Roman Baths in 1C Asia Minor

In the first century BCE, the Romans began constructing public baths in Rome and throughout the Italian peninsula. These spread quickly and became a symbol of Roman culture. By the second century CE, Roman bath complexes were present throughout Mediterranean towns from Britain to Arabia. To consider the expansion of Roman baths during this 200-year period, this post identifies the Roman baths known in Asia Minor (modern Turkey) from the first century CE. For each bath that can be dated to the first century CE, we offer a brief description, evidence for its date, and the main publication(s).

1. Assos, Troas (before 2 BCE)

In the 1880s, American excavators at Assos found a series of bathing rooms in front of the south stoa below the main Hellenistic agora. A broken inscription near the door records: “Lollia Antiochis, the wife of Quintus Lollius Philetairos, cultic queen according to ancestral customs, and first among women, dedicated the bath and its annexes to Aphrodite Iulia and the people.” The inscription honors Augustus’ imperial family as descendants of the divine Aphrodite, implying the bath complex was part of the imperial cult. Julia the Elder, the daughter of Augustus and wife of Agrippa, was disgraced and exiled in 2 BCE, so any public dedication honoring her must predate that event. Augustus consolidated power by 15 BCE, so the bath dates to around 10 BCE. In that case, the medium-sized Roman bath in Assos would be the oldest one in Anatolia. Source: R. Merkelbach, Die Inschriften von Assos (Inschriften griechischer Städte aus Kleinasien 4) (Bonn, 1976), 36–41; see also the MFA museum webpage.

2. Kyme, Aeolis (before 14 CE)

 An honorary inscription (IGR 4.1302= I.Kyme 19= SEG 27.791, here) from the town of Kyme (30 km north of Izmir, here) mentioned that the honorand named Lucius Vaccius Labeo built a bath (balaneion) in the gymnasium for the youth of the city. The inscription dates after 2 BCE (because it refers to Augustus as theos) and before 14 CE (because it mentions the priest Polemon II, who was high priest until Tiberius). Thus, the bath complex dates to the Augustan period. Its physical remains have not been discovered, but the inscription confirms its existence in the early first century CE.

3. Sagalassos, Pisidia (10–30 CE)

Below the Imperial Baths dated to Hadrian’s reign (117–34 CE), archaeologists discovered the Old Baths in 2010. The complex measures 32.5 by 50 meters, with walls 12 meters tall. Based on coins and ceramics, the Old Bath dates to 10–30 CE. A century later, it was incorporated into the much larger Imperial Baths. Given this date, the baths at Sagalassos, a city far from the coast and other leading cities, represent an early surviving Roman bath complex in Asia. Source: For a 2010 press release, see here; the Old Bath was first documented in the excavation reports from the 2008/9 (2011: 268) and 2010 (2011:241) seasons, edited by Waelkens. To my knowledge, the Old Bath has not yet been fully published.

4. Pergamon, Aeolis (early 1C)

The West Baths of Pergamon, located on the west end of the upper gymnasium, are generally dated to the late 1C BCE–early 1C CE, so they are also called the Augustan Baths. This date is based on the archaeological stratigraphy and general style compared to other Augustan baths. The complex directly overlays the Hellenistic gymnasium, suggesting it was built shortly after the older structures. Sources: The original information is in German archaeology reports from the early 1900s; for more recent information, see Monika Trümper, “Modernization and Change of Function of Hellenistic Gymnasia in Roman Imperial Times,” in Das kaiserzeitliche Gymnasion (deGruyter, 2015): 167–221, esp. 190–91.

5. Miletus, Caria (41–54 CE)

Southeast of the Lion Harbor, behind the Delphinion, lies the Baths of Capito. From the main street and through the Ionic stoa, visitors first entered a courtyard (palaestra) with a pool (natation), measuring 40 x 38 meters. Behind the courtyard were the heated rooms in a symmetrical layout. The changing room, warm room, and hot room lay on the main axis with ancillary rooms off the side. Reservoirs with stored water fed the rooms through pipes, at least until an aqueduct was built in 79/80 CE. A dedicatory inscription on the stoa’s entablature states the baths were commissioned by Cnaeus Vergilus Capito, the Roman prefect of Asia under Emperor Claudius (41–54). This fixes the date to the mid-first century CE.

Another Roman bath complex stands on Humeitepe (the hill east of Lion’s Harbor). Based on the architectural style, archaeologists offer a tentative date of 80–140 CE. The complex was probably constructed after the new aqueduct and city water system in 80 CE, yet before the Baths of Faustina, conventionally dated to her visit in 164 CE. Thus, there is a small chance the baths at Humeitepe date to the first century. Source: Ed. Philipp Niewohner, Miletus/Balat: A Guidebook (2016): 66–71.

6. Patara, Lycia (64 CE)

On the northeast corner of the state agora was an early bath complex. Rather than the typical symmetrical layout, these baths have two (perhaps three) adjacent rooms. The date of the bath comes from an inscription engraved on the lintel of the door between the cold room and the warm room. The first four and a half lines of the inscription were scratched out after Nero’s name was condemned and removed, and the name Vespasian (r. 69–71) was recarved into the inscription. Fortunately, the original text remains legible. The text reads: “Nero Claudius … constructed the bathhouse from the foundations together with the additional ornaments in it and the pools through his legate, who completed and consecrated the works with the allots funds from the Lycian confederacy and city of Patara.” This occurred during Nero’s 11th tribunical power, which was from December 10, 63 CE to December 9, 64 CE. This provides firm evidence for the bath’s construction in 64 CE. Then, Vespasian built another bath in Patara in the 70s. Source: Mustafa Koçak, “The Nero Bath in Patara,” in Patara: City, Harbor, Cult (2019), 234–49; see also pataraexcavations.org.

