{"id":49836,"date":"2019-05-04T19:38:47","date_gmt":"2019-05-04T17:38:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/artykul\/what-beauty-was-appreciated-by-romans\/"},"modified":"2025-12-30T23:53:03","modified_gmt":"2025-12-30T22:53:03","slug":"what-beauty-was-appreciated-by-romans","status":"publish","type":"artykuly","link":"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/article\/what-beauty-was-appreciated-by-romans\/","title":{"rendered":"What beauty was appreciated by Romans?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_88 ez-toc-wrap-left counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Chapters<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/article\/what-beauty-was-appreciated-by-romans\/#body-build\" >Body build<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/biographies\/ovid\/\">Ovid<\/a>, a Roman poet of the Augustan era, in his work <em>Medicamina Faciei Feminae<\/em>\u2014a short treatise on the care of the female body\u2014presents the ideal of female beauty: pale complexion, rosy cheeks, dark eyes, and skin free from unnatural odors.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n    <div class=\"ramka_ze_zdjeciem float-right \"\n         style=\"\">\n\n        <div class=\"zdjecie\">\n            <img\n                class=\"ramka-ze-zdjeciem\"\n                src=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Wall-painting-from-the-Vila-San-Marco2.jpg\"\n                                alt=\"In ancient Rome, pale skin was considered beautiful\"\n                width=\"250\"\n                height=\"373\"\n               \n               \n            \/>\n\n            <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Wall-painting-from-the-Vila-San-Marco2.jpg\"\n               rel=\"fancybox\"\n               title=\"In ancient Rome, pale skin was considered beautiful. The photo shows a wall painting from Vila San Marco in Stabiae.\">\n                <div class=\"iover\">\n                    <div class=\"zicon\">\n                        <i class=\"fa fa-search-plus\"><\/i>\n                    <\/div>\n                <\/div>\n            <\/a>\n        <\/div>\n\n                    <div class=\"opis\">\n                                In ancient Rome, pale skin was considered beautiful. The photo shows a wall painting from Vila San Marco in Stabiae.            <\/div>\n        \n        \n    <\/div>\n    \n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Indeed, the Romans weren&#8217;t the first to attach importance to female beauty. The Egyptians and Greeks had already developed their own canons of beauty, which over time strongly influenced the Roman imagination. Ovid&#8217;s work <em>Medicamina Faciei Feminae<\/em> concisely and evocatively shows how the perception of female beauty changed in Roman society\u2014from the founding of the <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/roman-geography\/roman-cities\/rome-eternal-city\/\">Eternal City<\/a> to the author&#8217;s contemporary era (1st century BCE \u2013 1st century CE). Roman women, unlike Egyptian and Greek women, used makeup primarily to subtly highlight natural features, rather than create a multi-colored composition on the face.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ovid emphasizes that a woman should care not only about her external beauty, but also about her character traits. Developing and nurturing these traits is meant to ensure the stability of a <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/roman-society\/marriage-and-love-life-in-ancient-rome\/\">marriage<\/a> and strengthen her husband&#8217;s love and affection.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In Ovid&#8217;s time, the feminine ideal of beauty was closely linked to a fair, pale complexion. The lack of a tan was a sign that a <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/roman-society\/roman-woman\/\">Roman woman<\/a> spent most of her time at home, as well as proof of belonging to a class wealthy enough to be able to use <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/roman-society\/social-layers-of-ancient-rome\/slavery-in-ancient-rome\/\">slave<\/a> labor. Women often lightened their skin with chalk, while highlighting their lips and cheeks with red clay. Ovid also provides a recipe for a complexion-whitening potion:<\/p>\r\n\r\n<blockquote class=\"center\">\r\n<p class=\"quote\">Take two pounds of peeled barley and an equal quantity of vetches moistened with ten eggs. Dry the mixture in the air, and let the whole be ground beneath the mill-stone worked by the patient ass. Pound the first horns that drop from the head of a lusty stag. Of this take one-sixth of a pound. Crush and pound the whole to a fine powder, and pass through a deep sieve. Add twelve <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/curiosities\/narcissus-wrestler-and-trainer-who-killed-commodus\/\">narcissus<\/a> bulbs which have been skinned, and pound the whole together vigorously in a marble mortar. There should also be added two ounces of gum and Tuscan spelt, and nine times as much honey. Any woman who smears her face with this cosmetic will make it brighter than her mirror.