The Great Baths, namely the public baths of Dion, located in the southern part of the city, protected from the northern winds and in direct communication with the central avenue, welcomed visitors who entered the city, as they still do today, through the southern gate. They were built around 200 AD, not simply as an isolated bathing facility, but as a complex that would function as a new centre of public life. They consisted of a spacious central courtyard, surrounded by shops and workshops, public latrines, areas for recreation and worship, as well as a small theatre building. The courtyard of the baths also served as a place for physical exercise, while the odeion was a venue for artistic activities. The main building, which visitors reached after crossing the open-air courtyard and leaving the odeion on their right, included pools, changing rooms, areas with heated and cold water, relaxation rooms, sweating rooms and massage rooms. A dense network of water supply and drainage channels ran beneath the ground, while an elaborate hypocaust system ensured the necessary heat for the areas that required it. In the northern wing of the complex, a unique group of sculptures was discovered: marble statues belonging to the circle of Asclepius. This discovery gives the Baths of Dion a distinctive character, as it highlights the healing properties of water. Mosaic floors, marble floor decorations and statues of deities and nymphs, once placed in decorative niches, gave the spaces of the baths luxury and a monumental character.

http://odysseus.culture.gr/
https://www.dion-olympos.gr/ www.odap.gr 098_DION_PIERIA
https://digitalculture.gov.gr/