Both Sensual and Practical: A History of Oils on Flesh in Ancient Roman and Greek societies.

Chiseled from hard labor, many soldiers and athletes of days gone by, had their physique further emphasized by the use of body oils. Their use was both functional as much as it was sensual.

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Rounding into the second decade of the new Millenium, viewers were captivated by shows such as Spartacus which aired for several seasons on Starz. It depicted a view of Roman culture that included gladiators of the arena. It was watching that show that I came to think of how citizens of that culture relied on simple products to cleanse and care for their bodies. When the Dominus requested his gladiators be audience to him, they were prepared with oils. ; Not surprising if running water was not available to anyone but the wealthiest.

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What was old, is new again.....

In recent years, we have seen a rise in simple ingredient products. It turns out that many synthetic ingredients or preservatives are unhealthy for our bodies; Our poor bodies have enough to fight off than for toxins to be piled on top of us. --- Signal the entry of raw ingredient products such as natural butters and oils in skin care and aroma therapies. Our modern American society has once again broadly acknowledged the value in nature's elements.

This brings us back to the natural state of our Roman gladiators or soldiers and their athletic counterparts nearby in Greece during the similar era. How were they using oils in self-care?

Well... Have you ever heard of a strigil?

Strigil - The Greeks, Etruscans and Romans used these objects to help cleanse themselves, often after strenuous athletic activity in the gymnasium. In the community baths, they first drizzled the olive oil from the flask or aryballos all over their skin, then used the strigil to scrape off all the oil, sweat, and dirt from their skin. - courtesy of the university of Missouri, Museum of Art and Archaeology

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....Well, I hadn't until recently. A strigil is the name given to a body cleansing tool used in ancient societies like Rome and Greece. It was used to scrape dirt and oils off of one's skin; much like a squeegee is used to scrape grime off glass. The strigil was often made from a metal such as bronze. It was popular for Roman soldiers and athletes to use and carry as part of their body care.

Bathing in ancient society was not as regular a practice as we experience in modern day so man created this neat device to make self-care and hygiene easier. The most readily available oil for Romans and Greeks was olive oil. The oil was often carried in a flask and kept on hand so that these hard working folks could tidy up. The scrubbing agent for use with the oil could be sand or even dirt, itself. The body scrub from the combination of oil and exfoliant would then be wiped away with this scraping tool, leaving hydrated and glowing skin.

Image Courtesy of https://blogs.nottingham.ac.uk/argonautsandemperors/2015/06/04/romes-invisible-city/

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It is reported that the Greek athletes often relied on their olive oil application as a sunscreen. The sun would have definitely beamed down hot on the arenas where athletes would perform. But in Greece, their athletic skill was admired along with their physique. The crowd expected to see their physique fully exposed; aka....naked. #oliveoilprotection

If any oil on the body was protecting the flesh at those early Olympic games, it was definitely welcomed... I'm sure. But one can't help but agree, that light reflected off of skin is beautiful.

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Interesting enough, we don't see strigils as a common tool available for purchase this day in age. Nowadays, we have more running water so we don't rely on scraping tools as much as water pressure. The use of body oils is customarily left for after a shower instead of as the shower.

However, you will find that if you look up strigil in the market place, you may hit on a similar device that still has popularity. Have you heard of Gua Sha?

If you follow beauty techniques, then you may have. This is the name of the technique and scraping tool from ancient China. Gua Sha is believed to date back to the Paleolithic Period and the word Gua means press or stroke while the word Sha refers to rash or redness. (Courtesy of https://www.chinosity.com/2021/05/10/gua-sha-an-ancient-chinese-approach-to-beauty/ . ) The Gua Sha method has gained popularity in America as users realize that all that scraping that our Roman, Greek, and Asian ancestors practiced, was helping their body regenerate healthier skin and encouraged circulation. We can generate collagen by triggering our bodies to make it instead of applying forms of it on top of our bodies.

The scraping of the skin in China was not for the purpose of cleaning it but as a medicinal practice. This was more functional skin care for circulation and has been proven to relieve tension in areas of the body. If oil was applied to the skin to facilitate Gua Sha, it was likely not olive oil but an array of oils more traditional to China, such as soybean oil.

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Whether scraping to get clean as our Roman and Greek folks used body oils or in scraping across the skin for circulation, oils were there. The stimulation of collagen production married with the pure sheen of a natural oil is a simple self-care combination. You may no longer find a strigil, but you will see Gua Sha tools and fascia scrapers. And we haven't even begun to discuss what the Roman soldiers added to some of those oils to make them smell better or how Ayurvedic societies had their own tools and to this day, dry brushing is a wise practice in that regard..... But that is for another blog article.

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