Baths of Diocletian

For the Romans, bathing was a social event. Public bathing had come to occupy a central place in the daily routine of the Romans. The use of the Roman baths appears to have been primarily as centers for relaxation and pleasure. The Romans also believed that bathing was good for health and they served the hygienic needs that privatly almost nobody could afford

The wealth of private life was for the eyes of a few; public baths brought this bounty to the masses. The luxurious and pleasurable world of baths afforded the greater urban populations a welcome opportunity to escape their overcrowded and cramped living conditions and the dusty streets for a few hours a day.

The public baths was one of the greatest gifts an emporer could give to society. The baths symbolized at the very least the benevolence of his rule, the permanence and power of the state.

Social and class differences in Roman society were deeply ingrained and freely displayed. Public baths were special institutions that served the democratic ideal of perhaps not levelling the classes, but mixing them

Although there is a considerable evidence for social segregation in many institutions of public entertainment, such as the theatre, the amphitheatre, the stadium, and the circus, where seats or blocks of seats were formally and rigidly reserved for certain classes or groups, the same groups appear to have mixed in the public baths without restriction.