Gem with an Athlete Cleaning Himself with a Strigil

A youth bends over to scrape his shin with a curved blade called a strigil. After training, Greek athletes coated themselves in oil and used a strigil to scrape off the sweat, oil, and dirt. In part because it fills the oval space well, the pose of this figure, bending over in some activity, was a favorite for carved gems in the late 500s B.C. The difficult three-quarter view of the youth, the rendering of the musculature, and details such as the duck's head decorating the end of the strigil, however, display this artist's unique skills. The frequent depiction of athletes on gems of the late 500s B.C. reflects the interests of the men who owned them. A scaraboid is a simplified scarab. Rather than being carved as a beetle, the curved side of the stone is left plain. An intaglio design decorates the flat side. This scaraboid form gradually replaced the scarab in Greece in the 400s B.C. Scaraboid gems were pierced and worn as a ring or pendant. When attached to a metal hoop and worn as a ring, the curved side faced out and the intaglio surface rested against the finger. When needed as a seal, the ring was removed, the gem swiveled, and the intaglio design was pressed into soft clay or wax to identify and secure property. The ring in which this scaraboid is set is modern. As small, personal items, gems were easy to carry; although this example was made in the Cyclades, it was found in Sicily.