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GREEK DRESS
A Study of the Costumes Worn in
Ancient Greece, from Pre-Hellenic
Times to the Hellenistic Age
by
ETHEL B. ABRAHAMS, M.A.
With Illustrations
London
John Murray, Albemarle Street, W.
1908
TO MY FRIEND
ETHEL STRUDWICK
PREFACE
The object of this book is to give a continuous account of the dress
worn by the people inhabiting Greek lands, from the earliest times
of which we have any record down to the Hellenistic age. The first
chapter stands somewhat apart from the rest, since it deals with the
costume of the race which occupied the Ægean shores before the real
Hellenic races arrived on the scene, and of which we have abundant
remains in Crete and elsewhere within the Ægean area. The remains
found at Mycenæ, Tiryns, and other so-called Mycenæan sites, seem to
be the last efforts of this dying civilization, which was replaced in
the period of invasion and conquest recorded in the Homeric poems. I
have been unable to trace any continuous development from the dress
of this pre-Hellenic people to that of classic Greece, and the marked
difference in the type of costume between the two periods bears out
the theory of a difference of race.
I have endeavoured to show that the dress described in the Homeric
poems is of the same type as the dress of classic Greece, and of
this I have traced the historic development, classifying it into
two main divisions, namely, Doric and Ionic. The simple and severe
Doric dress contrasts with the more luxurious costume of the Ionian
Greeks, although there are many instances, from the fifth century
and onwards, in which the two styles are blended. I have noted also
the elements which probably came in from Northern Greece; these are
chiefly the chlamys and petasos.
The bulk of the following pages constituted a thesis approved for the
degree of Master of Arts in the University of London. In revising
the work for the press, however, some alterations and additions have
been made. The chief of these is the addition of the section on the
toilet; the illustrations have been carefully selected from extant
monuments.
My sources for the chapter on pre-Hellenic dress have been mainly
the finds of Mr A. J. Evans at Knossos, which I had the opportunity
of seeing in the Candia Museum; these have been supplemented by the
figures found at Petsofa, in Crete, and by various Mycenæan objects,
notably rings and gems. The papers published by Mr Evans and Mr J. L.
Myres in the _British School Annual_ have been of very great value.
For the chapter on Homeric dress, my chief authority has been the
poems themselves; in the absence of contemporary monuments, I
have used the François vase to illustrate this section, since the
figures upon it seem to tally most closely with the descriptions
of dress found in the poems. Of modern literary authorities, the
most valuable has been Studniczka’s _Beiträge zur Geschichte der
Altgriechischen Tracht_.
For the dress of the classical period, the evidence from extant art
is abundant, and I have based my study chiefly upon it. Sculpture and
vase-paintings have furnished the majority of my illustrations. I
have noted many references to dress scattered up and down the ancient
authors, and a passage from the fifth book of Herodotus has furnished
a starting-point for the classification into Doric and Ionic dress.
My theory as to the shape and “cut” of the himation worn by the
archaic ladies in the Acropolis Museum at Athens is, I think, a
new one; it is based on a very careful examination of the statues,
supplemented by some practical experiments in draping a living model.
For the sections on head-dress, materials, and footgear, I have
referred to passages in ancient literature, and have used extant
remains for illustrations, chiefly vase-paintings; except in the case
of materials, for which I have cited the actual fragments of fabric
found in Greek tombs at Kertch, in the Crimea.
In describing individual garments, I have in each case suggested
dimensions and given diagrams, which, it is hoped, may be of
practical use to those who wish to make Greek dresses for themselves.
Throughout the work, in addition to ancient authorities, I have
consulted the various articles in the current classical dictionaries.
These include Pauly-Wissowa’s _Real Encyclopädie_, Daremberg and
Saglio’s _Dictionnaire des Antiquités grecques et romaines_, Smith’s
_Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities_, Gardner and Jevons’
_Manual of Greek Antiquities_, and the _Companion to Greek Studies_.
Other works, to which single references have been made, are mentioned
in the footnotes.
In addition to written authorities, I have received personal help
from several scholars and friends, to whom I should like to express
my thanks.
In the first place, I should like to acknowledge my indebtedness to
the Reid Trustees of Bedford College, who elected me to a Fellowship
in 1905, which enabled me to work for my second degree, and to spend
some months in Greece as a student of the British School at Athens.
The suggestion that a thesis on the subject of Greek Dress might
be of some value beyond getting me a degree, was due to Mr A. B.
Cook, of Cambridge, under whom I had already worked for three years
at Bedford College, and whose constant readiness to stimulate my
leanings towards Archæology encouraged me to continue my studies in
that direction. Mr Cook very kindly read this work in manuscript for
me, and gave me the benefit of his criticisms. I owe a very great
deal, also, to Professor Ernest Gardner, of University College,
London, whose M.A. courses I attended regularly for two years, and
from whom I constantly received help and guidance.
While in Athens, I devoted my attention chiefly to the dress of the
archaic statues in the Acropolis Museum, and had the opportunity
of discussing this subject with Mr R. C. Bosanquet, then director
of the British School. I must also thank Herr Fritz Röhrig, the
German sculptor, who placed his studio in Athens at my disposal,
and procured a model for me, for the purpose of making my first
experiments in reproducing the archaic style of draping the himation.
