balaneionEtymologyFrom Ancient Greek βᾰλᾰνεῖον (bălăneîon). Doublet of bagnio, bain, and banya.nounAn ancient Greek bathhouse.“But these balaneia had nothing to do with the gymnasia, and are indeed sharply contrasted with them. To frequent them was considered, at all events among old-fashioned folk, to be a sign of effeminacy. Aristophanes bitterly complains that the effect of the new-fashioned education was to empty the wrestling schools and fill the balaneia, and Plato considers hot baths only suitable for the old and f”