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Greek baths were bath complexes suitable for bathing and cleaning in ancient Greece, similar in concept to that of the Roman baths. Greek baths are a feature of some Hellenized countries. These baths have been found in Greece, Egypt, Italy, and there is even one located in Marseille, France. Some of the first baths have been dated back to the 5th century BCE. The public baths had a gradual development into the flourishing, culturally-significant structures of the Hellenistic age.

Greek baths did not have to follow the same design and construction rules as temples or other civic buildings in Greece and, thus, the baths were very innovative.

History
The earliest Greek baths date back to the first half of the fifth century BCE. While it was not the only Greek city with public baths, some of the first archaeological evidence comes from the Dipylon Baths in Athens. Athens was a place of great innovation of the public baths. The Greek's original form of bathing consisted of nothing more than a quick plunge into icy water until the people of Laconica came upon the idea of a hot-air bath. The hot-air bath later came to be known as a laconica bath. The people of Laconica were from the Sparta area. With this bath came the idea of a spa along with public bathing.

Public baths were not accepted immediately due to beliefs held by Greek society. The baths were an amenity that provided comfort for its users, contrasting the discipline and masculine virtues expected by Greek men. This slow acceptance resulted in a small number of public baths being built and used during the fifth and fourth centuries BCE. During a time of urban refinement in the Hellenistic age, the baths were at the height of their development. Individual comfort and wellbeing became more important to Greek society and, as a result, the number of baths increased and held a place of importance to Greek life.

Locations and geography
Before the Hellenistic period, the majority of public baths were outside of the city’s walls. As baths became more accepted, their locations shifted from the outskirts to the inner parts of the city. Specifically, they would be built in very important and accessible areas.

Egypt
pre-existing Laconica baths section

floor pland and features, subheadings of water technology (heating systems?) and later development

social life, subheading of bathing customs and women's bathing

Floor plan and features
Greek baths can be separated into three types: the gymnasium bath, the domestic bath, and the public bath. The baths at the gym were hardly even baths, rather there were basins of water where the men could stand at and clean themselves. In some cases there would be a piscina, a pool or pond that could be used for bathing as well as swimming. Gym baths did not use heated water. Domestic baths, located in private homes, were a single room with only a bath tub and some times a wash basin. Public baths are typically synonymous with Greek baths.

As a whole, Greek baths were not homogenous, especially as they spread to different regions and societal values and construction methods shifted during the Hellenistic age. Different cities altered the layouts depending on the needs of the local population. There were, however, certain features that pervaded most bathing structures. The public baths are made up of one or more rooms that are typically circular. This circular floor plan is called a tholos. The key feature in early Greek baths was the hip baths centered in the tholos. While the bathing space was public, the hip baths were used individually. The construction of the hip baths varied but most were terracotta or stone. The visitor would be seated in their bath while an attendant poured warm or cold water over them. This style of bathing is reminiscent of showers, where there is a flow of water over their bodies. Due to the design of the hip baths, bathers could not fully submerge their bodies under water.

Aside from the baths themselves, there were braziers to heat the room during the winter and a furnace to heat the water. There was a specific service area for the furnace. In another room, visitors could wait for their turn or change out of their clothes. Greek baths had everything needed to offer a simple place for cleaning and the maintenance of the warm and wet spaces. Occasionally public baths would feature a piscina, although they were typically only deep enough for wading, not swimming. Even more rarely found in public baths are wash basins, which were common in gymnasium baths.

The style of the baths evolved over time including larger or additional tholoi, decorated floors, and other forms of bathing aimed more at relaxation. There are several structures, such as the baths at Olympia, that show these changes and the trend of renovation.

Water management and technology
While Greek baths grew in cultural significance, they were generally less complex than their Roman counterparts. The water management of both, however, can be put into four groups: water provisioning, water use, water disposal, and modes of operation. The Greeks utilized four different kinds of water provisioning: water provisioning, water use, water disposal, and modes of operation. The Greeks utilized four different kinds of water provisioning: gathering and keeping rain water in cisterns, bringing water from the ground (wells), tapping sources of flowing water nearby such as rivers and springs, and bringing water from more far-off sources. Of these, the Greeks would use the method most suitable to the local area. Take the baths at Nemea and Athens, for example. In Nemea, an aqueduct brought spring water from the hills and was held in a reservoir that was built next to the bath house. At the Dipylon Baths in Athens the water was brought from a nearby well. There were also aqueducts in Athens, but, unlike Nemea, no evidence supports that they supplied the bath house with water.

The way water was used in the baths depended on the way it was provisioned as well as the types of baths and heating systems. Public baths required a degree of manual movement of the water. The attendants helped the visitors bathe but they also would have needed to mix the hot water with cold water beforehand so that it would be a suitably warm temperature, rather than boiling hot. The continuous development of heating systems saw the rise of luxury bathing. The heating systems were of course used to heat the water but also for other types of heated bathing, such as sweat rooms, heated pools, and even heated water tanks.

The hip baths and other bath tubs generally did not have run-off devices. As a result, the used water from the tubs would have been bailed out by attendants and dumped onto the floor of the room. A drainage system in the floor was necessary to remove the dumped water and prevent the room from flooding. The floor also needed to be angled properly so the water would actually run to the drains. It is likely there was some type of waterproof pavement as well. Furthermore, the drains took the waste-water out of the bath house and dumped it outside, likely into a body of water like a canal. Unlike what was common in Roman baths, the Greeks did not often reuse the waste-water. However, there are some instances where the waste-water would be moved to foot or toilet basins.

The Greek aqueducts had less output than those of the Romans, so having that water supply Greek baths was not common. Therefore, Greek baths did not have running water like the Romans. More likely is a system of changing out the water daily or regularly refilling the basins.

Social life and culture
The culture surrounding Greek baths, and public bathing in general, is not extremely well known or studied. The use of baths for athletes at the gymnasium is the most informed area of Greek bathing culture. However, despite the situational and procedural context of every-day bathing is not often being written down from the past, the evidence from archaeological sites and art can offer information.

By the 2nd century BCE, public baths were a very important part of Greek culture (and Egyptian and South Italian culture), as can be seen from the developments in the design of the baths and their locations. The Egyptians added more tholos to fit the growing number of visitors. In many Greek cities, bathing came to include both individual tubs and community immersion pools and sweat baths (also communal). While the sense of community grew in public baths, it was not accepted everywhere. For example, Egypt never adopted the group baths. The baths at Gortys did not have communal pools, as it did not suit their local customs. Gortys did develop individual immersion baths, which still brought a shift from hygienic bathing to bathing for relaxation purposes.