Gagnant du premier prix
Prix Humanitas 2011
Matthew Signer
Dawson College, Montréal
The Significance of Beauty Products in Classical and Roman Times
Beauty products, such as perfumes and ointments, played a substantial role in both Greek and Roman
civilizations. Aesthetic ideals led to the use of beauty products by upper class women who attempted to achieve
what was considered to be the standard of beauty. These products also served as a way for women of the upper
class to assert their status over those of lower classes. In addition, beauty products had major economic
significance as entire cities became devoted to producing enough high-quality products to satisfy the desires of
those wealthy individuals who purchased them. Beauty products even became an important part of Greek and
Roman culture as the vases which carried these products were used for various ceremonial events. Moreover,
these many facets of the significance of beauty products stemmed from a single source – their everyday use by
individuals.
Athenian women during the Classical period used many beauty products in order to try and achieve the
aesthetic ideal of their time. This was especially the case with upper class women, who were noted to have had
“an armory of mirrors, hairpins,… scent bottles, and pots for rouge and creams” (Durant 292). Classical Greeks
had an undoubtedly specific ideal of female beauty, as evidenced by the numerous depictions of the goddess of
Love, Aphrodite, in Classical art (Figure 1). Her face is perfectly proportioned, pale and devoid of blemishes. Her
features are both soft and defined. Aphrodite served as the standard of
beauty for Athenian women to aspire to. However, although they did
“admire beauty” (Durant 291), they did not “always embody it.” Thus,
Athenian women turned to various forms of makeup in order to achieve
their ideals of aesthetics. They would paint their cheeks and lips with
“sticks of minium or alkanet root” (Durant 292), pencil their eyebrows
with “lampblack or pulverized antimony” and use various oils in order to
“prevent perspiration.”
These beauty products also served as a way for women to
“announce or disguise their incomes” (Durant 293). Similar to the goal of
achieving aesthetic perfection, Athenian women would use beauty
products in order to try and reach the goal of social perfection in terms of
class. This was certainly the case with makeup, as historians Amos and
Lang note that elaborate makeup was mainly a luxury “for wealthy
women” (142). However, the use of beauty products in order to announce
social status was even more prevalent in the use of perfumes. Jean-Pierre
Brun notes how “it is the amount of money spent on perfumes that
distinguishes the city lady from the country girl” (281) during the
Classical period. Most women used common perfumes that were “made
locally from olive-oil and herbs” (Amos and Lang 142). Wealthier
Athenian women could afford foreign and expensive perfumes, coming
largely came from Corinth which had “specialized in producing and
exporting fragrant oils” (Brun 281).
Beauty products served a very similar purpose within the Roman
world. Roman women would use various forms of makeup, such as chalk
in order to make parts of their faces more white, fucus to give a rouge
Figure 1: Marble Statue of Aphrodite Anadyomene
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effect and ashes or antimony for the darkening of eye-brows and eyelids (Tingay and Badcock 135). Much like
the Classical era, Roman women used these beauty products in order to attempt to satisfy the “fashion-conscious”
(Ling 744) aesthetic ideals of their time. These beauty products were also mainly exclusive to high class women
who were able to afford the “exotic materials” (Ling 745) that these products may have consisted of.
Beauty products were also economically significant within Greek and Roman societies. Archaeological
evidence for the economic significance of beauty products during the Classical period has been uncovered in
recent years. Jean-Pierre Brun provides an excellent example of this during his account of archaeological digs on
the island of Delos. He notes that “numerous wine and oil presses” (Brun 282) have been uncovered at Delos so
far. Specifically, a large number of press beds were found at Delos’ “busy shopping area” (Brun 282). Although it
has been disputed as to whether these press beds were used to create wine or oils, Brun argues the position that
they were primarily producing oils for various perfumes (284). This implies that perfume production was a
significant business during the Classical period, as these press beds suggest the existence of many perfume shops
on Delos’ busier districts. Perfume was a particularly strong business on the island of Delos, as the Roman Pliny
writes how “in the old days, the most appreciated perfumes came from Delos” (qtd. in Brun 286). Delos was
clearly one of the great producers of perfume during the Classical period. Furthermore, this business was not only
one of great production but also of great wealth. The Classical logographer Lysias, in one of his speeches, accuses
a man of having “promoted himself from the condition of peddler to that of perfume-seller” (qtd. in Brun 282)
after borrowing money from many people. Lysias’ words show evidence for the economic prosperity of
perfumeries during his own time. Perfume-sellers were seen as wealthy artisans whose comparison to peddlers
was a significant one.
