Aliptae
（
ἀλεῖπται). Persons who anointed the bodies of the
athletes. The chief object of this anointing was to close the pores of the body, in order to
prevent much perspiration and the weakness consequent thereon. To effect this object, the oil
was not simply spread over the surface of the body, but also well rubbed into the skin. The
oil was mixed with fine African sand, several jars full of which were found in the baths of
Titus. One of these is now in the British Museum. This preparatory anointing was called
ἡ παρασκευαστικὴ τρίψις. The athlete was again anointed
after the contest, in order to restore the tone of the strained muscles: this anointing was
called
ἡ ἀποθεραπειά. He then bathed, and had the dust,
sweat, and oil scraped off his body by means of an instrument similar to the
strigil of the Romans, and called
στλεγγίς, and
afterwards
ξύστρα. They were thus a kind of medical trainers,
ἰατραλεῖπται. See
Athletae.
Among the Romans, the aliptae were slaves. They, too, like the Greek
ἀλεῖπται, appear to have attended to their masters' constitution and mode of
life. They were also called
unctores. They used in their operations a
kind of scraper called
strigil, towels (
lintea), a
cruse of oil (
guttus), which was usually of horn, a bottle (see
Ampulla), and a small vessel called
lenticula. See
Balneae.
