area only slightly smaller than a football field. The basilica
was primarily a market space for private businesses, but it
often included a dais called a “tribunal,” where courts of
law held session. The curia was a hall where senators had
their meetings. Senators tended to be from the social elite,
mostly aristocrats. During the Roman Republic (509–27
b.c.e.) they were the primary governing body of the city
and its empire. In cities other than Rome the curia housed
meetings of officials who functioned much like senators
for these localities.
FOUNTAINS AND PUBLIC BATHS
To the Romans no city was truly a city without enough
water to meet the basic needs of its population. First and
foremost t his mea nt water to supply public founta ins, f rom
which anyone could gather it for free. Fountains became
standard parts of a Roman city, and in Rome itself they
were everywhere. Next there had to be enough water for
people to bathe daily in the public baths. Public baths were
built in every Roman city and were considered to be part
of what made a city livable. Even small cities had several
such baths. (Although it was not the norm, some private
homes also had baths. When an earthquake hit Pompeii in
62 c.e., its public baths were too damaged to be used; one
of the city’s many enterprising businesswomen, Julia Felix,
found a way to profit by charging people to use her private
bath.) Some city governments also charged for use of the
public baths, but the fee was usually small; a city could
expect unrest, even violence, if people did not have access
to bathing facilities.
Public baths were called thermae, from the Greek word
for “heat,” because some of the pools in them were heated.
Typically a Roman bather disrobed in a room provided for
the purpose and then dived into a large pool of cold water
and swam its length. Next he or she bathed in one or more
heated pools smaller than the cold pool; in large baths there
were several of these pools, varying from tepid to very hot.
Furnaces outside the building heated water that ran through
pipes under the bottoms of the pools, warming them in turn.
From the warm pool the bather went to a steam room and,
aft er working up a good sweat, oft en returned to the cold pool
for a fi nal swim.
Th e baths were not merely for bathing; they were social
centers. Big thermae had several large rooms set apart from
the pools, and here Romans conducted business, met with
friends, or simply rested. Th e Roman business day usually
ended at about 4 p.m., and the bathhouses quickly fi lled with
people who had fi nished work. People of all ages and both
genders mixed freely, unclothed or nearly so (though it was
customary to set aside certain times when only women were
allowed in the baths, perhaps so they could comfortably relax
without sexual pressures from men). Th ermae were supposed
to be open all hours of the day, and having the furnaces go out
at any time was considered a major inconvenience and even
cause for government inquiry.
If a city’s water supply exceeded what was needed for the
fountains and public baths, some of it might be piped into
private homes. Th e pipes were usually of lead. Water was fi rst
piped into private homes in Rome about 146 b.c.e. For the
most part, however, only wealthy or at least middle-class peo-
ple could aff ord this amenity, not only because the plumb-
ing was expensive but also because cities usually charged for
water used in this way. Another limiting factor was the water
pressure. Although it was suffi cient to feed low-lying foun-
tains, the water pressure in Rome and other cities was never
great enough to raise piped water above the ground fl oor of a
home or other building.THEATERS AND AMPHITHEATERS
Romans expected a true city to provide entertainment, in-
cluding theatrical off erings of singing, dancing, and plays.
Beginning in the 400s b.c.e. Roman theaters were made of
wood and were temporar y, taken down aft er the performance
In the 200s Romans began building stone theaters in their
cities, and whenever a new city was planned, a spot for the
theater was included. Almost every Roman city had a theater
with seats arranged in a semicircle facing a broad stage, al-
though Rome itself did not have a permanent theater until 55
b.c.e. At its height Pompeii had only 12,000 residents, includ-
ing slaves, but its theater could hold 5,000 people.
On the other hand, an amphitheater was not essential to
a Roman city, although many city plans made room for one.
Th e most famous is the Colosseum in Rome. Built in 75–80
c.e., it was a massive structure that featured many of the best
traits of Roman architecture. An amphitheater, with its spec-
tacular events, such as chariot races and gladiatorial combats,
was meant to serve an entire region, not just a city. In fact,
some amphitheaters were built in open land away from cities,
drawing audiences from the countryside. Th e amphitheaters
had rows of stone benches. Seating was separate for diff erent
classes of society, with the best seats reserved for the emperor
in the city of Rome and for the regional governor or chief ad-
ministrator in other cities.
Th e amphitheater was not a Roman idea, but one bor-
rowed from southern Italy. Yet Rome made the amphitheater
an instrument of government. It served to pacify the public
with entertainments, helped indoctrinate native peoples into
the Roman way of life, and through its battles and human
sacrifi ces inured audiences to violence and warfare. Most
Roman men were expected to serve long terms in the army
or navy, and the cruel entertainments of the amphitheater
helped prepare them for the horrors of battle.ROMAN CITIES ABROAD
Wherever Romans conquered, they built new Roman cities
or added a strongly Roman touch to existing towns. In some
cases the new cities were intended largely for the Roman
soldiers themselves. Th e Roman government encouraged its
soldiers to settle in conquered territories and built cities spe-
cifi cally for them because the retired soldiers would be tough,228 cities: Rome