Not Just a Pretty Face: Intimate Cosmetics in Greco-Roman Antiquity

Ancient cosmetic sculpture

Event Date

Location
126 Voorhies

We are excited to welcome Dr. Laurence Totelin (Cardiff University), who will be joining us to deliver a talk entitled "Not Just a Pretty Face: Intimate Cosmetics in Greco-Roman Antiquity" on Thursday, Feb 16 @ 4pm in 126 Voorhies.

Ancient Greek and Latin medical texts include numerous recipes for intimate cosmetic products, that is, cosmetics for the sexual organs and for the breasts. While there is a growing body of scholarship on ancient cosmetics, it is heavily focused, quite naturally, on the care of the face and the hair. It also tends to centre on the use of cosmetics by young white women, when people of all genders, ages and ethnicities would have used them. In this paper, Dr. Totelin will analyse some of the preserved recipes for intimate cosmetic products and replace them within the context of the ancient cosmetic treatises, only fragments of which survive. She will explore the cultural expectations of beauty that are implicit in these recipes and discuss the status of the people who consumed those products.  

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