Calamistrum
Calamistrum (pl. calamistri: calamistra, Varro ap. Charis. p. 61), a curling-iron, so called from its resemblance to a reed. Its use among the Greeks may be inferred from the representations of elaborately dressed hair in works of art. Among the Romans, it was in vogue as early as the days of Plautus (Asin. 3.3, 37; Curc. 4.4, 21), and became as common among them as it has been in modern times (Serv. on Aen. 12.100). It was much employed by ladies and boys, and sometimes even by men, although for them the practice was considered effeminate (Cic. pro Sest. 8, 18; post red. in sen. 5, 12; in Pis. 11, 25). Hence the figurative use of the word to express an excess of literary ornament (Cic. Or. 23, 78; Brut. 75.262; Tac. Dial. 26). The calamistrum appears to resemble the modern curling-irons, and to have belonged therefore to the department of the ornatrix. Muratori (991, 2) gives the epitaph of a liberta a calamistro, while ciniflo (Hor. Sat. 1.2, 98; Tert. ad Uxor. 2.8) or cinerarius (Varr. L. L. 5.129; Cat. 61, 138; Sen. Dial. 2.14, 1; Acron ad Hor. l.c.; Tert. l.c.) was the title of the slave who heated the irons.
From William Smith (ed.), Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities. Text provided under a CC BY-SA license by Perseus Digital Library, http://www.perseus.tufts.edu, with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities and Tufts University. Data accessed from https://github.com/PerseusDL/canonical-pdlrefwk/ on 17 October 2026.