The first evidence of its existence was placed in Archaic period around late 8th c. B.C., its acme in Roman era and it lasted up to the 6th century A.D. The excavations brought to light a building complex of ten main and three auxiliary rooms. In Roman times bathing was an integral part of urban life, as it combined body care with spiritual growth, recreation and social gatherings. Water, as it was the basic element for its operation, was initially supplied either by wells or reservoirs or later by aqueducts.
The bath process was sacred and had a certain ritual. The first room that the bathers entered was the “apodyterium”. The floor of this room had a multicolored mosaic with the embodiment of Vythos or Ocean, a mythical figure connected to the liquid element. The “tepidarium” was the next step. The tepid bath was a preparing, intermediate bathing stage for the body, before it entering the hot water. The “caldaria” rooms were last. The walls and floors of these spaces were heated by hypocausts. After experiencing the hot bath the bathers were able to either continue to the hall of “frigidarium” – cold bath or to return to “tepidarium”.
