Termal buildings constituted a social space open to all social classes. From simple spaces for cleansing and body care, they became in imperial times real places of consensus and self-representation of municipal elites and imperial power.

One the basis of the Thermae maritimae and the so-called Terme Marittime cases and extending our perspective to other thermal buildings in Ostia, we will focus on the aspect of athleticism. The sporting practice in thermal buildings can indeed be treated from two different angles.

On the one hand, we can study the spaces and facilities reserved for such activities, focusing on the palestrae and on how the paths of the athletes, often separated from the paths of the other users, were organised within the thermal buildings.

On the other hand, the diffusion of athletic and victory scenes, particularly in mosaics, but also in statuary, places athleticism as one of the dominant themes in the baths´ decoration. The mosaic of the athletes of the Thermae maritimae, one of the best examples in Ostia from the Antonine period, offers an exceptional example that allows to interpret the symbolic messages linked to the imperial commission of the building itself. In the case of the so-called Terme Marittime, the mosaic that decorated the entrance hall to the piscina calida can be interpreted in relation to the other scenes of a mythological character preserved in the adjoining rooms and forming part of a new decorative programme in connection with the renovation and extension of the baths in the Severan time.

Finally, the last part of the contribution will be devoted to the study of those mosaics with representations of famous athletes in ancient times, accompanied by their respective inscriptions, to document the success of the stardom phenomenon in Roman athletics.