Reception of Antiquity in Modern Cosmetic Advertising and Marketing

Jane Draycott is Senior Lecturer in Ancient History at the University of Glasgow, UK. She has written academic books and articles on a range of subjects related to classical reception, ancient history and archaeology. Her recent publications include Extraordinary Bodies on Display: Humans, Animals and Cryptids from Antiquity to the Present (2026) and Women in Classical Video Games (co-edited with Kate Cook, Bloomsbury, 2022).Laurence Totelin is Professor of Ancient History at Cardiff University, UK. She has published extensively on ancient botany, pharmacology and gynaecology. Her recent publications include Selling Pharmaka, Buying Health in Ancient Greece and Rome: Retail Therapy (2026), A Cultural History of Medicine: Volume I (Bloomsbury Academic, 2021) and with Mark Bradley and Victoria Leonard Bodily Fluids in Antiquity (2021).

• List of IllustrationsList of ContributorsIntroduction (Jane Draycott, University of Glasgow and Laurence Totelin, Cardiff University, UK)Part 1: Cinema, Entertainment and Cosmetics1. The Black Venus: Josephine Baker and Early Twentieth Century Cosmetics (Grace McGowan, Boston University, USA)2. Sphinx Pink Lipstick and Salome Red Nail Polish: Marketing Cosmetics and Ancient World Epics in Studio-Era Hollywood (Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones, Cardiff University, UK)3. Selling Personal Glamour: Jergens Lotion, Neronian Decadence, and Christian Purity (Lauren Ginsberg, Duke University, USA)4. Actually, I’m Your Venus: Reading KKW Body as Sculpture (Hallie Franks, NYU Gallatin, USA)Part 2: Queens, Goddesses and Gods5. Semiramis, Dido, Zenobia and Other ‘Historically Famous Oriental Queens’ as Advertising Icons in a 1911 Palmolive Cosmetics Campaign (Anja Wieber, Dortmund University, Germany)6. The Use of Cleopatra VII in Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Century Soap Advertising (Jane Draycott, University of Glasgow, UK)7. The Goddess Remixed: Situating Lime Crime’s Venus Range from the Blog to the Temple (Rhiannon Easterbrook, Institute of Classical Studies, UK)8. Looking Back in Beauty: Orpheus and Eurydice in the Cosmetics Industry (Stacie Raucci, Union College, USA)9. Eros Invictus? Scenting the (Greek) Male Body (Ricarda Meisl, New York University, USA)Part 3: Perfumes10. The Fragrance of Places we Have Not Known (Sean Coughlin, Academy of Science of the Czech Republic, Czech Republic)11. Responses to Greek and Roman Archaeological Containers in Modern Perfume and Cosmetic Packaging (Thomas J. Derrick, University of Leicester, UK)12. Perfume Advertising Strategies and Classical Antiquity: Roles and Meaning of Greek and Roman Reference in Long-Term Marketing Campaigns (Claire Mercier, University Franche-Comté, and Fabien Bievre-Perrin, University of Lorraine, France)Part 4: Hygiene, Skincare and Class13. Bloody Moon Review: Selene’s myth, Between Hegemony and Antagonism in Contemporary Menstruation Brands and Advertisements (Anna Chiara Corradino, University of Bologna, Italy)14. ‘Complexion is the Principal Seat of Beauty’: Antiquity and Hygiene in Early Twentieth Century French Cream Advertising (Laurence Totelin, Cardiff University, UK)Afterward (Hillary Belzer, Makeup Museum, USA)Notes BibliographyIndex