Last Saturday I guided at the wonderful Roman Bathhouse in Billingsgate – it’s an incredible rare example of a Roman private house (with a mysterious Bathhouse addition) and well worth visiting.
Roman bathing did not generally use soap but instead oil and as a visual aid I bring a modern replica strigil to my tours, used to scrape the oil off – it was such a common theme that a whole style of statue, the Apoxyomenos, was created showing it being used.
A famous story about one of these statues is from the Roman author Pliny.
“It was dedicated by Marcus Agrippa in front of his Baths. [Emperor] Tiberius also much admired this statue […] and removed the Apoxyomenos to his bedroom, substituting a copy. But the people of Rome were so indignant about this that they staged a protest in the theater, shouting “Bring back the Apoxyomenos!” And so despite his passion for it, Tiberius was obliged to replace the original statue”
The Bathhouse is open Saturdays for tours at the moment that must be booked in advance, I’m next doing it on September 28th.
Tickets can be booked here:
https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/things-to-do/visit-the-city/attractions/Pages/Roman-Bathhouse.aspx
