proceed several pipes through the walls of the cham ber, some for conveying the heated water to the bath, and others communicating with the cupola that forms the roof of the apartment. Thus the room is heat ed on all sides ; and the heat produced is so great, that the bathers are obliged to employ high wooden sandals to preserve their feet from the burning floor.
Notwithstanding this great heat, and the profuse perspiration which it occasions, the women are tomed to pass several hours in these private baths.
The public baths are on a similar construction, though on a larger scale, and the outer apartment is generally open at the top. In this the bathers un dress, gird a napkin round their loins, and put on a
.pair of sandals ; • they then enter a narrow passage, heated to a moderate degree, and extending for about twenty paces between the outer apartment and the bath. This is a spacious vaulted apartment, with a small hall next the passage, having four closets round the centre. The floor is spread with mats or cloths, on which the bathers repose, with their heads sup ported by small cushions ; and in this position they are subjected to the heated vapour, which rises on all sides of the bath. When this begins to excite per spiration, an attendant gently presses, and, as it were, kneads every part of the body with the knuckles, turning over the body, and making all the joints crack. After this operation, the skin is rubbed all over with a piece of coarse stuff, and the bather is then conduct ed into a closet, and is washed or laved with perfumed lather, which finishes the bathing. After bathing, it is customary to rub over certain parts of the body a particular paste ointment, which acts as a depila tory, for depriving those parts of hair. Savary's Travels, vol. i. p. 146.
The Arabians or Moors, who conquered Spain and other parts of Europe, carried with them their pre dilection for warm bathing ; and the Moorish anti quities still existing in those countries, exhibit some excellent models of artificial baths. In particular, the palace of Alhambra in Granada, contains a magnifi cent bason, which might be used either for cold cr warm bathing, besides smaller apartments for odoritic fumigations. See ALHAm URA.
Few of the nations of mddern Eiirope have prac tised warm bathing to any considerable extent, though r among all of them the cold bath has been generally 3 employed as afavourite and healthy exercise. In the west and north of Europe, warm bathing was scarce ly practised prior to the 17th century, and the cus tom is only gradually advancing in France and Eng land. Within the last thirty years, artificial baths, both for cold and warm bathing, have been construct ed in various parts of this island. In no part of Eu rope, however, are warm and hot bathing so general as in Russia and Hungary. In Russia especially, all ranks employ the luxury of what is called the sweat ing bath, which nearly resembles the hot baths of the East.