Perfume production also had a
significant economic impact on Rome during
the Roman period. Brun notes how Campania
was a region of Rome where “perfume
production reached near-industrial levels” (290).
Several cities in Campania show archaeological
evidence of businesses producing perfumes on a
major scale. The results of an excavation in the
city of Pompeii were recorded by Wilhelmina
Jashemski, who notes the discovery of what
seems to be a “commercial flower garden” (403)
in the massive “Garden of Hercules.” The
evidence found at the garden suggests that it
produced flowers for perfumes, such as the
identification of “many perfume bottles”
(Jashemski 411) around the garden (Figure 2,
qtd. in Jashemski 413 Fig. 7). In addition, there
were multiple instances where “olive pollen”
(Jashemski 408) and “carbonized cherries” were
uncovered. These are both key ingredients to
perfume production and strongly imply that this
garden was meant to meet the large needs of the
Figure 2: Perfume Bottles of Blown Glass (qtd. in Jashemski 413 Fig. 7)
perfume industry in Campania.
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Brun notes the archaeological discovery of further evidence to support the idea of Campania as a center
for producing perfume. The northeast corner of the forum in the city of Paestum, once excavated, has been shown
to hold a room with a “marble press bed” (Brun 292) not unlike the press beds found in Delos. By analyzing the
erosion patterns of the press bed, the decay of this press bed has been attributed to “the release of oleic acid”
(Brun 293). Thus, it is certain that this press bed was primarily used to press olives in order to produce oils. This
suggests that the production and sale of perfumes was rather significant in Paestum. At the very least, it was
significant enough to warrant the setting up of a large perfumery in the city’s forum.
The excavations at Pompeii and Paestum both support the claim that Campania was a major center for
perfume production during the Roman period. Pliny, being a contemporary figure to Roman times, even noted
how “the Campanians produce more scent than other people do oil” (qtd. in Brun 298), pointing to the
significance of perfumes in Campania. However, it is important to note that these production centers were also
economically significant to Rome itself. Brun describes the perfume production industry as having “constituted
one of the region’s economic resources as early as the fourth century B.C.” (298) and as being “a lucrative
venture” (299). In addition, he reports that the price of a high-quality perfume could cost up to 12 drachmai (Brun
300). To put this in perspective, a regular agricultural worker would have been paid between 1 and 2 drachmai per
day (Brun 300). Thus, the perfume business was lucrative enough to allow perfumeries to charge prices for their
high-end perfumes that were completely out of range for the lower classes. There must have been a significant
upper class market in order to justify the large Garden of Hercules and the prominent perfumery at Paestum.
Several ancients also attributed to the economic success of perfume production. Cato, Columella and Varro all
suggest that farmers who live near a city and wish to get rich need only to plant an assortment of flowers
(Jashemski 409). The words of these contemporaries to Roman times certainly implies the economic significance
of these large perfumeries in Campania.
Beauty products also had a significant impact on the culture of Classical Greece and Ancient Rome.
Specifically, certain products and perfumes were given a ceremonial status within society. Classical Athens, for
example, made ceremonial uses out of the vases which held beauty products. Corinth, which Brun describes as
having “specialized in producing and fragrant oils” (281) during the Classical period, now contains a vast amount
of ancient perfume vases such as the aryballos and the lekythos (Brun 281). The different purposes that these
types of perfume containers are meant for exemplify the ceremonial significance of perfumes in ancient Greece.
