Victoria Harman > Roman Baths > Social Hierarchy
There are two issues about the Roman Baths that really intrigue me. Both have to do with interpretations of social hierarchy in the Roman Empire.
1) At the baths, slaves did much of the work. These slaves were either hired at the baths, if the patrons had money to do so or were brought by their masters. The slaves looked after their masters personal items as well as performed all the treatments we see in modern spas today, such as dipilatory and massage. They also used the Roman tool, the "strigil" (in the Tepidarium, to loosen dirt and essentially "scrub" their masters in place of using soap to do so. It seems that the slaves really kept order in the baths. Without them, togas would get stolen and people would have to leave the baths nude. Also, all of the tasks that needed to be performed to make the experience more health-concerned could not be performed by anyone else. So, while they were at the bottom of the hierarchy, slaves were still essential to the functioning of the baths and of society.
2) The baths were not just for a particular class of people. All sorts of people went to the baths: the infants, elderly, ill, freemen, slaves, men, women, and even emperors. This doesn't even include those providing entertainment: food vendors, bartenders, poets, musicians, and merchants. I find it amazing that there would be this central meeting place in which one could find people of all walks of life. The only way that any of them distinguished themselves was by the social rule that the more slaves one brought with them to the baths, the higher their status (which yet again shows the key role of the slave). Other than that, everyone was nude and took a bath in the same open spaces.
Fig. 1 A Roman lady and her slaves
Image courtesy of: http://pandora20040.tripod.com/2.jpg
Now, given this last point, it would seem that the Roman Empire was a much more egalitarian society than today. Certainly now our society is much more modest in the ideology of having men and women bath naked in the same public spaces; however, let's take a moment to think about if this is just an aspect of modern times or specifically of American culture. For example, in some European beaches it is common for men and women to bathe side by side in the nude. When Americans visit these spots, they look on them as humorous, exotic, and bohemian. But, it seems that whether it be in beaches or cinema, other cultures view themselves as more sexually liberated than America.
Birley notes, "Officially, mixed bathing was frowned on, but the fact that edicts had to be issued and re-issued forbidding it indicates that in some parts of the empire it was socially acceptable. But few public baths had separate establishments for men and women, and, when the edicts were being observed, men and women had to bathe at different times of day--very much as in the modern Turkish bath establishment..." (p. 71)
So, it seems that Roman citizens preferred mixed company, even at the risk of re-issued edicts.
The discrepancy of wealth amongst the Roman patrons of baths is a different story altogether. Today, fitness clubs and spas are something usually reserved for the elite. There are some fitness clubs such as Bally's Total Fitness that are known from time to time to have special sale prices for group aerobics classes, but other than that most clubs require a pricey membership fee. These are generally paid on a monthly or yearly basis and not on how much the membership is actually used. Also, spa treatments are added fee. These treatments are usually extremely lavish and expensive. For example, many spas advertise their treatments as STARTING at a particular rate, like "facials starting at $60". It seems that $60 is quite enough for a facial treatment and I doubt many people would think they could afford having a facial very often, if ever. I cannot remember ever seeing a massage for less than $10/hour, which is more than the going rate for many other services (laundry, housekeeping, babysitting, etc).
So, it seems to me that if spa and fitness treatments truly promote good health, then those that cannot afford them are at a severe disadvantage. It seems that the only cheaper solution that has been made is the do-it-yourself technique. Hence, rather than going to a manicurist, most women do their own nails at home with nail polish from the drug store or rather than going to a fancy spa, women buy mud masks or bath salts to use at home. Women even buy all sorts of dipilatory products to use at home. Even so, these items are seen as luxury items and come after the focus on eating healthy and doing exercises. Men rarely go to spas and almost never buy these do-it-yourself items for themselves. It seems that "pampering one's self" is seen as unacceptable for men in today's society and luxurious for women. Since when did taking care of your body and staying healthy become a luxury? It's not like the Roman work day wasn't rigourous so I'm not sure we can blame it solely on the busy work day. With time comes new inventions, new technology, and new stressors. It is my theory that these new stressors are what cause people to put other concerns over looking after themselves and their bodies. After all, in Roman times there was not the stress of nuclear war, the AIDS epidemic, or global warming. Ignorance was bliss and the chief concerns of the Romans was to stay in power and fight off revolts, all from neighboring powers with similar weapons and war tactics. The baths kept them unified as a people, the people of the Roman Empire, from the tiniest girl baby to the eldest and sickest old man. Their culture was one that always had time in the day to enjoy the pleasures of life and to promote good health.
Sources: Nova Online, Equinox, Sarah the Magnificent's project
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