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The ''laconicum'' (i.e. Spartan, ''sc.'' ''balneum'', bath). Cf. Greek ''pyriaterion to lakonikon'' "the Laconian vapour-bath"; , . was the dry sweating room of the Roman '' thermae'', contiguous to the '' caldarium'' or hot room. The name was given to it as being the only form of warm bath that the Spartans admitted. The ''laconicum'' was usually a circular room with niches in the axes of the diagonals and was covered by a conical roof with a circular opening at the top, according to Vitruvius (v. 10), from which a brazen shield is suspended by chains, capable of being so lowered and raised as to regulate the temperature.
It is similar to a sudatorium, or steam bath, where water is added to produce steam.
Sometimes, as in the old baths at
The ''laconicum'' (i.e. Spartan, ''sc.'' ''balneum'', bath). Cf. Greek ''pyriaterion to lakonikon'' "the Laconian vapour-bath"; , . was the dry sweating room of the Roman '' thermae'', contiguous to the '' caldarium'' or hot room. The name was given to it as being the only form of warm bath that the Spartans admitted. The ''laconicum'' was usually a circular room with niches in the axes of the diagonals and was covered by a conical roof with a circular opening at the top, according to Vitruvius (v. 10), from which a brazen shield is suspended by chains, capable of being so lowered and raised as to regulate the temperature.
It is similar to a sudatorium, or steam bath, where water is added to produce steam.
Sometimes, as in the old baths at Pompeii
Pompeii (, ) was an ancient city located in what is now the ''comune'' of Pompei near Naples in the Campania region of Italy. Pompeii, along with Herculaneum and many villas in the surrounding area (e.g. at Boscoreale, Stabiae), was buried ...
, the ''laconicum'' was provided in an apse at one end of the ''caldarium'', but as a rule it was a separate room raised to a higher temperature and had no bath in it. In addition to the hypocaust under the floor, the wall was lined with ceramic flue pipes. The largest ''laconicum'', about in diameter, was that built by Agrippa Agrippa may refer to:
People Antiquity
* Agrippa (mythology), semi-mythological king of Alba Longa
* Agrippa (astronomer), Greek astronomer from the late 1st century
* Agrippa the Skeptic, Skeptic philosopher at the end of the 1st century
* Agr ...
in the Baths of Agrippa on the south side of the Pantheon, and is referred to by Cassius (liii.23), who states that, in addition to other works, he constructed the hot bath chamber which he called the ''Laconicum Gymnasium''. All traces of this building are lost; but in the additions made to the ''thermae'' of Agrippa by Septimius Severus another ''laconicum'' was built farther south, portions of which still exist in the so-called ''Arco di Ciambella''.
See also
*Ancient Roman bathing
Bathing played a major part in ancient Roman culture and society. It was one of the most common daily activities and was practiced across a wide variety of social classes. Though many contemporary cultures see bathing as a very private activity co ...
References
Ancient Roman baths Rooms {{AncientRome-struct-stub