The ancient Greeks had a variety of plumbing systems, including water pipes, drainage systems and sewers. They used water pipes to transport fresh water from cisterns or rivers. In Athens, water was carried through the pipes in terracotta pipes called hydraulis, which were about 2m in diameter and about 1.5m high. Water was also piped into houses using lead pipes.
Steres
In addition, Greek houses had large water tanks called steres, which stored water for drinking and cooking. Most Greeks bathed with water poured over them from bronze or wooden buckets, called klineis. This was hygienic because baths were usually located outside the houses. Toilets were also located outside of the houses. They had seats made of stone and a bucket underneath to catch waste. Some toilets also had a hose connected to a cistern so that wastewater could be drained away.
What Old Greek Had used instead of Tissues?
There was no toilet tissue back then! Instead, people used dried leaves, charcoal or sand to clean themselves after going to the toilet. A system of underground drains was known as auloi. These were covered by roads above to provide easy access for drainage workers. The drains often ran under walls and across alleyways to collect wastewater from all around the city. Ancient Greek cities had a sewage system too.
Where Waste Was Collected
Waste was collected in an underground sewer that ran under the city walls to a canal or river. However, wastewater was not treated before being dumped into the canal or river. The Greeks believed that disease was caused by bad smells and dirty water, so they tried to avoid contact with these by keeping their water sources clean and well-covered. They also kept their houses clean by sweeping floors and changing bedding regularly. By following these simple rules, the Greeks were able to live healthy life in crowded cities with limited resources.
Ancient Greece had a reputation for Sewage System
The sewer systems of ancient Greece had a reputation for being quite sophisticated in their time, but their inefficiency soon led to serious health problems. Diseases like cholera and typhoid fever spread rapidly through the streets of Athens and other Greek cities during the 19th century. The only way of controlling these diseases was by building more sewers to improve the efficiency of the old ones that were causing the problem in the first place.
Some Sewers were so Narrow
Some of these sewers were so narrow that they had to be dug through rock to get to the sewer lines below them. The sewers in Athens became so complicated and clogged with debris that they were finally rebuilt by the Roman emperor Hadrian between 131 AD and 132 AD. These improvements helped to prevent the outbreaks of diseases like cholera and typhoid that were so widespread in the Greek cities at the time.
Romans abandoned their sewer system
Although the Romans eventually abandoned their sewer system when they conquered Greece in the early 2nd century AD, the ancient Greek engineers had managed to devise a more efficient way of managing their city’s waste by then. Most of the cities around the Mediterranean basin continued to use a system of underground sewers for thousands of years. But now our technology has become so advanced since sometimes we face many plumbing problems. And need some plumbing service providers such as Apofraxeis Marousi(αποφραξεισ μαρουσι).