Odors emanating from the body were a concern for the Greeks.103 Predictably, comedy is full of references to foul body odors: armpits stinking like goats {Aristophanes, Acharnians, 852; Peace, 813); a belch reeking of onions and vinegar {Aristophanes, Peace, 529); women chewing garlic to conceal the effects of a night oF illicit sex {Aristophanes, Women at the Thesmophoria, 495-496); farts {Aristophanes, Knights, 897-898; WeaLth, 693, 698-699); excreta {Aristophanes, Frogs, 489).104
Scatological issues are not the sole preserve of the comic poets; several scientific writers speculate as to the cause of bodily odors. For example, the writer oF the Problems once attributed to Aristotle wonders:
“Why do the mouths of those who have eaten nothing, but are fasting, smell more {this is called the smell of fasting), but the mouths of those who have eaten do not, though they rather should do so? . . . Why is the armpit the most unpleasant-smelling region? . . . Why do those who have a goat-smell, when they are anointed with ointment, become more unpleasant?” {13.7-9). Aristotle’s student Theophrastus investigates the specific problem of sweat: “one kind {of sweat) has a bad odor, another is lacking in odor, {still another) in some people is acidic in odor, and there are other kinds of bad odor as well. . . . For many of those who take exercise and seem to be in good condition have a heavy and bad odor when they sweat, {but this is misleading,) since it is clear from many things that {bad odor is caused) by the bad condition {of the body): from those who are sick and from those who, being rather frequently engaged in sexual activity, are already in a {bad) condition, and generally those who {as convalescents) are already attending {to the body). . . . Adolescents have
Especially bad odors when they sweat; with advancing age less, aged men not at all” (On Sweat, 5—7).105
Foul odors emanate from the armpit because air does not circulate there, resulting in a kind of rot (On Sweat, 9).
Not all odors emanating from the body were unpleasant. Children were thought to have especially sweet-smelling breath and skin.106 In Xenophon’s Symposium, Socrates claims that “women, especially if they are young, do not need any additional perfumes, because they are fragrant themselves.”107 The gendered determination of body odors is underscored in Aristophanes’ Lysistrata, when the men, anD later the women, remove their clothing in order to release their respective scents (Aristophanes, Lysistrata, 662-663, 686). Body odor was also determined by social class, as in Aristophanes’ Clouds when the rustic Strepsiades describes his marriage to a wealthy city girl: “When I married her I climbed into bed smelling of new wine, figs, fleeces, and abundance; and she of perfume, saflron, tongue kisses, extravagance, gluttony” (46-52).
Odors and scents are especially important for the construction oF identity, because unlike most aspects of dress, they are primarily nonvisual. While a decorated perfume container may carry some prestige, scents have the unique capacity of communicating across space without any visual cue. Scent also transcends time, since it may linger even after the departure of the dressed individual. Because the perception of scent is culturally determined, we cannot be confident in our reconstruction of the ancient olfactory experience. On the other hand, the evidence suggests that odors and scents were essential to the formulation of the dressed individual.
Perfumes anD body odors are closely associated with bathing practices (pp. 60-62). The application of scented oils to the skin and hair was a regular feature of the bath, especially for women. Conversely, infrequent bathing would have resulted in increased body odor. Given that regular bathing was a privilege of the elite, it follows that artificial scent in the form of perfume was reserved for those of high status, while naturally occurring body odor was associated with low status, as reflected in the literary sources. Perfume was certainly a luxury product, especially exotic formulations of imported flowers and spices. The barbarian associations of perfume made it especially appropriate for women’s use, though it is clear that men used certain types of perfumes in particular contexts, especially the ritual context of the symposion. The erotic connotations of perfume likewise suggest that it was gendered feminine.108
Cosmetics
The evidence for cosmetics is more limited than that for perfume.109 Visual sources are generally lacking. Although the facial features of marble sculptures were emphasized with polychromy, it is difficult to determine in most Cases whether this was intended to replicate cosmetics.110 The techniques of black - and red-figure vases do not easily allow for the rendering of such details, but neither do white-ground vases depict obviously madeup faces. Despite the prevalence of images of women holding mirrors, even gazing at their own reflections, representations of women applying cosmetics are completely absent, in contrast to the many images of women bathing and applying perfume.111
The literary evidence is likewise limited.112 The locus classicus for Greek attitudes toward cosmetic use is Xenophon’s Oeconomicus, in whicH Ischomachus chastises his wife for making up her face “with a great deal of white face powder (psimythion) so that she might appear paler than she was, and with plenty of rouge (enchousa) so that she might seem to have a more rosy complexion than she truly had” (10.2).113 The deceptive quality of cosmetics is emphasized in comedy with a repeated trope in which an older woman tries to attract a younger lover by plastering her face with makeup.114 Other contemporary sources for cosmetics are rare: Theophrastus gives some information regarding materials, but cultural attitudes surrounding the use of cosmetics are absent.115 The pejorative connotations of cosmetics are emphasized by the early Church fathers (e. g., Gregory oF Nazianzus, “Against Women Who Use Cosmetics”), who likewise influence the late lexicographers; hence, the many later sources concerning cosmetics cannot be trusted.116
In stark contrast to the visual and literary sources, the archaeological evidence for cosmetics is widespread. Ceramic boxes (e. g.,pyxis, lekanis) containing tablets of white lead carbonate (psimythion) (Figure 3.6) and red alkanet (enchousa) are common finds in graves, as are cosmetic spoons and applicators in ivory and bronze.117 These objects are found exclusively in women’s graves, suggesting that cosmetics were used by women only.
