Bathhouses and Thermae in the Iranian world; From the beginning to the end of the Sassanids era

In the contemporary view, washing culture is considered as one of the components of the evaluation of ancient cultures, and therefore, research on it is a necessity. The root of the subject, which is, the need to clear up, is the first step in examining the subject matter. Next, study on when and where the structures associated with bathing, originated, and how they emerged elsewhere, provides the basis for research. Then, the reason of founding thermae and the culture of washing with warm water are studied and their archaeological evidences are evaluated. In this paper, although according to an important principle in Zoroastrianism, the possibility of establishing and disseminating the culture of bathing in Greco-Roman thermae was not possible during the domination of this religion, but it does not mean that Iranians were far from the culture of cleanliness and for this, some, interesting documents are available. This can be proven even in special places for swimming. In fact, the varieties of Iranian and non-Iranian cultures in the Iranian plateau, does not allowed to judge one-sided in this field. The current article shows that in Zoroastrian culture, in addition to a method of creating a reasonable space to facilitate bathing with cold water, a type of thermae emerged that was different from the Roman ones. It was also stated that the culture of washing can be traced in the mythology of ancient Iran, and this can be the basis for some field-comparative studies in Archaeomythology.