Pl.: balaneia
Gk.: βαλανεῖον

A Greek-style bathhouse. In ancient literature, it could refer to both publicly and privately owned baths. The building characteristically consisted of one or more round rooms (tholoi) with single-person bathtubs placed against the walls. These tubs could be hip-baths (or sitz-baths) with an integrated seat, or long baths resembling modern tubs. In some Hellenistic-period examples, large heated pools (alvei) for communal use have been found (e.g. in Syracuse). These could be heated by a type of proto-hypocaust, consisting of a single underground channel that was heated by a furnace.