Strigils and sponges (1879) Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema

A strigil was a small, curved, metal tool used in ancient Greece and Rome to scrape dirt and sweat from the body before effective soaps became available. First perfumed oil was applied to the skin, and then it would be scraped off, along with the dirt. For wealthier people, this process was often done by slaves. Strigils were often used in Roman baths.

Roman strigils 1 century B.C.

Apoxyomenos: an athlete cleaning himself

A strigil sarcophagus is a sarcophagus carved with S-shaped parallel grooves reminiscent of the marks left by strigils.

Strigil Sarcophagus in Saint-Victor_de_Marseille Abbey

[edit] See also

• Gymnasium (ancient Greece)
• Roman bath

This article relating to archaeology in Europe is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v • d • e