Special acknowledgments are due to Mr A. J. Evans, Mr J. L. Myres,
and the Committee of the British School at Athens, for their
courtesy in allowing me to reproduce subjects published by them in
the _British School Annual_; to the Trustees of the British Museum,
for permission to secure photographs of objects in the Museum for
publication; to Mr Cecil Smith, for giving me free access to the
library of the Department of Antiquities; and, particularly, to Mr H.
B. Walters, who went through the illustrations with me, and greatly
facilitated the task of securing suitable ones.
Lastly, my grateful thanks are due to Mr John Murray, for undertaking
to publish the book, and to Mr A. H. Hallam Murray, for his
constant courtesy and assistance during the progress of the work of
publication.
E. B. A.
_July_ 1908.
CONTENTS
PAGE
I. INTRODUCTION—PRE-HELLENIC 1
II. HOMERIC 15
III. DORIC 39
IV. IONIC 57
V. THE MAIDENS OF THE ACROPOLIS—THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE
IONIC HIMATION 73
VI. MATERIALS AND ORNAMENTATION 97
VII. HAIR AND HEAD-DRESS 107
VIII. FOOTGEAR 115
IX. THE TOILET—CONCLUSION 120
ENGLISH INDEX 129
GREEK INDEX 133
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
Fig. 1.—Cupbearer of Knossos _face_ 6
Figs. 2 and 3.—Snake Goddess and Votary ” 11
Fig. 4.—Fresco of a Dancing Girl ” 12
Fig. 5.—Statuette from Petsofa ” 12
Fig. 6.—Studniczka’s Diagram 18
Fig. 7.—(_a_) Vase—British Museum, (_b_ and _c_) Vase-
paintings by Klitias and Ergotimos, Florence _face_ 26
Fig. 8.—From the François Vase ” 30
Fig. 9.—Diagram of the Doric Peplos 43
Fig. 10.—Metope from the Temple of Zeus, at Olympia _face_ 44
Fig. 11.—Bronze Statue from Herculaneum, Naples ” 45
Fig. 12.—Vase-painting—British Museum ” 46
Fig. 13.—Vase-painting in the Polygnotan Style—Louvre ” 47
Fig. 14.—Vase-painting by Hieron—British Museum ” 49
Fig. 15.—Terra-cotta Statuette—British Museum ” 49
Fig. 16.—Vase-painting by Euxitheos—British Museum ” 50
Fig. 17.—Vase-painting by Falerii—Rome, Villa Giulia ” 50
Fig. 18.—Athena of Velletri ” 51
Fig. 19.—Bronze Statuette—British Museum ” 53
Fig. 20.—Vase-painting—British Museum ” 54
Fig. 21.—The Doric Himation ” 54
Fig. 22.—Vase-painting by Euphronios—Munich ” 55
Fig. 23.—The Chlamys and Petasos ” 55
Fig. 24.—Diagram of the Chlamys 55
Fig. 25.—Vase-painting from Lucania—British Museum _face_ 61
Fig. 26.—Diagram of the Ionic Chiton 61
Fig. 27.—The Delphi Charioteer _face_ 62
Fig. 28.—Vase-painting—Munich ” 63
Fig. 29.—Vase-painting by Brygos—British Museum ” 66
Fig. 30.—Diagram of the Sleeved Chiton with Overfold 66
Fig. 31.—Archaic Statue—Athens, Acropolis Museum _face_ 75
Fig. 32.—Archaic Statue—Athens, Acropolis Museum ” 78
Fig. 33.—Diagram of the Archaic Ionic Himation 90
Fig. 34.—Drapery in the Style of the Archaic Statues in
the Acropolis Museum, Athens _face_ 91
Fig. 35.—Vase-painting—British Museum ” 93
Fig. 36.—Vase-painting—Ionic Dress ” 94
Fig. 37.—The Artemis of Gabii—Louvre ” 95
Fig. 38.—Vase-painting—Dress with two Overfolds ” 96
Fig. 39.—Fragments of a Sarcophagus Cover from Kertch ” 103
Fig. 40.—Embroidered Fragment from Kertch ” 105
Fig. 41.—(_a_ and _b_) Fragments of a Sarcophagus
Cover from Kertch. (_c_) Embroidered Fragment
from Kertch ” 106
Fig. 42.—Men’s Head-dress—Archaic ” 108
Fig. 43.—(_a_) Head of Apollo from the Temple of Zeus,
at Olympia. (_b_) Head of an Athlete—Athens
Acropolis Museum ” 110
Fig. 44.—Archaic form of Petasos 111
Fig. 45.—Women’s Head-dress _face_ 112
Fig. 46.—Sandals and Shoes ” 116
Fig. 47.—Boot 118
Fig. 48.—(_a_) A Bronze in the British Museum.
(_b_) Foot of the Hermes of Praxiteles (from a
cast in the British Museum). (_c_) A Terra-cotta
Flask in the British Museum _face_ 118
Fig. 49.—Sandals 119
Fig. 50.—Diagram of an Aryballos 121
Fig. 51.—Diagram of a Lekythos 121
Fig. 52.—(_a_) A Pyxis in the British Museum.
(_b_) A Toilet-box in the British Museum _face_ 122
Fig. 53.—(_a_) Bronze Box Mirror—British Museum.
(_b_) Bronze Stand Mirror—British Museum _face_ 124
Fig. 54.—Diagram of an Alabastron 125
GREEK DRESS
I
INTRODUCTION
PRE-HELLENIC
In seeking to conjure up a vivid picture of the life of an ancient
people, it is the task of the archæologist to neglect no point that
can in any way throw light on the manners and customs which that
people practised from day to day, both in the exercise of their
public duties and in the privacy of their own homes.
