History Of The Bath
Since the beginning of time, the art of bathing in water has been
essential to one's good health and peace of mind. As early as the third
century, bathing emporiums quickly became the fashion. The Greeks and
Romans were the leaders in erecting many elaborate, expensive bathhouses
in which they could conduct business, gossip with friends, eat, drink,
or arrange sexual liaisons. Some public baths were so grand that they
could easily contain lecture halls, art galleries, meditation rooms, and
prayer stalls. As well there were always numerous separate enclosures
for "private" business.
The larger bathhouses combined healing practices with entertainment,
social festivities, and physical fitness. It was not uncommon for
wounded or weary soldiers to find comfort after a battle before
returning to society. Some of the finest healers worked in the baths and
could tend their wounds.
The majority of the bathhouses were very spectacular and ornate,
accommodating as many as 6,000 bathers at one time. The elite would
bring their servants to run errands, feed or massage them.
Although the Greeks and Romans discovered the perks of bathing around
the same time, each had their own unique approach. The Romans bathed to
keep themselves healthy while the Greeks believed only women should
immerse their whole body in water.
The Greeks viewed bathing as something one simply did to cleanse
one's self before conducting business, after a day's work, or before
taking part in philosophical discussions, or battle.
Nevertheless, the Greeks built numerous rich, beautifully designed
bathhouses for both sexes but the baths were not quite as splendid as
those built by the Romans.
The Roman, Greek, and Egyptian baths were known as temples of beauty,
much like those from Atlantean times, and many therapies were developed
to either heal or beautify those who entered through their doors. The
Romans were believed to be the first who used different coloured
plasters for specific ailments.
As many as seven healers at one time would take a client into a bath
with each healer taking responsibility for a specific area of the body.
Each had a field of expertise such as knowledge of herbs, oils, gems, or
colours and their services were more sought after than local physicians
were.
Not only Europeans, but also many other cultures had a passion for
the many pleasures bathhouses offered them. The Turks developed very hot
baths, which to this day are still known as Turkish Baths, or steam baths.
Their bathhouses were very artistic and expensive with rich hand-woven
carpets, tapestries and ornate columns, and gold, silver, or brass
fixtures.
Bathhouses became so popular in Rome that not long after the third
century the government learned to transport water by means of aqueducts.
The initial reward was all of Rome was supplied with abundant water for
their needs. The aqueducts became so successful that soon they were
being built all over Europe. To this day remnants of these majestic
aqueducts are still visible by the roadsides of Europe, especially Italy
and Spain.
The success of the bathhouses was short lived as many plagues,
epidemics and diseases were quickly spread by water throughout the
population of Europe and England. The early viaducts were made of lead
and it was discovered that this was the source of the poisoning or
toxicity. As well as disease, many people suffered from a form of
poisoning while others became impotent or sterile. The baths soon became
suspect and attendance dropped once the connection was made between the
bathhouses and the spread of disease. It was not long before they were
very quickly ordered closed.
For centuries, Japan
has been another culture known for its bathing customs and obsession
about cleanliness. Spiritual pursuits of purity, hygiene and ritual
purification were an important part of Japanese culture and bathing was
done communally without regard for division of the sexes. However, as
class distinctions became more pronounced, there was as much sexual
activity taking place in the public baths as there had been in the
Roman. Very quickly a law was passed segregating the sexes. Separate
entrances and separate pools were created for the different classes,
although sexes were not entirely kept apart. Where there is a will,
there is a way. To this day bathing is still a major Japanese indulgence
and passion.
The Moslems also erected bathhouses where one could meditate, pray to
the Creator, or think. It was the custom to cleanse at a public bath
before going to the mosque to worship and many mosques were therefore
conveniently erected in the same streets as the bathhouses.
In the late 16th century, and for the next two centuries, bathing
lost its popularity. Churches became increasingly more outspoken about
the sins and self-indulgence of those who spent more of their time in
the various bathhouses rather than in church, working, or looking after
their families. The Ministers were particularly disturbed that so many
illegitimate children were created from dubious encounters outside of
marriage.
As time passed by, various citizens began to protest against the sins
of the bathers. The new Christian trend was to become grubby because
cleanliness was considered to be too sensuous and sexual. Dirt was a
symbol of one's spiritual purity and indicated that the focus was
outside one's self, rather than on personal hygiene. Refusing to bathe
was proof one was beyond such things and thus not egotistical or self
absorbed.
It was also believed that dirt was a protection from germs due to the
numerous plagues that had previously killed a large population of
England and Europe. Rather than being put off by the smell, body odour
was thought to be magnetic and a turn on. Powders, perfumes, wigs,
cosmetics, and layers of clothes hid the grime and body scent. If
overwhelmed by a particularly potent smell, a bit of snuff to clear
one's nostrils was all that was needed.
Provisions for bathing were scant because there was not enough simple
plumbing to make household consumption available. When the plagues hit
England in the early 1800's, so many people became ill or died that, an
immediate investigation was made as to how to connect the average home
with water. It was found that water was not the cause of the problem but
part of the cure. England spent a lot of time and money researching
this and soon became a leader in bathroom technology.
Once water became plentiful, new water healing modalities, which used
water, were created to prevent or cure many diseases such as typhoid
and fever. Going to the baths became fashionable again, with Epsom,
mineral and sulphur baths being especially popular. Spas were the rage
all over Europe and became so important that hydrotherapy and thermal
healing were taught in medical schools. Sessions at spas are still
prescribed by the Government of numerous European countries and clients
are sent to spas that specialise in treatments for their particular
ailments.
World wide, people have adopted the same general attitudes towards
water, using it to clean, to socialise and to heal. Spas, saunas,
Jacuzzis, birthing pools, hot springs baths, and mineral or sulphur
baths are once again increasing in popularity.
Extracts from: Water Changes Everything by Lynne Jenkins
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