07-18-2004, 10:33 PM
Like Rich said, I don't believe that there was any religious significance to frequent bathing. More likely just the realities of living in a hot climate without a lot of labor-saving devices (besides slaves).<br>
<br>
At Aquae Sulis in Britannia (modern Bath, England) the natural springs were considered sacred to the goddess Sulis Minerva<br>
(a native British deity assimilated with the Roman Minerva), and so large numbers of prayer and curse tablets have been recovered from the drains there (but drains in general were popular places to deposit such things, since it was believed that the deities of the underworld would carry out the more sinister requests...). <p></p><i></i>
<br>
At Aquae Sulis in Britannia (modern Bath, England) the natural springs were considered sacred to the goddess Sulis Minerva<br>
(a native British deity assimilated with the Roman Minerva), and so large numbers of prayer and curse tablets have been recovered from the drains there (but drains in general were popular places to deposit such things, since it was believed that the deities of the underworld would carry out the more sinister requests...). <p></p><i></i>
Dan Diffendale
Ph.D. candidate, University of Michigan
Ph.D. candidate, University of Michigan