Mary and Carl Roebuck, in describing the archaeological find of an aryballos
vase in Corinth, note how the scene painted onto the aryballos was in fact
“one of the earliest representations of a dancing chorus” (158). They go on to
suggest that the lively scene painted onto this vase suggests that it served as a
ceremonial “commemoration of a victory in a dancing contest” (Roebuck 158).
This description implies that the aryballos, and quite likely most aryballoi in
general, were used in the context of ceremonial celebrations. In contrast,
lekythoi were perfume vases that served an entirely different ceremonial
purpose. Murray, in his analysis of an Athenian lekythos uncovered during an
archaeological dig, notes how a woman “carrying offerings for the dead” (192)
is painted onto the vase. He goes on to state that this design “illustrates the use
to which such lekythi were put” (Murray 192). Indeed, this particular lekythos
supports an idea of lekythoi vases as a type of ceremonial offering during
funerals. The red-figure lekythos (Figure 3) serves as another example of the
ceremonial use of the lekythos perfume vase. A lone figure playing an
instrument is painted on the vase, which gives multiple possible uses for it. It
Figure 3: Red-Figure Lekythos
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is possible that it was created as part of a celebration which involved music. However, the fact that only a single
musician has been painted onto the vase also allows for an interpretation of the figure as a sort of commemoration.
This could have even been a funerary vase if it was created for the funeral of a known musician. Regardless of the
vase’s specific use, the craftsmanship of the vase certainly implies that it had a ceremonial and cultural
significance when it was created.
The Romans also attributed ceremonial values to some of the beauty products that were produced at the
time. Similarly to the Classical lekythoi, the Roman Period saw the introduction of the unguentarium vase.
Virginia Anderson-Stojanović notes that these unguentaria are often shown “on grave reliefs” (116) which
reflects “their function as offerings.” Although the contents of unguentaria vases tend to vary, they are almost
always filled with some sort of perfume or ingredient for a perfume. This includes “viscous substances such as oil
or honey” (Anderson 115) as well as powdered substances such as “incense” (116). Anderson even brings up a
glass unguentarium that was uncovered at Knossos which contained a red ochre powder, which was likely used
“as a cosmetic” (116). Thus, unguentaria seemed to contain varying forms of beauty products, from cosmetic
makeup to perfumes and perfume ingredients. Its function as a funerary vase implies the ceremonial significance
of beauty products within Roman society.
The use and production of beauty products have been shown to carry major significance within Classical
and Roman societies. These products were important for the daily lives of women, specifically of the higher
classes, in their quest to fulfill the aesthetic standard for beauty of their own times. They also served as status
symbols which allowed elite women to assert their wealth over the lower classes. Beauty products also had a
major economic impact in the ancient world as a direct result of their common use. The examples of Delos and
Corinth during the Classical period, and of Pompeii and Paestum during the Roman period, show just how large
the scale of these businesses were. Furthermore, the texts of ancients such as Pliny and Lysias provide evidence
for the wealth that was found in the perfume trade. Finally, the vases used to carry beauty products, such as the
lekythos and the unguentarium, serve as examples of the cultural significance of beauty products to ancient
societies through their ceremonial use in Greek and Roman societies. Although these beauty products were purely
aesthetic and had no utilitarian use, they still persisted as a wholly significant part of Classical Greece and ancient
Rome.
Works Cited
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Anderson-Stojanović, Virginia R. “The Chronology and Function of Ceramic Unguentaria.” American Journal of
Archaeology. 91.1 (1987): 105-122. Jstor. Web. 8 May 2011.
Badcock, J. and G.I.F. Tingay. These Were the Romans. 2nd ed. Chester Springs, Pennsylvania: Dufour Editions Inc., 1989.
Print.
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Brygos Painter. “Lekythos.” Pottery. ca. 480 BCE. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Met Museum Works of Art
Collection Database. Web. 4 May 2011.
Durant, Will. The Story of Civilization II: The Life of Greece. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1939. Print.
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Oswyn Murray. New York: Oxford University Press, 1986. 718-747. Print.
“Marble Statue of Aphrodite Anadyomene.” Sculpture. ca. 2nd century BCE. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Met
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