Toilets may date back to the Minoan civilisations on the island of Crete. From there they spread to other parts of the ancient Mediterranean, with the earliest ones in mainland Greece found in the fourth century BCE. These would be in private buildings, as well as public ones. In a private house, a toilet would be next to the kitchen, and would be ‘flushed’ by pouring water from the kitchen into it. This would then go down into a cesspit with the kitchen waste.
In addition, the Romans also had larger toilet buildings, with rows of toilet seats opposite each other for as many as 60 people. Most of these surviving Roman ‘communal’ toilets (foricae) are found in army bases or in conjunction with public baths. It’s possible that they were found near prestigious public buildings because the city officials were keen to keep their buildings clean, rather than for any other reason. These toilet buildings had a supply of running water which would carry waste away to the river. Today the idea of several dozen Romans sitting together on the toilet is very difficult to understand, but the nature of Roman male clothing may have made it relatively easy to maintain some privacy.
Figure 4 Ancient Roman latrines (latrinae), Ostia Antica
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Photograph of ancient Roman latrines in the harbour city of Ostia Antica. In view are two rows of stone slabs positioned at right angles to each other and sited against a brick wall. The slabs have holes cut into them and are supported by blocks over a drain.
Figure 4 Ancient Roman latrines (latrinae), Ostia Antica
Concepts of privacy have changed over human history. The typical house in the West today has internal walls, but over time it has been more common for people to eat and sleep in the same room, often with their animals within the same walls. While rich people in the ancient world may have positioned their town houses so that others could not look in, most people in ancient Rome lived in cramped apartment blocks of three to five storeys high (insulae) with thin walls. Perhaps the lack of privacy in a shared toilet wasn’t a problem for them.
But just how sociable was it in the toilet? Although reconstructions often show men talking to each other, there is very little evidence on how one was expected to behave in a shared toilet. A few examples of board games etched between seats suggest a long stay; there are references in literary sources to graffiti, and paintings on the wall existed in some communal toilets. Would a long stay perhaps have been linked to people’s diet? It is not clear whether these toilet buildings were open or roofed, and this is relevant in terms of the amount of light. You would have needed some light to play a game, or see the paintings, if there were any. A popular subject for paintings in foricae was Fortuna, goddess of fortune!
As usual, literary sources are not always straightforward. The poet Martial wrote:
You read to me as I stand, you read to me as I sit,
You read to me as I run, you read to me as I sh*t.
(Martial, 3.44)
Does this indicate normal behaviour, or instead someone who won’t leave him alone, even in the toilet where he expects to have some peace and quiet? The rest of the poem makes it clear that this is not how most people act, as the poet asks: ‘Do you wish to know why it is, Ligurinus, that nobody is glad to meet you?’
On the subject of long stays, Martial also mocks someone who hangs around in the public toilet in the hope of a dinner invitation:
Vacerra spends hours in all the privies, sitting all day long.
Vacerra doesn’t want a sh*t, he wants a dinner.
(Martial, 11.77)
In some reconstructed toilets, in addition to the hole on which the user sits, there is another hole at the front of the seat. This may be for a man to urinate through, but is often interpreted in connection with the ‘sponge on a stick’, which you’ll look at next.
FAQs
Many cultures in ancient times treated illnesses with magic and herbal remedies. People believed that the supernatural powers of a shaman (sha-man), also known as a medicine man or witch doctor, healed the sick. Ancient Egyptians thought that their gods healed them.
What is the ancient term for health? ›
In Latin, the main word for 'health' is salus, from which the word 'salubrious' is derived. Does your language contain words that come from ancient Greek or Latin terms for health?
What is the ancient Greek word for health and wellness? ›
The Greek word for health, “hygieia” describes a condition of completeness and contentment, which says a lot about the Hellenic attitude to wellbeing.
What is the ancient word for wellness? ›
In his Nicomachean Ethics (1095a15–22) Aristotle says that eudaimonia means 'doing and living well'. It is significant that synonyms for eudaimonia are living well and doing well.
How did ancient people treat illness? ›
An imbalance of humors caused disease and the body could be purged of excess by bleeding, cupping, and leeching – medical practices that continued through the Middle Ages. Many diseases were thought to be caused by an excess of blood in the body and bloodletting was seen as the obvious cure.
How did ancient people define illness? ›
He was prolific and wrote hundreds of treatises, compiling all significant Greek and Roman medical thoughts, and adding his own discoveries and theories, foremost of which was the humoral basis of disease: illness was caused by an imbalance of the four humors: blood, phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile.
Who is the Greek god of health and wellness? ›
John Harley Warner, Ph. D.). History of Medicine Department, Yale University, School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut. The ancient Greeks worshipped both a god of healing, Asclepius, and a goddess of health, Hygeia.
Who is the Greek goddess of wellbeing? ›
Hygeia was the ancient Greek goddess of health.
What is the biblical term for wellness? ›
Relationships which are ultimately reconciled through the work of Christ (Colossians 1:19-20). The biblical concept of wellness that incorporates this reconciliation, is captured in the Hebrew word “shalom”, meaning peace, harmony, wholeness, completedness.
Who first defined wellness? ›
Dunn, M.D. in the 1950s; Dunn was the chief of the National Office of Vital Statistics and discussed “high-level wellness,” which he defined as “an integrated method of functioning, which is oriented toward maximizing the potential of which the individual is capable.” The term "wellness" was then adopted by John Travis ...
2 Ancient origins of wellness
Indian Ayurveda, traditional Chinese medicine, or ancient Rome and Greece, who put foundations for today's medicine and often to the mentioned ideal of Kalokagathia - these traditional systems had many aspect in common.
What is a synonym for health wellbeing? ›
comfort, content, happiness, health, prosperity, welfare.
What was used for medicine in ancient times? ›
But animal remedies (such as the milk of various animals, bones, gallstones) and minerals (sulfur, arsenic, lead, copper sulfate, gold) were also employed. The physicians collected and prepared their own vegetable drugs. Among those that eventually appeared in Western pharmacopoeias were cardamom and cinnamon.
What did healthcare look like 100 years ago? ›
One hundred years ago, in 1908, health care was virtually unregulated and health insurance, nonexistent. Physicians practiced and treated patients in their homes. The few hospitals that existed provided minimal therapeutic care. Both physicians and hospitals were unregulated.
What was medicine like in prehistoric times? ›
People used medicinal herbs in prehistoric times, say anthropologists. There is some limited evidence that they used herbs and substances from natural sources as medicines. However, it is hard to be sure what the full range might have been because plants rot rapidly.
What was health like 100 years ago? ›
In the United States, the life expectancy for men in 1920 was around 53.6 years. For women, it was 54.6 years. If you compare that number to today's average life expectancy of 78.93 years, you can see just how much better we are doing! The main causes of death in 1920 were heart disease, pneumonia, and tuberculosis.