Just as the habits and dress of an individual frequently give a
true impression of his character and type of mind, so the salient
characteristics of a nation are reflected in the external details of
their manners and their costume. In making a careful study of the
Greeks, therefore, whose innate feeling for beauty was part of their
very being, and whose sense of the fitness of things rarely if ever
played them false, we shall expect to find our efforts amply repaid,
both by the satisfaction given to the æsthetic sense and by the
knowledge we shall have gained of the development of the national
character. The study of costume has, moreover, an ethnological
significance which in itself justifies a detailed investigation of
the subject.
Professor Ridgeway, in _The Early Age of Greece_, has pointed out
that the civilization reflected in the Homeric poems differs in many
essential points from that which is revealed by the monuments found
at Mycenæan sites on the mainland of Greece and in the Ægean islands.
Confirmation has since been added to his convincing arguments by
the discoveries of Mr Arthur Evans in Crete, which prove that the
so-called Mycenæan remains were but the last efforts of a dying
civilization which stretched back at least as far as the third
millennium before our era. The culture revealed by the excavations at
Knossos and other sites in Crete presents a striking contrast to that
of the Greeks of the classic period; whereas the state of society
described in the Homeric poems seems to contain analogies with both
periods.
The palace of Alcinous and the house of Odysseus, as described in the
_Odyssey_, correspond in plan to the palace of Mycenæ excavated by
the Greek Archæological Society in 1886, which undoubtedly belongs
to the older stratum of civilization;[1] on the other hand, the
methods of disposing of the dead, and the underlying principles of
costume, are utterly different in the two cases. The Homeric heroes
burn their dead, whereas the remains found in Mycenæan graves prove
that in the state of society to which they belong burial was the
common method of disposing of the dead. The difference in costume is
equally striking; the women’s dress, illustrated by the Mycenæan gems
and the wall-paintings and faïence statuettes from Knossos, consists
of elaborately made garments, with tight jackets fitting closely to
the figures at the waist, and full and frequently flounced skirts;
there is no indication of fastening by means of brooches or fibulæ.
In Homer the brooch is almost invariably mentioned as an essential
detail of female costume, and the garments described are of a simple
character, and such that they can be spread out and used for other
purposes. For example, Aphrodite, when protecting Æneas from his
assailants, shields him from their weapons by drawing a fold of
her peplos over him (_Iliad_, v., 315); and again, at the funeral
rites of Hector, the body is covered, πορφυρέοις πέπλοισι μαλακοῖσιν
(_Iliad_, xxiv., 796), “with soft purple robes.”
[1] J. L. Myres, _Journal of Hellenic Studies_, vol. xx. Cp.
also, for general principles of ground plan, “The Palace at
Knossos,” _British School Annual_, VIII.
The contrast between the forms of dress represented in Mycenæan art
and in the Homeric poems can only be explained by supposing that
there is a difference in race between the two peoples, and that the
older civilization was almost entirely swept away by a great series
of invasions carried out by men of a different race. The Homeric
dress is closely akin to that of the Greeks of the classic period,
whereas that represented on Mycenæan rings and gems belongs, as
will be shown later, to the stratum of civilization revealed by the
Cretan excavations.[2] We must suppose, then, that the Homeric heroes
belonged to the invading race, which was full of youthful vigour and
succeeded in superimposing its manners and customs upon those of the
older, decadent society, and in finally ousting the older inhabitants
from their homes altogether. The process was one which must have
lasted over some centuries, and it is probable that the Homeric poems
were composed whilst it was still incomplete, and that the siege
of Troy represents one incident in the long wars which were waged
between the two peoples. This view accounts for the fact that the
Homeric house belongs to the older civilization, while the costume
is that of the later. The invaders, having conquered or driven out
the inhabitants, finding their houses strongly built and luxuriously
decorated, would refrain from destroying them and settle themselves
peacefully and comfortably there, naturally retaining their own style
of dress and customs of disposing of their dead. Any new houses
built after their settlement would be constructed after their own
plans, and so the Homeric house would gradually give place to the
Hellenic. The absence of brooches and fibulæ from the graves on the
Acropolis of Mycenæ, and their presence in those of the lower city,
adds confirmation to this theory. The Acropolis graves are earlier
than the others, which in all probability belong to the time when the
invaders had already imposed some of their characteristic customs
upon their predecessors at Mycenæ and elsewhere in Greece. The use
of the fibula is common to the early peoples of Central Europe, from
which region it must have been introduced by the Achæan invaders into
Greece.[3]
[2] Cp. Busolt, _Griechische Geschichte_, vol. i., 2nd ed., chap.
i.
[3] Ridgeway, _Early Age of Greece_, chap. viii.; S. Müller,
_Urgeschichte Europas_, pp. 95, 96.
The earliest remains found on Greek soil are those which have been
unearthed by Mr A. J. Evans, in his series of excavations at Knossos,
in Crete. They represent earlier stages of that civilization which
has hitherto been known as Mycenæan. The costume revealed by the art
of this pre-Hellenic age forms a study in itself, since it presents a
striking contrast to that of the classic period in Greece, and also
to that of contemporary Asiatic peoples. The costume of the men is
simple; when not entirely nude, they wear sometimes a waist-cloth
rolled round a girdle, with a loose end hanging down like an apron in
front;[4] in a lead statuette of the same period found near Abbia,
in Laconia, the waist-cloth appears to take the form of a triangular
piece of material wrapped round the girdle, the apex of the triangle
being drawn up between the legs and tucked into the belt in front.
