Flavia Gemina Posted July 14, 2007 Report Share Posted July 14, 2007 (edited) I have just watched a video clip interview with the costume designer and make-up lady on my TV series. The make-up lady, Leslie, says Roman men 'only washed their hair twice a year, because it was considered unlucky'!!! Before I shoot this comment down in flames on my website, is there any evidence for this? Thanks! Flavia P.S. You can watch the clip HERE (The Costumes) Edited July 14, 2007 by Flavia Gemina Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcus Caelius Posted July 14, 2007 Report Share Posted July 14, 2007 I have just watched a video clip interview with the costume designer and make-up lady on my TV series. So, I'm going to sound stupid, yet again. I'm still sorting out forum personalities and occupations and who-does-what here, but if this really is "your" TV series, why aren't you able to ask her directly for her source of information? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flavia Gemina Posted July 14, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 14, 2007 ...if this really is "your" TV series, why aren't you able to ask her directly for her source of information? It's the TV series based on my books. As I'm sure you know, for a film or TV series based on novels, the author is not always consulted on every detail of a production! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcus Caelius Posted July 14, 2007 Report Share Posted July 14, 2007 It's the TV series based on my books. As I'm sure you know, for a film or TV series based on novels, the author is not always consulted on every detail of a production! Ah. My sympathies. How does that go? Something like, "Watching your novel being turned into a movie is like watching a cow being turned into bouillon." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flavia Gemina Posted July 14, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 14, 2007 (edited) Almost: 'Having your book turned into a movie is like seeing your oxen turned into bouillon cubes.' John leCarre Edited July 14, 2007 by Flavia Gemina Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flavia Gemina Posted July 14, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 14, 2007 (edited) The problem is the costume lady who lets Pliny the Elder dress in full Admiral's regalia to go investigate the volcano and the screewriter who thinks it's cute to have the bride throw a bouquet at a Roman wedding! Edited July 14, 2007 by Flavia Gemina Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcus Caelius Posted July 14, 2007 Report Share Posted July 14, 2007 Ouch! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ASCLEPIADES Posted July 14, 2007 Report Share Posted July 14, 2007 I have just watched a video clip interview with the costume designer and make-up lady on my TV series. The make-up lady, Leslie, says Roman men 'only washed their hair twice a year, because it was considered unlucky'!!! Before I shoot this comment down in flames on my website, is there any evidence for this? Salve, FG! I don't think you have any problem at all, it's simply nonsense. For example, HERE IS A GOOD LINK. Some extracts; "The universal acceptance of bathing as a central event in daily life belongs to the Roman world and it is hardly an exaggeration to say that at the height of the empire, the baths embodied the ideal Roman way of urban life." "Republican bathhouses often had separate bathing facilities for women and men, but by the empire the custom was to open the bathhouses to women during the early part of the day" "Mixed bathing was generally frowned upon, although the fact that various emperors repeatedly forbade it seems to indicate that the prohibitions did not always work." Congratulations for the success of your books and series! Go on and good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Dalby Posted July 15, 2007 Report Share Posted July 15, 2007 I have just watched a video clip interview with the costume designer and make-up lady on my TV series. The make-up lady, Leslie, says Roman men 'only washed their hair twice a year, because it was considered unlucky'!!! Before I shoot this comment down in flames on my website, is there any evidence for this? What Asclepiades says is true of course. I wonder whether your make-up lady's idea is somehow derived from the correct detail that "cosmetic" activities were definitely considered unlucky when on board ship. You may remember the incident in Petronius's Satyricon when Encolpius is spotted by another passenger while he's being shaved (his aim being to change his appearance hastily) with the result that he risks getting flogged or lynched. I discuss this incident in \Empire of Pleasures\ while exploring the pleasures and discomforts of travel in the Empire. When not on board ship, early and traditional Romans shaved every nine days -- i.e. every market day. Market days with us are every seven days, and even now it's noticeable that people tend to look their best, always clean shaven, smart(er) clothes, on market day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caldrail Posted July 15, 2007 Report Share Posted July 15, 2007 Given the roman penchant for bathing and personal hygiene, I would think it was highly unlikely they considered that washing hair was unlucky. It just wouldn't make sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flavia Gemina Posted July 15, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 15, 2007 Thanks for that, guys! Yes, I said on my site that most Roman men bathed daily and that the make-up lady's misconception probably arose from the fact that it was unlucky to cut your hair on board ship. This was because if you survived a shipwreck you cut your hair and offered it at the Temple of Neptune. So cutting hair on board ship was just tempting fate! Gratias ago! Flavia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moonlapse Posted July 15, 2007 Report Share Posted July 15, 2007 The burden of proof is hers, not yours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pertinax Posted July 15, 2007 Report Share Posted July 15, 2007 Given the Roman obsession with bathing and depilation (as Caldrail says) , alongside the fashion for purchasing the hair of barbarians (for women) one feels that hair care would hardly be neglected in a society that valued conspicuous consumption. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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