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The norms and conventions of the ancient Roman world largely dictated the hygiene practices of its emperors - as did their personal vanity, practicality, and access to luxury. Physical representations of these men on coins and in busts give us an idea of their appearance while surviving literature provides insight into just how clean they really were.
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Physical representations of Roman emperors on coins and in busts gives us an idea of what they looked like
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But the real question, of course, is what did those guys smell like
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So, today, we're going to take a look at what hygiene was like for an ancient Roman emperor
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Through the first half of the first century, Roman men commonly wore their hair and facial hair long
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But Julius Caesar didn't, and when he came to power, he became a model for shorter hair
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in general. According to the Roman historian Suetonius, Caesar was somewhat overnice in the care of
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his person, being not only carefully trimmed and shaved, but even having superfluous hair
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plucked out. Suetonius also tells us that Caesar was balding and apparently pretty upset about it, because
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he knew his political enemies and detractors mocked him for it. So what would Caesar do
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The same thing many men still do to hide their bald spots
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As Suetonius reports, he used to comb forward his scanty locks from the crown of his head
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and of all the honors voted him by the Senate and people, there was none which he received
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or made use of more gladly than the privilege of wearing a laurel wreath at all times
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Yeah, you heard that right. Julius Caesar had a comb over and liked to wear hats
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And since powerful people often double as trendsetters, this look became the norm for
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emperors, and Greek barbers were brought to Rome to maintain cleanly shaven appearances
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In fact, it wasn't until Hadrian, over 70 years later, that another Roman emperor wore a beard
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and even he may have only done so to hide skin deformities on his face
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Emperor Tiberius was called handsome by Suetonius, though the author also noted that he
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would break out on a sudden with many pimples. Acne was not without remedy during the first century
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In fact, medical writer Aulus Cornelius Kelsus produced an entire treatise on health, cleanliness
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and the treatment of various diseases and afflictions, including skin problems. When it came to removing pimples
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Kelsus prescribed the application of resin, to which not less than the same amount of split alum
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and a little honey has been added. Then a mixture of equal quantities of galbanum and soda
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pounded in vinegar to the consistency of honey should be smeared on the affected area. After
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several hours, that should be washed off and the area should be anointed lightly with oil
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That being said, Celsus didn't really think the whole procedure was worth the trouble
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And in his Dei Medechena, he wrote, to treat pimples and spots and freckles is almost a waste
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of time In many ways Roman bathing practices were consistent regardless of class Emperors and common folk alike used a strigil which is essentially a small sickle to wipe
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away sweat and oil. After exercising or bathing, Romans would cover themselves in oil
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Then they used a strigil to scrape it off into a gutus, or small pitcher
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The process was devoid of soap and was followed by a cold water rinse
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Wealthy individuals had slaves scrape them, while the poor had to do it themselves
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Excess use of the strigil, however, could have negative consequences. While the rinse after a good strigil scrape was meant to restore moisture
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the process was irritating to the skin. Strigils were also quite sharp
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Suetonius even speculated that Emperor Augustus' numerous callous places resembling ringworm were caused by a constant itching of his body and vigorous use of the strigil
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Public bathing in Rome was a communal activity enjoyed by members of the lower classes
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Wealthy Romans would often have private baths, but as the Roman Empire expanded, bathhouses
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were built in small and large settlements alike. Emperor Hadrian was a common presence at public baths, which was welcomed by other patrons
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According to contemporary reports, he often bathed in the public baths, even with the
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meanest crowd. On one occasion, Hadrian was at a public bath when he saw a veteran he used to serve with
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The man was rubbing his back and the rest of his body against the wall. Hadrian asked why he was doing that, and the man replied that it was because he did not own a slave
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Apparently moved, Hadrian presented the man with some slaves and the cost of their maintenance
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This act prompted others to try the same thing in hopes of receiving the same reward
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But that hustle didn't quite work out. Instead, when Hadrian saw a number of old men rubbing themselves against the wall for
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the purpose of arousing the generosity of the emperor, he ordered them to be called
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out and then rub one another in turn. Well, it was a good try
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Romans did not have soap in the modern sense, but they did find other ways to clean their clothes
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And one of those ways was by soaking them in urine. We've talked about this in other Weird History videos, but yeah, Romans used human and animal
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urine to strip clothes of dirt and oil. It's not as crazy or disgusting as it sounds, because urine is, in fact, high in ammonia
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which is a cleaning agent. Urine is also fairly easy to get
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Traders would gather it from public toilets. And taxes levied on urine generated revenue to pay Roman troops, a plan first instituted
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by Emperor Vespasian. Vespasian's son, Titus, however, was repelled by this tax
