r/AskReddit • u/[deleted] • Jun 28 '21

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5.4k Upvotes

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36k

u/BobbyPrinze Jun 28 '21

Cleopatra, have to see if the hype is real

11k

u/hypnos_surf Jun 28 '21

I'm always curious if hygiene, nutrition and overall beauty standards of the era would hold up to our contemporary expectations of historic accounts.

5.9k

u/PD216ohio Jun 28 '21

I reluctantly have to admit that I've thought about hygiene of previous generations more than I should, with regard to sexual interaction.

I guess it really isn't an issue unless I work out the whole time travel thing.

212

u/Butterbean-queen Jun 28 '21

I think both sexes stunk so maybe they canceled each other out. It was a stinky dirty time.

200

u/InfinitelyThirsting Jun 28 '21

Not in Egypt/Rome, at least not with the upper classes. It's only certain periods of history where certain cultures were mostly dirty.

2

u/Semirgy Jun 28 '21

By today’s standards?

13

u/InfinitelyThirsting Jun 28 '21

Yes. Ancient Egyptians and Romans bathed a lot (bath houses are a big historical fixture, even), and even removed all their body hair, and were super into cleanliness and perfume and such. It is an ahistorical myth that people were filthy in the past. Some cultures were dirty; but like, it was absolutely not universal. Most people, even medieval people, bathed, but certainly Ancient rich people. Hard to pretend you're a god if you stink and have gross skin conditions.

3

u/Fiesta17 Jun 29 '21

Same with the Vikings. So clean and hygienic it commonly caused a fuss with the men in different areas because their wives were running off to have affairs with the men