Tepidarium (medium hot room)

Tepidarium (medium hot room)

View one of the two Tepidaria of the Hadrianic Baths.  Note the niche in the far wall, the marble surfacing still in place on the walls, and the expensive marble tiles of the floor.


The Hadrianic Baths were built to honor a visit of the Roman Emperor Hadrian to Aphrodisias (r. AD 117-138).  There is a Palestra (workout area) on the east side, and the usual rooms of a Roman Bath — Apoditerium, Frigidarium, Tepidarium, Caldarium, and furnace room.  These rooms were vaulted.  The limestone walls still stand.  Originally they were covered with marble, most of which has been robbed out.  The floors were paved with carved marble tiles.  The bath complex measures 280 x 215 feet.