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.