Public bathing in Mesogeia

Public bathing in Mesogeia has long been associated with Mesogeia with communal bathing at the thermal being a hallmark of Mesogeian culture. Having originated in the classical period, public bathing in Mesogeia has survived centuries with it still being practiced daily by all spectrums of Mesogeian society.

Public baths in Mesogeia are unique in that they serve a similar function that community centers and the YMCA serve in the west. In their role as a community center public bathhouses in addition to bathing facilities they often contain amenities such as libraries, lecture halls, gardens, art galleries, gymnasia (training facility), palaestra (wrestling schools), restaurants, meeting places, cafes, with some thermae containing bordellos, places where debauched sexual activities are said to take place.

Layout and architectural features

With there being well over 1,500 registered thermae in Mesogeia there are many variations to the long established model that is the Mesogeian bathhouse. While thermae vary in their size, decoration, and so forth almost all of them contain basic rooms essential to all Mesogeian bathhouses, this being: the Apodyterium (changing room), the Tepidarium (warm room), the Caldarium (a hot steam room), the Frigidarium (cold room), and the Laconicum (a resting room, presently used for massages), and often a open air swimming pool (known as natatio.