In some terra-cotta figurines from Petsofa,[5] a third garment
appears, consisting of a rectangular piece of material with the long
side tucked into the belt all round and the short sides hanging down
perpendicularly in front. In the later Mycenæan period, the garment
takes the form of short breeches reaching half-way down the thigh.
These are probably a development from the earlier waist-cloth.[6]
[4] Fig. 1, Cupbearer of Knossos. Cp. also, Vaphio Cup, gems,
Perrot and Chipiez, VI., 426. 21.
[5] _British School Annual_, IX., pls. ix. and x.
[6] Dagger blade from Mycenæ. Perrot and Chipiez, VI., pl.
xviii., 3.
[Illustration: FIG. 1.—Cupbearer of Knossos.
_Face page_ 6.]
In most cases the upper part of the body appears to be quite bare,
but in some instances a line is drawn at the neck and wrists which
may indicate the edges of a close-fitting, long-sleeved tunic. It
is more probable, however, that these lines are meant to represent
a necklace and bracelets, such as have been found in considerable
numbers in Mycenæan graves. On a siege scene represented on a
fragment of a silver vase from Mycenæ,[7] the majority of the
fighting warriors are represented quite nude; but in one case (at
the lower right-hand corner) a tunic and head-dress are worn; but in
this instance the tunic has sleeves reaching only half-way to the
elbow, as is also the case with the inhabitants, who are watching the
progress of the battle from behind the city wall; two figures, which
appear to be just leaving the city, wear square cloaks fastened on
the right shoulder and leaving both arms free; they do not appear
to be fighting, and probably represent heralds about to make
some proposal to the enemy. The covering here described as a cloak
has been regarded as representing an oblong shield (ἠΰτε πύργος);
but in view of the fact that the men carry no weapons and that both
arms are exposed, it seems more reasonable to suppose that a mantle
is intended. The warriors in front are fighting without protection;
and if any shield were represented, we should expect it to be of the
usual Mycenæan shape, which appears as a decoration on the upper
left-hand corner of the fragment. A fragment of a wall-painting
from Mycenæ represents a warrior wearing a short-sleeved tunic and
having a double bracelet at the wrist; it appears, then, that when
the pre-Hellenic man wore a tunic, it was not furnished with long
sleeves, and even when his clothing was of the scantiest possible
nature, he was not far enough removed from primitive barbarism to
prevent his adorning his person with bracelet and necklace.
[7] Perrot and Chipiez, VI., fig. 365.
The indication of some kind of footgear is frequent: it is
represented on the Vaphio cups; and on a wall-painting from Tiryns
depicting the capture of a bull, it takes the form of pointed shoes
turned up at the toes and fastened by a series of bands above
the ankles. Such pointed shoes were common to the Assyrians and
the Hittites, and are worn to this day by Greeks and Turks, and
frequently also in other rocky countries.[8]
[8] The characteristic Cretan boots may possibly be a direct
survival.
In the wall-painting from Tiryns, and on a Mycenæan intaglio (Perrot
and Chipiez, VI., 426. 21), a number of bands is indicated just below
the knee. Possibly the boots were fastened by leather laces crossed
round the legs and then passed two or three times round under the
knees. At present these bands have only been found in cases where the
wearer is engaged in some violent occupation, such as the bull-taming
scene; it has been suggested that they represent a leather thong
wound round the knees to act as a protection; on stony ground some
such guard would be necessary.
The head-dress, of conical shape, finished by a button or flattened
knob on the top, represents a helmet, made sometimes probably of
metal, as was the case in Assyria, but in some cases certainly of
felt or leather, covered with rows of overlapping boar’s tusks,
turned alternately in opposite directions. A large number of boar’s
tusks were found by Dr Schliemann[9] at Mycenæ, flattened on one side
and with several holes in them, which obviously served to fasten them
to some object; such a helmet is to be seen in an ivory fragment
from Mycenæ,[10] and would exactly correspond to that described in
_Iliad_, X., 261.
ἀμφὶ δ᾽ οἱ κυνέην κεφαλῆφιν ἔθηκεν
ῥινοῦ ποιητήν· πολέσιν δ᾽ ἔντοσθεν ἱμᾶσιν
ἐντέτατο στερεῶς, ἔκτοσθε δὲ λευκοὶ ὄδοντες
ἀργιοδόντος ὑὸς. Θαμέες ἔχον ἔνθα καὶ ἔνθα
εὖ καὶ ἐπισταμένως.
“And about his head he set a helmet made of leather; and inside it
was stiffly wrought with many thongs, and outside the white teeth of
a boar with shining tusks were set close together, this way and that,
well and cunningly arranged.”
[9] Schliemann, _Mycenæ_, pp. 272, 273.
[10] Perrot and Chipiez, VI., fig. 380; Ἐφημερίς Ἀρχαιολογική,
1888, pl. viii.
