Roman Baths, Chariot Racing, Gladiators in Combat     At least one bath house was considered essential for any Roman town. It was very cheap for adults to get in, children were free. A bath was an important place for relaxing, seeing friends, or holding business meetings. Some baths had separate facilities for men and women. If they did not have separate facilities, then they would have times set aside for each group. In male baths, first they undressed and left clothes in a locker room or on a shelf, then they would pass into the cold room. After they spend time in the cold room, they would go to a room that was unheated and take a cold dip in the water.  Next they would go into a warm room, then they would go into a really hot room full of steam. The last thing they would do is go into the sauna. The women did things a little differently. First  they would go and undress in the locker room, then go into a warm room. After that they would go into the hot room then the furnaces. Exercise yard would be next, then the swimming pool. The last thing a woman would do in  a bath is to go into the lavatory.

    Chariot racing and Gladiators in combat were very popular in Rome. Chariot racing was an exciting and dangerous sport many Romans enjoyed. Many towns had a stadium with chariot racing. Charioteers wore the colors of companies they worked for. The four company colors were red, white, blue, and green. Diocles is the most famous driver, he was on the red team. He won 1,462 races. a winner received a victorís palm leaf and a purse of gold. Racehorses were specially bred in Spain, then brought to Rome to be trained for the races. Victor was the name of a horse that won 429 races. The biggest stadium was the Circus Maximus in Rome. It was four miles long.

    Gladiator fighting was a battle to the death. Gladiators were usually slaves or war captives. Those who fought well and entertained the crowd might be given their freedom. Various kinds of combat were staged i the amphitheater. Rich people and politicians paid for schools of gladiators to arrange the bouts. In some  fights the gladiators were armed to make the fights more interesting. On their helmets there was an image of Hercules; the gladiatorís god.