Timeline Strigils were not used in the earlier ages of Greek history. This is supported by
Homer's poems, which state that oil was applied after bathing and was not removed. Furthermore, strigils are not mentioned in literature until the later portion of the 5th century
BC. In Book 23 of the
Iliad, during the funeral games for
Patroclus,
Homer describes the athletes using strigils to clean themselves after physical contests. This is one of the earliest literary references to the strigil in Greek culture, illustrating its use in the context of athletic events, which were an important part of Greek social and religious life.
Cultural depictions As stated above, strigils are represented throughout Greek, Roman, and Etruscan cultures in varying ways. Strigils were often depicted alongside olive oil and an athlete. The
Croatian Apoxyomenos is a
bronze statue that displays the use of a strigil by an athlete. Strigils were also represented on some
sarcophagi, such as the marble strigil sarcophagus of a Greek physician, which has elaborate S-shaped curves on it to symbolize strigils. One source offers an alternative portrayal of strigils, "a secondary meaning for the word stlengis, strigil, is
wreath or
tiara." To support the claim that a strigil may have been viewed as a tiara or wreath, there was a 5th-century grave that had a strigil across the forehead of a corpse. In the excavation of another 3rd-century BC tomb, which contained an Etruscan woman, there was an inscribed silver strigil along with a mirror. Strigils were commonly found in the tombs of Etruscan women, and it seemed to be an essential part of women’s bathing equipment.
Composition and design As is obvious from the strigils found in the previously discussed tombs, strigils could differ in the type of metal used, design, etc., depending on the status of the individual it belonged to, time period, and other relevant factors. The typical metals used for strigils were bronze and iron. Some other variations of strigils are as follows:
Hippias, an ancient Greek
sophist who created his own strigil, made it in a unique way which allowed for sweat to drain through a small channel. Literature from
Plutarch states that
Spartans used
reeds at times instead of the typical metal strigils. ==Gallery==