In some cases the helmet presents a strikingly Egyptian appearance,
and may quite possibly have been derived from Egypt; evidence of
direct intercourse between the Cretans and Egyptians is not wanting;
indeed the clearest representation of the costume of the pre-Hellenic
inhabitants of the Ægean shores is to be found on an Egyptian tomb
fresco,[11] where the Kefts are depicted bringing vases as tribute
to the Egyptian monarch, their costume is identical with that of the
cupbearer from the Knossian fresco, and they are carrying vessels
of the same shapes as many which have been found in Crete and on
other Mycenæan sites. It has been pointed out by Mr H. R. Hall[12]
that the Keftiu were the people of the Ægean islands, including
Crete, and that sometimes the name was applied exclusively to the
Cretans. The Keftiu were formerly mistaken for Phœnicians; but their
whole appearance and costume on the Egyptian fresco is utterly
unlike anything Phœnician; so we are quite justified in considering
that they represent the Cretans faithfully as they appeared to the
Egyptians, especially in view of their similarity to the cupbearer
of the fresco at Knossos, a native product of Cretan art.
[11] Perrot and Chipiez, III., fig. 303.
[12] _British School Annual_, IX., “Keftiu and the Peoples of the
Sea.”
A striking analogy to the pre-Hellenic male costume is to be observed
in the Etruscan wall-paintings from the tombs at Corneto, now in the
British Museum. The waist-cloth, shoes, and head-dress are there
represented in a form almost identical with that found in Mycenæan
art. So little is known of the origin of the Etruscans, that it is
difficult to say whether this similarity of dress indicates any
racial connection between the two peoples; it is interesting to note
that among ancient authorities Hellanicus of Lesbos states that the
Etruscans were of Pelasgian origin, and modern writers have claimed
a Pelasgian origin for the Cretans; there is not sufficient evidence
forthcoming at present to determine whether they are right or wrong;
but in any case, it is not improbable that both the Etruscans and the
Cretans were branches of a common civilization, which spread itself
all round the shores of the Mediterranean Sea in pre-Hellenic times,
and that the Etruscans maintained some of their early characteristics
down to a later date than other peoples of the same race.[13]
[13] Daremberg and Saglio, _Dictionnaire des Antiquités_, _s.v._
“Etrusci.”
Turning to the female costume of the pre-Hellenic age, we find we
have something far more complicated to deal with. The same style
of dress is found on the early faïence figures from Knossos and
Petsofa, and extends right on until quite late Mycenæan times.
[Illustration: FIGS. 2 and 3.—Snake Goddess and Votary. (_British
School Annual_, IX., figs. 54 and 56.)
_Face page_ 11.]
It consists of a short-sleeved jacket, fitting closely to the figure,
and a full skirt, standing out round the feet in a manner suggestive
of the hoops of the early Victorian age. The juncture of the two
garments is hidden by a thick double girdle worn round the waist,
which is pinched into the smallest possible compass.
The snake goddess and her votary[14] from Knossos have, in addition,
a kind of apron reaching almost to the knees in front and behind,
and rising to the hips at the sides. The costume is completed by the
addition of a high hat or turban.
[14] Figs. 2 and 3 from _British School Annual_, IX.
Looking at the snake goddess more in detail, we find that the jacket
is cut away into a V-shape from the neck to the waist, leaving both
the breasts quite bare; the two edges are laced across below the
breast, the laces being fastened in a series of bows. The jacket
is covered with an elaborate volute pattern, the apron with spots
and bordered with a “guilloche.” The horizontal lines on the skirt
probably represent stripes in the material, the edge being ornamented
with a reticulated band. The girdle of the goddess is composed of two
snakes intertwined. The head-dress here consists of a high turban,
probably made of cloth or linen wound round some kind of framework.
The principle of the costume is always the same, though the fashions
vary considerably in detail: for example, the skirt of the votary
is composed of a series of seven flounces, one above the other,
the lower edge in each case just covering the upper edge of the
flounce below, the whole being probably sewn on to a foundation. On
a fresco[15] representing a lady dancing, the skirt seems to consist
of three such flounces. On the same figure the breast is not left
bare, but a chemisette seems to be worn under the jacket, possibly
made of some fine linen material, the edge of which is distinctly
indicated at the neck. In one of the statuettes from Petsofa[16]
the jacket terminates at the back in a high “Medici” collar, and in
another fresco, from Knossos, a high sash appears on the back, the
loop reaching to the nape of the neck, and the fringed edge hanging
down to the waist; at first sight this sash recalls the Japanese
“Obi.”[17] The millinery of the Cretan ladies, as illustrated by the
terra-cotta fragments from Petsofa, exhibits an abundant variety of
styles. The hat seems to have consisted of a flat, circular, or oval
piece of material pinched up into any shape to suit the taste of the
wearer; sometimes it is fastened down towards the nape of the neck,
and curves round the head, rising high up in front over the face; in
one case[18] the brim has a wavy edge and is trimmed with rosettes
underneath; frequently it is done up into a large “toque” shape,
narrowing to a point in front; this form occurs also on late Mycenæan
terra-cottas.
[15] Fig. 4, only a very small fragment of the skirt remains;
but the painting has been restored. Reproduced from the _British
School Annual_, VIII., fig. 28.
[16] Fig. 5 from _British School Annual_, IX., pl. viii.
[17] The large sash worn over the “Kimono” and tied rather high
up at the back.
[18] _British School Annual_, IX., pls. xi. and xii.
[Illustration: FIG. 4.—Fresco of a Dancing Girl.
_Face page_ 12.]
[Illustration: FIG. 5.—Statuette from Petsofa.