<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"male3\">&#8211; <strong>Ovid<\/strong>, <em>Medicamina Faciei Feminae<\/em><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n    <div class=\"ramka_ze_zdjeciem float-center \"\n         style=\"\">\n\n        <div class=\"zdjecie\">\n            <img\n                class=\"ramka-ze-zdjeciem\"\n                src=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/mosaic-in-Villa-at-Centocelle.jpg\"\n                                alt=\"Roman women on the mosaic in Villa Centocelle\"\n                width=\"600\"\n                height=\"594\"\n               \n               \n            \/>\n\n            <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/mosaic-in-Villa-at-Centocelle.jpg\"\n               rel=\"fancybox\"\n               title=\"Roman women on the mosaic in Villa Centocelle.\">\n                <div class=\"iover\">\n                    <div class=\"zicon\">\n                        <i class=\"fa fa-search-plus\"><\/i>\n                    <\/div>\n                <\/div>\n            <\/a>\n        <\/div>\n\n                    <div class=\"opis\">\n                                Roman women on the <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/roman-art-and-culture\/roman-mosaic\/\">mosaic<\/a> in <em>Villa Centocelle.<\/em>            <\/div>\n        \n                    <div class=\"chmurka\">\n                Author: Alberto Fernandez Fernandez | Na licencji Creative Commons Uznanie autorstwa - Na tych samych warunkach 2.5.            <\/div>\n        \n    <\/div>\n    \r\n<!-- \/wp:post-content -->\r\n\r\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\r\n<p>Both upper-class and lower-class women used cosmetics. Wealthier Roman women, however, could afford a much wider selection of products and ingredients. The best blends were virtually fragrance-free, while cheaper ones often had an unpleasant odor that had to be masked with <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/roman-society\/hygiene-in-ancient-romans\/ancient-roman-perfume\/\">perfume<\/a>. For this reason, Roman brothels were distinguished by a distinctive mix of makeup (commonly used by prostitutes) and intense perfume scents. Furthermore, as women aged, they increasingly tried to conceal their wrinkles. So they resorted to thicker layers of makeup, and the client, seeing this effect, guessed they were dealing with an elderly prostitute.<\/p>\r\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\r\n\r\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\r\n<p>It&#8217;s worth emphasizing that men wrote all surviving ancient sources on the subject of female beauty. Ovid preferred bold makeup, while other authors valued subtle makeup\u2014or even a complete lack thereof. However, there is no doubt that Roman women placed great importance on their appearance, just as modern women do. Of course, the canons of beauty of that time were significantly different from those of today.<\/p>\r\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\r\n\r\n<!-- wp:heading -->\r\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"body-build\"><\/span>Body build<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\r\n<!-- \/wp:heading -->\r\n\r\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\r\n<p>What figures were considered beautiful among Roman women? We can judge this based on preserved sculptures, paintings, and mosaics. The ideal woman was considered rather short and slender, yet powerfully built: with narrow shoulders, pronounced hips, wide thighs, and a small bust. Facial features were equally important. The desired beauty included large eyes, a distinct (sharp) nose, medium-sized lips and ears, and oval cheeks and chin.<\/p>\r\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\r\n\r\n<!-- wp:tadv\/classic-paragraph \/-->","protected":false},"featured_media":40218,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"kategorie_artykulow":[113],"class_list":["post-49836","artykuly","type-artykuly","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","kategorie_artykulow-society"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artykuly\/49836","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artykuly"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/artykuly"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artykuly\/49836\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40218"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49836"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"kategorie_artykulow","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/kategorie_artykulow?post=49836"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}