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According to Suetonius Vespasian held a piece of money from the first payment to his son nose asking whether its odor was offensive to him When Titus said no Vespasian replied yet it comes from urine Talk about rubbing it in your face
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Hadrian was a regular visitor at public baths, but Emperor Galienas took things to a whole
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other level. According to reports, he indulged in as many as six or seven baths a day during the summer
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months, and at least two or three a day in the winter. Emperors Gordian and Commodus were also said to have bathed often
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The latter often took his meals in the bath. And contrary to what you saw in Ridley Scott's 2000 film Gladiator, he would eventually be
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slain in the bathroom after being given a glass of wine laced with poison
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Or it might have been meat. Reports conflict. Regardless of how the poison was delivered, it wasn't actually the toxic substance that
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ended Commodus' life. In fact, according to Cassius Dio, Commodus vomited some of the poison and then got pretty
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pissed off about the whole thing. His anger wouldn't last long, though
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For Dio also tells us Narcissus, a wrestler and Commodus' fitness coach, went in and asphyxiated
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the emperor in his bath. That doesn't really tell us much about hygiene, but it does tell us, maybe think twice about
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the person you hire as a fitness coach. Just like bathing in the Roman world, using the toilet was communal and lacked privacy
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Public toilets had numerous seats lined up next to each other with holes that led to sewer systems
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Unless you happened to be one of the wealthy Romans, in which case you probably had a private
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toilet installed. At his villa near Tivoli, Emperor Hadrian, for example, commissioned
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several private toilets with marble seats and footrests. Many of the single-seat toilets were
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arranged in clusters near dining halls and designed for individuals of varying social ranks
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Archaeological evidence shows that some of these toilets contained bubbling fountains, which would be used to rinse the sponges that Romans used to cleanse themselves
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There is also evidence of foundations and sink-like structures where the sponges would have been kept
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Though Hadrian and his fellow nobles may not have realized the health benefits at the time
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private baths and toilets offered a more sanitary alternative to the public Roman bathhouses
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which were rife with parasites and disease. Larger public bathing facilities in Rome were known as thermi. These were often commissioned
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by emperors and served as a location for socializing. Thermied featured dressing rooms
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with holes in the walls for patrons to store their belongings. A tepidarium that contained
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a pool of warm water, a caldarium that contained a pool of hot water, and a frigidarium, which
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contained a pool of cold water. Some Thermes even had outdoor swimming pools dry saunas and a gymnasium The very first Thermy which succeeded the smaller bathhouses that came before it was commissioned by Augustus and designed by his chief deputy Agrippa in 25 BC
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After that, Roman emperors began commissioning larger and more elaborate thermi for public bathing purposes
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Though they didn't keep a formal court, Roman emperors often dined with friends, nobles
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and family members. Behavior and fare at the dinner table depended on the emperor
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Suetonius described Augustus, for example, as a light eater and as a rule ate of plain food
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Suetonius, however, painted a much different picture of Claudius, whom he described as
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eager for food and drink at all times and in all places. In fact, according to Suetonius, Claudius hardly ever left the dining room until he
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was stuffed and soaked, and then he went to sleep at once, lying on his back with his
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mouth open, and a feather was put down his throat to relieve his stomach. Very attractive
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Anyway, few Roman emperors cultivated such a gluttonous reputation, but even those with a taste for fine dining did so at the expense of their guests
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Caligula, for example, reportedly forced some high-ranking senators to run in their togas for several miles beside his chariot and to wait on him at the table
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standing napkin in hand either at the head of his couch or at his feet. Two centuries later, Elagabalus amused himself by enjoying a number of savory dishes
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while his fellow diners received only napkins embroidered with the food he was eating
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That's a pretty lousy host. At the other end of the spectrum, there was Emperor Severus Alexander
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who preferred clean, uncomplicated meals. Suetonius wrote that his banquets were neither sumptuous nor yet too frugal
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but always characterized by the greatest good taste, and none but white napkins were used
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Now that's classy. Take some notes, Elagabalus. Short haircuts were common among emperors, but few were proud of their thin or fading hairlines
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Emperor Domitian, for example, was so unhappy about his hair loss, he had himself depicted
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in coins and statuary with a full head of hair and wore a wig later in life
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One of his predecessors, Otho, also wore a hairpiece to hide the thinness of his locks
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Suetonius claimed the wig was so carefully fashioned and fitted to his head that no one
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suspected it, or no one wanted to point out the emperor wore a rug
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Emperor Caracalla wore a wig as well, but not to hide a balding head
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During a tour of the empire, he became especially fond of the Germans, to the point that he
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preferred German clothes to his Roman cloak, and donned a yellow wig with the locks arranged
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in German style. The Germans, for their part, were delighted with the emperor's antics, and according to
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Suetonius, they became very fond of him, although this may have had more to do with
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his lavish gifts of money than his fashion sense
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