_Face page_ 12.]
On none of the examples of costume quoted above is there any
indication of fastening; the garments are obviously constructed by
an elaborate system of sewing, but the means by which they were held
in place on the figure is not represented, except in the case of
the bodices of the goddess and her votary, which are laced across
by cords. The use of fibulæ is nowhere indicated in art; and no
fibulæ have been found, except in the later Mycenæan graves, which
in all probability belong to the Achæan civilization introduced into
Greece by the invasions from Central Europe.[19] A fragmentary hand
from Petsofa has a bracelet represented in white paint, which is
clearly fastened by means of a button and loop; since this method of
fastening was known to the Cretans, it is probable that the ladies’
skirts were fastened at the waist by buttons and loops, the fastening
being concealed by the belt, as is the case with the modern blouse
and skirt costume.
[19] On “fibulæ,” see Sophus Müller, _Urgeschichte Europas_, p.
95. O. Montelius, _Civilization of Sweden in Heathen Times_.
It has been pointed out by Mr J. L. Myres[20] that this jacket and
apron type of dress is commonly worn at the present day by the
peasants of the mountainous districts of Europe, chiefly in Italy,
Switzerland, the Tyrol, Norway, and the Pyrenees. In Norway and
Switzerland, moreover, we find the addition of a fan-like head-dress
analogous to that represented in Minoan art. The appearance of the
same kind of costume in Crete in the third millennium before our era
merely serves to show that the type of dress need not necessarily be
a modern development, but may possibly claim greater antiquity than
has hitherto been supposed. The question of survival in the Ægean
is interesting; as late as Tournefort’s[21] time, the inhabitants
of some of the islands—for example, Mycone—appear to have worn
a dress composed of a tight jacket and flounced skirt, with the
addition of some Turkish elements; in the remoter islands there is a
possibility—but it is little more than a possibility—that this may be
a case of survival; in any case, the type seems to have disappeared
in the eighteenth or early nineteenth century.[22]
[20] _British School Annual_, IX.
[21] Tournefort, I., 109.
[22] See also, Choiseul-Gouffier, _Voyage pittoresque de
la Grèce_, Paris, 1809, where the women of the islands are
represented wearing a tight corslet over a chemisette. A high
head-dress, not unlike that of the Petsofa statuettes, was
commonly worn by the island women as late as the eighteenth
century.
II
HOMERIC
Turning to the various passages in the Homeric poems which refer to
dress, we find that there is very little likelihood that they can
be intended to describe the kind of costume dealt with above under
the name of “Pre-Hellenic Dress.” The words used, and the accounts
of the process of dressing, have no meaning, unless we suppose
them to refer to the draped type of costume as opposed both to the
close-fitting jacket type and to the dressing-gown type, consisting
of a loose-sleeved garment opening down the front. The question of
the kind of dress actually worn by the Trojan and Achæan heroes is
not one to be entered into here; possibly it may have been the same
as that reflected in the art of the Minoan and Mycenæan peoples;
indeed, if the Trojans represent the older race which inhabited the
shores of the Ægean, and the Achæans the invaders who came down upon
them from the north, there is every probability that the former wore
the pre-Hellenic dress, and the latter introduced the new Hellenic
draped type. The use of the epithets βαθύκολπος and βαθύζωνος,
“deep-bosomed” and “deep-girdled,” in the Homeric poems perhaps has
some bearing on this point. Referring respectively to the deep hollow
between the breasts and to the girdle cutting deep into the figure,
they might well be applied to the wasp-waisted ladies of Knossos.
It is significant to notice that βαθύκολπος is used only of Trojan
women,[23] βαθύζωνος only of barbarian captives;[24] possibly the
poet may be unconsciously referring to the difference between the
dress of the older race and that of their Achæan conquerors.
[23] _Iliad_, 18. 122, 389, 24. 215.
[24] _Ibid._, 9. 594; _Odyssey_, 3. 154.
However that may be, in most cases Homer ascribes the same kind of
costume to Achæans and Trojans alike; he is singing of deeds that
happened many years, perhaps even two or three centuries, before
his day, and being no archæologist, he imagines his heroes to have
dressed as his own contemporaries did; he is acting no differently
from the Italian masters, who painted their Madonnas in mediæval
costume.
We find in Homer many differences in the nomenclature used when
speaking of men’s and women’s dresses respectively. The words χιτών
and χλαῖνα are applied exclusively to men’s costume, πέπλος and
κρήδεμνον exclusively to women’s, whereas the word φᾶρος is the only
one used indifferently for either; both men and women alike fasten
their garments with brooches or pins of some kind (περόνη, ἐνετή) and
with girdles (ζώνη, ζωστήρ). Many of the words applied to articles of
wearing-apparel are also used to signify coverings for beds, seats,
etc.: such are χλαῖνα, ῥήγεα, πέπλος, φᾶρος; the last is used also of
sails and of the shroud of Laertes.[25] This being the case, we must
infer that they were not made-up garments, but large square or oblong
pieces of material which could be used for other purposes besides
clothing; the Homeric dress, therefore, must belong to the draped
type rather than to any other.
[25] _Odyssey_, xix., 137.
The men’s dress in Homer regularly consists of two pieces—the χιτών,
or under-garment, and a cloak called variously χλαῖνα, φᾶρος, or, in
one case, λώπη.[26] Warriors sometimes wore a skin instead of the
mantle. For example, in _Iliad_, x., 22, Agamemnon is described as
putting on a lion’s skin, and a few lines further on Menelaus appears
wearing a dappled leopard’s skin.
