Life in the streets of Roman cities could be loud and crowded. People sought relaxation in public baths—which could, however, be just as hectic. In this letter, the Roman philosopher Seneca (4 B.C.E.–65 C.E.) wrote to a friend describing his experience living in a rented apartment located above one of the large and busy bathing and exercise establishments that existed in every sizable community in the Roman Empire.
I am staying in an apartment directly above a public bath. Imagine all the kinds of voices that I hear, enough to make me hate having ears! When the really strong guys are working out with heavy lead weights, when they are working hard or at least pretending to work hard, I hear their grunts. Whenever they let out the breath they’ve been holding in, I hear them hissing and panting loudly. When I happen to notice some sluggish type getting a cheap rubdown, I hear the slap of the hand pounding his shoulders, changing its sound according to whether it’s a blow with an open or a closed fist. If a serious ball-player comes along and starts keeping score out loud, then I’m done for. Add to this the bruiser who likes to pick fights, the pickpocket who’s been caught, and the man who loves to hear the sound of his own voice in the bath. And there are those people who jump into the swimming pool with a tremendous splash and lots of noise. Besides all the ones who have awful voices, imagine the “armpit hair plucker-outer” with his high, shrill voice—so he’ll be noticed—always chattering and never shutting up, except when he is plucking armpits and making his customer yell instead of yelling himself. And there are also all the different cries from the sausage seller, and the fellow selling pastries, and all the food vendors screaming out what they have to sell, all of them with their own special tones.
Source: Seneca, Moral Epistles, 56.1–2. Translation by Thomas R. Martin.
Question to Consider
What do the sounds described by the Roman philosopher reveal about the kinds of people frequenting the bath and the nature of the community itself?