Natatio

You are now at the pool. Your friends are welcoming and cheering you as you are getting ready to get into the water. As a traditional Roman, you never avoid the cold pool, regardless of the temperature. At any rate, you are never deterred by annoying details like weather changes. You notice that there is a strigil and flask here so that you can scrape off the dirt and sand before entering the pool (click on the strigil to find out more).

This image shows the large pool at the Roman baths in Bath, England to give you some sense of what the natatio in Trajan's Baths may have looked like. (Navigation aid: layout of the virtual Baths of Trajan)