tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15868947.post8544272446137277934..comments2023-10-29T06:41:23.910-07:00Comments on Halfway There: Bandying words by the bayZenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09058127284297728552noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15868947.post-62933340460213923762009-05-22T00:20:44.330-07:002009-05-22T00:20:44.330-07:00As far as I remember from Latin class (and period ...As far as I remember from Latin class (and period movies), it was by no means just for athletes, but for everyone. They didn't use soap in the baths: instead they would rub themselves with olive oil, in which the grime from the skin would dissolve, go to the hot room (calidarium?) to sweat it out, then the sweat and grime/oil would be scraped off with the strigil (providing for exfoliation too, I would expect), before taking to the bath.Ploonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15868947.post-15054121653705826482009-05-21T17:33:19.796-07:002009-05-21T17:33:19.796-07:00I remember reading somewhere that athletes would o...I remember reading somewhere that athletes would oil themselves before their workouts, and that a special tool (the strigil?) was used to strip off sweat and oil before bathing. It'd make sense that the oil would make the tool more effective. And of course, since bathing was such an important social pastime for the Romans -- it was a forum for conducting business as well as social and business networking* -- it was probably considered rude to get into the communal bathing pool while still sweaty and/or dirty. I suspect <I>Spartacus</I> might not have gotten their history quite right.<br /><br />*Shelton, Jo-Ann, <I>As the Romans Did: a Sourcebook in Roman Social History</I>, 2nd ed., copyright 1998, Oxford University Press.Karennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15868947.post-63026025794188070412009-05-21T15:45:26.425-07:002009-05-21T15:45:26.425-07:00I recognized it immediately. I suspect anybody wh...I recognized it immediately. I suspect anybody who took Latin will -- it comes up more than you would think...The Brutal Gourmethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07757709920291579862noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15868947.post-29868241335914191092009-05-21T10:17:23.443-07:002009-05-21T10:17:23.443-07:00Persumably he was jumping to conclusions - like th...Persumably he was jumping to conclusions - like that guy at the opera.<br /><br />I know I've seen the word before, but I'd certainly forgotten it by now.Jens Knudsen (Sili)https://www.blogger.com/profile/14078875730565068352noreply@blogger.com