The literary sources confirm that cosmetics were gendered feminine.118 As discussed earlier, the ideal skin color for women was white, as a reflection of their elite status. Ischomachus’ complaint regarding his wife’s use of makeup rests on the notion that she is artificially creating the pallor that should result naturally from her containment within the oikos.119 In general, the deceptive quality of cosmetics corresponds to Greek ideas regarding feminine cunning anD deception. In Lysias’ speech On the Murder of Eratosthenes (1.14), the defendant Euphiletus suspected his wife’s affair because she had left the house wearing face powder.120
On the other hand, there is some evidence that men also employed cosmetics to replicate the appearance of tanned skin that would result naturally from exercise in the nude in the gymnasion.121 Ischomachus’ criticism of his wife’s use of cosmetics is made more emphatic with the provocative suggestion that he might employ cosmetics in the context of sex: “Should I seem more deserving of your love as a partner in intercourse if I tried to offer my body to you after
3.6. Corinthian lekanis containing cosmetic pigments, ca. 380/70, 3rd Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities — Kerameikos Museum 10539, Athens. ©Hellenic Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs, Culture and Sports/Archaeological Receipts Fund. Photo: Bibi Saint-Pol/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain.
Taking care that it was strong and vigorous and therefore glowing with a genuinely healthy complexion? Or if I presented myself to you smeared with red lead (miltos) and wearing male-flesh-colored (andreikelon) eye make-up and had intercourse with you like that, deceiving you and offering you red lead (miltos) to see and touch instead of my own skin?”122 Men’s cosmetics use is clearly not viewed in a positive manner.123 Elsewhere in Greek literature, the only men who employ cosmetics are barbarians: Herodotus names severaL African trIbes who smeared their bodies with miltos (4.191; 4.194; 7.69); Xenophon claims that Cyrus encouraged the use of eye makeup and cosmetics for the skin (Cyropaedia, 8.1.41), and that Astyages wore eyeliner, colorful makeup, and hairpieces, according to the custom of the Medes (Cyropaedia 1.3.2). In Ion’s satyr-play Omphale (frs. 24 and 25), Herakles’ transvestism is achieved by means of black kohl eyeliner, together with exotic perfumes and Lydian garments.124 As with the use of perfumes, the conflation of feminine and barbarian underscores the negative connotations oF cosmetics.
Given the pervasive disapproval of cosmetics in literature, how are we to interpret the widespread archaeological evidence for women’s use of cosmetics? As with perfumes, it may be a question of degree: an obviously made up woman (or man) was subject to censure, while judicious use of cosmetics connoted beauty and good breeding. The paradox of achieving a “natural” Appearance by artificial means persists in modern culture and serves as a means of social control of women.125
Transformations of the Hair
Hair is ascribed special signIficance in many cultures, in part as a result of its unique qualities: it is of the body, but not itself alive; it is painlessly and easily manipulated by means of cutting, shaving, plucking, coloring, curling, binding, or covering; it is highly visible, especially that on the head and face.126 Because hair, like fingernails and toenails, is easily detached from the body, it exists between cultural categories; hence, hair is taboo in many cultures.127 On the other hand, its visibility, combined with the ease with which it may be transformed, makes it especially effective as a marker of changes in social status.
For the Greeks, hair was primarily a symbol of generation.128 According to Aristotle, the brain was moist; therefore, the head contained the most moisture in the body (Problems, 1.16), and this moisture sustained the growth of hair on the head (Problems, 1.16; Generation of Animals, 5.3).129 Since sexual intercourse drains semen, and therefore moisture, from the head, men were predisposed to baldness (Generation of Animals, 5.3).130 Likewise, men with thick hair were considered lustful (Problems, 4.31). The erotic value of hair required that it be subject to social control by means of cutting and binding.
World History
