13.7 A Bad Hair Day in Ancient Rome

Her Half of History

I hope you’ve never had a hair day quite like that of Corinna, the mistress to whom the Roman poet Ovid wrote Amores, or The Loves. Corinna dyed her hair so hard, it all fell out. And of all the strange things, Ovid wrote a poem about it.

It's possible that Corinna was not a real person or that this wasn't a real incident. But the poem ranges from hair dye, to hair texture, to ancient Roman curling irons, and the proper treatment of hairdressers, so it is enlightening about Roman women and their hair anyway.

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