7. Olympus, Lycia (60s CE)

The “Great Baths” located south of the river featured an inscription. It states the local magistrate, T. Aurelius Quietus, oversaw the reconstruction of the bath complex, possibly financed by Vespasian. Because this was a reconstruction project, the original complex would predate the Flavians. Source: B. İplikçioğlu, ‘Zwei Statthalter vespasianischer Zeit und die “Große” Therme in Inschriften von Olympos (Lykien)’ Anzeiger der philosophisch-historischen Klasse der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften 141 (2006): 75–81.

8. Oinoanda, Lycia (73 CE)

An inscription found in 2011 under the previously identified bath complex dedicates the building to Vespasian and his sons, Titus and Domitian. The inscription itself does not name the building restored unto their honor, but its location suggests it was the bath complex in which it was found. Based on the title, the inscription was made in 73 CE. Source: N.P. Milner, “Building Roman Lycia: New Inscriptions and Monuments from the Baths and Peristyle Buildings Ml 1 and Ml 2 at Oinoanda,” Anatolian Studies 66 (2016): 91–124.

9. Colossae, Phrygia (late 1C?)

In the 1990s, farmers plowing near ancient Colossae found a cylindrical funerary altar (bomos) referring to a bath in Colossae. The opening lines of its inscription read: “For good fortune for Korumbos the patriot . . . for the repair of the baths . . . and for the water channel . . . of the Kolossian people . . . on the bomos from their own resources, 1050 denarii.” No bath complex has been found in Colossae, so this funerary inscription is our only evidence for reconstructing the date of the baths. Based on the shape of the letters, which is admittedly inexact, “the style of the inscription suggests a date of the late first to early second century” (Cadwallader, 164). However, the baths were constructed before this date, because the inscription was composed at Korumbos’ death, but he repaired the baths during his lifetime. Moreover, the fact that he repaired the baths implies they were already built. Thus, the baths at Colossae probably date to the late first century. Though it is conjectural, the repairs might have occurred after the earthquake that devastated nearby Laodicea in 61 CE, meaning Colossae had a bath in the mid-first century. Source: Cadwallader, “Honouring the Repairer of the Baths: A New Inscription from Kolossai,” Antichthon 46 (2012): 150-183.

10. Ephesus, Ionia (90s)

Harbor Baths: Near the harbor north of Arcadiane Street, a massive bath complex was excavated in the late 1800s. (However, it is overgrown and not visitable.) The Harbor Baths contained a Greek gymnasium, a square peristyle courtyard 90 meters on each side. A space off the gymnasium, often called the “Marble Room” or “Imperial Hall,” contains numerous marble statues and an inscription dedicating the space to Domitian. Based on this, archaeologists conclude that construction of the baths at least began in the late first century CE, making it the earliest known baths in Ephesus.

Varius Baths: On the northern side of Curetes Street are the remains of the Varius Baths. Today, visitors can enter only the large changing room and entrance hall, as the heated rooms are blocked off. Only the ground floor of the three-story structure remains. The dedicatory inscription says Publius Quintilius Valens Varius dedicated the baths to a Roman emperor whose name has not survived. The coins and ceramics date the baths to Trajan’s reign (98–117 CE) or that of Domitian (81–96), so the bath is generally dated to “around 100 CE.” A Christian benefactor named Scholastica reconstructed the Varius Baths in the fourth century. Source: Ed. Peter Scherrer, Ephesus: The New Guide (2000): 120–1, 174–76.

Other Possible First-Century Baths

Baths in other towns might also date to the first century. These are usually dated based on the masonry technique, which is not precise, but still worth a mention.

• Hierapolis, Phrygia – the bath that now functions as the museum, around 100 CE.

• Pisidian Antioch, Phrygia – at the northwest corner of the site, around 100 CE.

• Priene, Ionia – baths at the upper gymnasium, perhaps late first century CE.

• Sardis, Caria – the caldarium of the bath complex dates to the first century, but the rest is second century.

• Elaiussa Sebaste, Cilicia – a bath complex on the peninsula built under the Cappadocian king Archelaus (r. 36 BCE–17 CE) to honor Augustus.

Conclusions

The spread of Roman baths into Asia Minor during the first century CE reflects rapid cultural change. Archaeological and inscriptional evidence indicates Roman-style baths were present in Anatolian cities by the Augustan period. These might not have been as large as the monumental second-century CE complexes, but they were public baths in the Roman style.

The presence of baths in diverse cities—coastal and inland, prominent and provincial—shows the adoption of Roman bath architecture was not confined to major metropolises. The pattern suggests baths were even more abundant than the evidence shows. If Kyme and Sagalassos had baths in the early first century, and multiple Lycian cities had baths by 70 CE, larger cities like Ephesus and Smyrna probably had baths by the early or mid-first century as well. The problem is that many baths were renovated and expanded in the second century—restorations that removed evidence of earlier baths.

The spread of Roman baths in first-century Anatolia raises an intriguing question for New Testament studies: If early Christianity spread through the urban centers of Anatolia at the same time, why does the New Testament contain no mention of baths or bathing practices?