ROMSO Cyprus Knowledge Base

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Rome's hair was constantly changing, and during the Roman Empire there was a whole series of different ways of making hair. Like with clothes, there were a couple of clues that could carry people out of a limited circle of ancient society. The styles are so peculiar that they allow scientists to capture the chronology of Roman sculpture today; we can figure out the date of images of emperors on coins, or we can set the person's identity in the lobby depending on their hairstyle.

Value

Like today, Roman hair was a manifestation of personal identity like clothing. The exceptions were determined by a bunch of factors, namely gender, age, social status, wealth and professional. A woman's hair expressed her individuality in the ancient Roman world. The way a man folded his hair was a sign of her status and role in society.

The hair of the Romans was considered a very erotic area of the female body, and the attractive woman was directly connected to his external appearance. And as a consequence, women thought it was appropriate to spend time on their hair to look tempted. Creating haircuts and essential parts of this process -- looking at yourself in mirrors, felt like a woman's activity. Long-term care sessions were provided for women, despite the fact that authors like Tertulian and Plini had commented them disgust for time and energy women devoted to their hair. Still, many of the images of women engaged in barber services are seen in the mirror. The relief of the tomb and portraits is evidence of how much hairstyle art was considered part of the female sphere.

The Persian craft existed not only for attractiveness -- it was the proof of cultural, elegant woman. The hair was regarded as a sign of wealth and social status, and as tastes and fashion. But unlike today's hairstyles, comfort and nature for the Romans went to the second plan compared to the ones that showed the wealth of the owner. In other words, a complex and unnatural hair would be better than simple, because it would show the wealth of the owner that can afford to spend time on the canvas of hair. A certain hairstyle meant that they were part of an elegant Roman culture.

"Natural" style was associated with barbarians, in which the Romans thought there were neither money or education to create complex hair. The loyalty showed that there was no culture, and the care behind the hair followed the play- next to society. The barbarians' association was because Roman men had cut their hair short. The work of hairstyled slaves, called Ornates, is to create a new hairstyle for your master every day, and get rid of your blue hair.

In addition to social values, hair is symbolic to indicate the movements of the transition; for example, the dismal hair was a common phenomenon at funerals, and the seni crins had a hair that had been worn by the groom and the sheath; separated and joined into six cats, and the bride had a spear. W