[26] _Ibid._, xiii., 22.
The description of the process of dressing in the _Iliad_ is simple
and straightforward. Agamemnon[27] awakes in the morning, and
prepares to meet the assembly of the Achæans:
ἕζετο δ᾽ ὀρθωθεὶς μαλακὸν δ᾽ ἔνδυνε χιτῶνα
καλὸν νηγατέον, περὶ δὲ μέγα βάλλετο φᾶρος·
πόσσι δ᾽ ὑπὸ λιταροῖσιν ἐδῆσατο καλὰ πέδιλα,
ἀμφὶ δ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ὤμοισιν βάλετο ξίφος ἀργυρόηλον.
“He sat upright and drew on his soft tunic, fair and new, and threw
around him his great cloak: and beneath his shining feet he bound
fair sandals, and around his shoulders he slung his silver-studded
sword.”
[27] _Iliad_, ii., 42.
[Illustration: FIG. 6. Studniczka’s Diagram. The dotted lines mark the
seams, the spaces A B, C D, E F being left open for arms and head
respectively.]
The χιτών was apparently, then, a garment which could be drawn on
(ἔνδυνε) while in a sitting position. No mention is made, either
in this or other similar passages, of pins or girdle to fasten the
χιτών, so we may infer that it was a rather narrow garment sewn up at
the two sides, with openings left for the head and arms.
Studniczka[28] gives a diagram of such a garment, which he describes
as a sack left open at the bottom, with openings in the top and
side-seams for head and arms.
[28] _Beiträge zur Geschichte der altgriechischen Tracht_, p. 13.
The words ἐνδύνω, ἐκδύνω, are commonly used for “to put on” and “to
take off” a χιτών, which seems to imply that the garment was drawn
over the head; although occasionally περί is used with the simple
verb δύνω instead of the compound ἐνδύνω.[29] In no case is there any
mention of pins or brooches in connection with the χιτών, so we are
justified in inferring that it was a sewn garment; and in _Odyssey_,
xxiv., 227, the χιτών of Laertes is actually described as sewn:
ῥυπόωντα δὲ ἕστο χιτῶνα
ῥαπτὸν ἀεικέλιον.
“He wore a sewn tunic, dirty and unseemly.”
[29] _Odyssey_, xv., 60.
As a rule, the χιτών was worn ungirdled, except when the wearer was
engaged in vigorous action, when he is usually described as girding
himself for the purpose. For example, in the _Odyssey_,[30] when
Eumæus is going to slay pigs, he prepares himself by confining his
χιτών with a girdle:
ὣς εἰπὼν ζωστῆρι θοῶς συνέεργε χιτῶνα.
[30] xiv. 72.
Little mention is made in the Homeric poems of the length of
the χιτών, but the distinguishing epithet of the Ionians is
ἑλκεχίτωνες—with trailing chitons—so that trailing garments were
evidently customary only among the Ionians; warriors while fighting
and slaves occupied in active work would probably wear very short
garments reaching only to the thigh, as they are to be seen on the
earliest vase-paintings. The princes and elders of the people,
engaged in peaceful pursuits, in all probability wore them reaching
to the ankles. The word τερμίοεις, applied to the χιτών in _Odyssey_,
xix., 242, is usually taken to mean “reaching to the feet,” and to be
equivalent to ποδήρης, used by later writers.
With regard to the material of which the χιτών was made, the word
itself is connected with a Semitic root signifying linen;[31] and
from the various epithets applied to it in Homer, it is reasonable
to infer that the garment was ordinarily made of that material. It
is described as σιγαλόεις, “shining” or “glossy”; and although this
particular epithet need mean no more than “dazzlingly clean,” its
comparison for softness and brightness with the skin of an onion[32]
would hardly be very apt, if it were made of a stuff that did not
present a very smooth surface; a hand-woven woollen material might
possibly be called μαλακός, “soft,” but could hardly be described as
shining like the sun. Two passages in Homer show clearly that oil
was used in the weaving of linen, which would have the effect of
producing a shiny appearance. The maidens in the palace of Alcinous
are described as weaving linen from which the oil runs off:
καιρουσσέων δ᾽ ὀθονέων ἀπολείβεται ὑγρὸν ἔλαιον.
[_Odyssey_, vii., 107.]
“And from the close-woven linen the liquid oil runs off,” and in
_Iliad_, 596, the youths in the dancing place on the shield of
Achilles are described as wearing χιτῶνας ἐϋννήτους, ἦκα στίλβοντας
ἐλαίῳ, “well spun, shining softly with oil.”
[31] Pauly-Wissowa, _Real Encyclopädie_, _s.v._ “χιτών,”
Studniczka, p. 15 f.
[32] _Odyssey_, xix., 232:
τὸν δὲ χιτῶν᾽ ἐνόησα περὶ χροῒ σιγαλόεντα
οἷόν τε κρομύοιο λοπὸν κάτα ἰσχαλέοιο
τὼς μὲν ἔην μαλακὸς, λαμπρὸς δ᾽ ἦν ἠέλιος ὥς.
“And I saw the shining tunic on his body, like the skin of a
dried onion—so soft it was, and bright as the sun.”
