The wealthy Roman patrician Gaius Antonius lies on the terrace of his magnificent villa high above the Gulf of Naples and looks out at the sea. A slave serves him wine and exquisite food. Just a few days earlier, Antonius had fled the July heat of Rome to his country estate, which lacks nothing in luxury and amenities.

The Senate of the Roman Empire is on summer recess, and the patrician can devote himself entirely to relaxation and the good life. In the afternoon he is expecting guests he has invited friends to spend the hot season with him. In the evening, they will be pampered in the thermal baths in the spa town of Baiae on the shores of the Gulf of Naples. Self-care vacations are very popular with the Roman elite.