The baths of Odessos

A fictional day of the Imperial Legate at the Baths of Odessos”

Odessos, 145 AD – Province of Moesia Inferior

In the golden haze of early morning, the gates of the grand thermae of Odessos—an imperial jewel on the western shore of Pontus Euxinus—opened to the sound of water flowing through lead pipes into vast marble basins. Word spread quickly through the city’s colonnaded streets: Gaius Aelius Proculus, Legatus Augusti pro praetore of Moesia Inferior, was coming to bathe.

Aelius Proculus was no ordinary man. Clad in a toga lined with Tyrian purple and escorted by a retinue of lictores, body servants, scribes, and Greek physicians, he entered the baths with the pomp of empire. His sandals kissed the warm mosaic tiles—depicting Neptune’s dominion—while the scent of imported myrrh and locally grown mint lingered in the steam.

The Ritual of Rejuvenation

The thermae followed the classic Roman sequence, documented by authors like Vitruvius and Pliny the Younger. Proculus’ visit, however, was a spectacle of elite privilege:

• Apodyterium (Changing Room): Slaves removed the Legate’s cloak and massaged his shoulders with olive oil infused with fennel. A golden strigil was set beside him.
• Palaestra (Exercise Court): As tradition dictated, the nobleman performed a perfunctory series of stretches—more performance than sweat. His scribes read aloud recent dispatches from Nicopolis ad Istrum while local citizens watched from behind latticework screens.
• Tepidarium: Here, under a coffered dome, heated air enveloped the Legate. His hair was perfumed, his limbs anointed. Conversation turned to tax levies, temple funding, and the Emperor’s recent grain edicts. The heat loosened tongues and tensions.
• Caldarium: Scalding and dimly lit, the Legate was seated beside a marble basin fed by copper spouts. Here, his Greek physician examined him for signs of “excess black bile,” recommending later treatment with fig syrup and boiled artichoke hearts.
• Frigidarium: The cold plunge was swift and ceremonial. His men beat bronze cymbals, a Thracian bard sang in honour of Neptune, and onlookers murmured oaths of loyalty. Proculus, glistening and refreshed, accepted a silver goblet of mulled wine.

A Scene of Power and Culture

The baths of Odessos—among the largest on the Balkans—were not merely for cleansing but for diplomacy, spectacle, and domination. As dusk fell, the Legate retired to a private chamber where girls from the Temple of Dionysus recited Virgil. Merchants offered him dried dates and Parthian rugs. The scent of salt from the Black Sea mixed with incense as night engulfed the thermae.

• Roman Large Thermae of Odessos 
• Varna Heritage Website

• Roman Large Thermae of Odessos 
• Varna Heritage Website
• Yegül, Fikret. Baths and Bathing in Classical Antiquity. MIT Press, 1992.
• Hodge, A. Trevor. Roman Aqueducts & Water Supply. Duckworth, 1992.