Baths of Dafne
Street View (if present)
Description

Baths of Dafne 

Le baths of Dafne, also known by the name of Daphne's bath, are part of a Syracusan archaeological complex, inside which the so-called Greek arsenal of Syracuse was already found, located near the small port of the city, precisely between the foundations of a civil building to the west of the Greek arsenal.

These baths have been identified with those mentioned by the Byzantine historian Theophanes, who in his Chronography, asserts that the Byzantine emperor Constant II was assassinated in the baths of Dafne, located in the city of Syracuse, in 668.

The spa area, of modest size, so much so as to make the scholar Cultrera think that it could be a private spa building,[2] as its name suggests, it was linked to the myth of Daphne.[1] Its dating remains uncertain: it seems to have been erected around the sixth century AD, even if there is no consensus on this point.[3] Cultrera claims that it is of Roman origin, with renovations that took place in the Byzantine era.

In the northern part of the complex there are some environments, in particular the environment H (see map below) was interpreted as apodyterion (access room to the thermal baths), while the semicircular structure G has been interpreted as the frigidarium. The environment E il tepidarium while the C il calidarium. The semicircular structure K on the southern side it has been interpreted as a tub. To the west, the square room O it has been interpreted as a platform connected to a furnace P. There is also a visible channel for the disposal of rainwater.

An ancient treasure was found near these spas in 1879 along the stretch of the former railway, in which an important solid gold ring stands out. The scholar Bryce Dale Lyon has suggested the suggestive hypothesis that this ring belonged directly to Emperor Constantius II, and that he would have had it on his finger when he was in these baths.

The site, in addition to being underestimated from a historical and archaeological point of view, also suffers from a problem of possible usability due to the presence of the foundations of a residential building built on it despite the important discovery. (Text source: wikipedia)

(should correspond to the site described in the survey form n.675 Landscape Plan of the Province of Syracuse - Archaeological Heritage)

Card insertion: Ignazio Caloggero

Photos: 

Information contributions: Ignazio Caloggero, Web, 

Note: The populating of the files of the Heritage database proceeds in incremental phases: cataloging, georeferencing, insertion of information and images. The cultural property in question has been cataloged, georeferenced and the first information entered. In order to enrich the information content, further contributions are welcome, if you wish you can contribute through our area "Your Contributions"

Disclaimer note

Rate it (1 to 5)
3.502
Send a notice to the publisher
[contact-form-7 id="18385"]
Share