Cerōma
(
κήρωμα). A composition of wax, with different references:
1.
A plaster, with wax as the principal ingredient (Hippocr. 397, 48); or, like
κερίον, an ulcer exuding wax-like matter (
Val.
i. 25 fin.).
2.
A mixture of oil, wax, and earth, with which athletes under the Roman Empire rubbed
themselves before wrestling (
Mart. iv. 19Mart., vii. 32;
Plin. H. N. xxxv.
168;
Plut. ii. 638d. To keep the hair
free from this compound, a cap was worn. (See Juv. iii. 68, with Mayor's note.)
3.
The place where the
ceroma was most used; hence, the wrestling-ring
(
Brev. Vit. xii. 3).