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Modern Description: Two hundred metres further west is the important junction where the Decumanus meets the north–south Cardo street. Much narrower and hemmed in by the construction of later buildings, its immaculately paved course is nonetheless clear and visible to the north, as it heads into an area of public buildings mostly dedicated to sport and recreation. Terracotta water-pipes are visible running down its west side: above, along the same side, are the ruins of large Roman Thermae, parts of which were later converted into an Early Christian church complex after the earthquake of 469 AD, creating a complicated superimposition of buildings and uses. Recognisable (from south to north) are: the baptistery of the South Church, whose marble-clad font with steps descending from east and west, is visible a few metres to the south of the re-erected doorway, with its magnificent marble doorframe.
This was an entry into the South Church which occupied the area of the caldarium chamber of the Roman baths, whose single remaining vault dominates the sky-line. The beautiful mosaic floor, which the church would have inherited from the baths, has collapsed at the edges revealing the hypocaust system for heating below. From the second, North Church, which occupied an area 25m to the north, vestiges of mosaic flooring and an apse to the east have survived.
In the 3rd century AD, two important structures which related to the baths flanked them to left and right. The 30m long swimming-pool, with stepped lobes at either end, occupies the area behind a colonnade to the left. Seventeen of the original 81 Doric columns in this colonnade have been re-erected: they formed the support for a roofed area known as the Xystos Dromos, where athletic competitions and training could take place during inclement weather. This building was the eastern extremity of a very large Gymnasium which extended under the modern buildings to the north and west, and included the city's stadium. Flanking the baths to the other side, and bordering on the Cardo, is the large, four-square edifice of the Public Foricae* or lavatories, which were initially referred to as a ‘Nymphaeum' when they were uncovered—perhaps out of an exaggerated sense of propriety.
These were substantially restored by the Italian archaeologists in the 1930s from their elements which were found nearby in a buried lime furnace, where they had been destined to be reduced to mortar. The scale of the building as it is now (best seen through the window on the south side, since it is not generally open), gives a vivid sense of the civil munificence of the Late Hellenistic and Roman world—something which disappeared with the demise of the Roman Empire. This building served only a basic public necessity: but it is decked out nonetheless with Ionic capitals, marble revetment, and abstract and figurative mosaics in the central floor. Every functional aspect was carefully designed: the main drainage channel around the perimeter was flushed continually with water; and the two pouring cascades from the high spouts above the basins on the west side, cooled and circulated the air, while their welcome sound would have drowned out any less desirable noises.
The northern extremity of the excavations is closed and traversed by the vestibule of a large public building, whose floor is decorated with magnificent mosaics* of the 3rd century AD. Once again, the full range of colour can only be appreciated by splashing water over the floor: a running border with scenes of exotic animals and performers surrounds a central panel (left) of Paris in judgement of the three jealous goddesses, framed above and below by other divinities.
Trismegistos Geo: 2796

Info: McGilchrist's Greek Islands

(From McGilchrist’s Greek Islands, © Nigel McGilchrist 2010, excerpted with his gracious permission. Click for the books)

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