The epithet στρέπτος applied to the χιτών[33] requires comment; it
was taken by Aristarchus, the grammarian, to mean a coat of chain
mail. There is no evidence to show that such a piece of defensive
armour was known to the early Greeks, and we find no reference to
it until Roman times; there is, therefore, no justification for the
inference that στρέπτος χιτών in Homer means a coat of mail.
[33] _Iliad_, v., 113; xxi., 31.
The word στρέπτος means primarily “twisted,” and could be applied to
a coarse kind of linen whose texture showed very clearly the separate
threads of which it was woven; but other uses of the word in Homer,
and the second of the two passages in which it is applied to a χιτών,
suggest a different interpretation. In _Odyssey_, ii., 426, in the
description of the rigging of a ship, the expression εὐστρέπτοισι
βοεῦσιν occurs. The adjective here can very well retain its simple
meaning—“well-twisted”; the noun can mean nothing else but “ropes of
ox-hide”—that is to say, the whole expression will signify ropes made
of well-twisted thongs of leather.
The passage referred to in the _Iliad_ runs as follows:—
δῆσε δ᾽ ὀπίσσω χεῖρας εὐτμήτοισιν ἱμᾶσι
τοὺς αὐτοὶ φορέεσκον ἐπὶ στρεπτοῖσι χιτῶσι.
[_Iliad_, xxi., 30.]
The subject is the sacrifice of the twelve boys at the funeral of
Patroclus.
Achilles bound their hands behind them with the well-cut thongs which
they wore on their twisted chitons. The word ἱμᾶσι implies leather,
and the only kind of chiton which would be likely to have leather
thongs attached to it would be a jerkin made of leather, perhaps
plaited in some way and fastened by means of leather laces. Such
a garment might be worn in war under a metal breast-plate, or if
very stoutly made might even serve as defensive armour, without the
addition of any corslet; in any case, it would afford more protection
than an ordinary linen chiton such as was worn by those engaged in
the pursuits of peace.
Another garment worn by men is the ζῶμα, which appears at first
sight to mean simply a girdle, but in one or two passages signifies
something more. The word is obviously connected with the verb
ζώννυμι, “to gird on,” and means a “thing girt on.” The word might
well apply to a girdle, but it might also be used of anything put
on round the waist, and so of a waist-cloth; there can be little
doubt that it has this meaning in _Iliad_, xxiii., 683, where a
description is being given of the preparations for a boxing match;
and a few lines further on the participle ζωσαμένω, applied to the
wrestlers, in all probability means putting on their waist-cloths. In
other passages where the word occurs, its meaning is less obvious,
although here too there is nothing to render the same interpretation
impossible. In _Iliad_, iv., 186, a weapon is described as not
inflicting a mortal wound:
εἰρύσατο ζωστήρ τε παναίολος ἠδ᾽ ὑπένερθεν
ζῶμά τε καὶ μίτρη, τὴν χαλκῆες κάμον ἄνδρες.
“But the shining belt checked it, and the waist-cloth beneath, and
the kirtle which the coppersmiths fashioned.”
Here the ζωστήρ and the μίτρη are obviously pieces of armour, and the
ζῶμα is a garment worn under the ζωστήρ, and can very well bear the
meaning of a waist-cloth. Such garments were worn at all periods;
they formed the regular dress of the men of the pre-Hellenic age;
they occur also on vases of the classical period.[34] There is no
necessity, therefore, to suppose, as Studniczka does, that the word
here is synonymous with χιτών. Studniczka supports his interpretation
of this passage by another, _Odyssey_, xiv., 478 f., where Eumæus is
describing to Odysseus an occasion when he and comrades had to sleep
in the open air, and he felt the cold because he had foolishly left
his cloak behind him, and had only his shield and ζῶμα φαεινόν. The
expression could here maintain its signification of “waist-cloth”;
only, the simple meaning is obscured by a phrase some five lines
further on, when Eumæus continues:
οὐ γὰρ ἔχω χλαῖναν· παρὰ μ᾽ ἤπαφε δαίμων
οἰοχίτων᾽ ἔμεναι.
“I had no cloak: some god beguiled me to go with only a single
garment.”
[34] Cp. Fig. 7 (_a_); the human figure struggling with the
Minotaur.
The simple meaning of οἰοχίτων is, “wearing only a chiton,” or
under-garment; but without stretching the meaning of the expression
very far, we can easily suppose its being applied to a man clad only
in a waist-cloth; so that even here it is not necessary to suppose
that ζῶμα is another word for χιτών.
We must next consider the over-garment worn by the Homeric heroes,
for which several words are used, the most common being χλαῖνα and
φᾶρος.
The χλαῖνα was used not only as an article of dress, but also as a
blanket to sleep under;[35] as a rug to cover couches and seats;[36]
a constant epithet is οὔλη, so that its material was evidently
woollen; and the adjectives ἀλεξάνεμος and ἀνεμοσκεπής, “warding off
winds,” show that it was worn for warmth, as a protection against
cold winds.[37] It was thrown off for exercise or when speed in
running was required.[38] The style in which the χλαῖνα was worn
varied somewhat; the verbs regularly used for the act of putting it
on are ἀμφιβάλλω and ἀμφιέννυμι, “to throw round”; περιβάλλω also
occurs, and sometimes it is described as being placed ἐπ᾽ ὤμοισι,
“upon the shoulders”; for taking it off, ἀποβάλλω and ἀποτίθημι
are used, and in one case ἐκδύνω occurs, though this word should
more correctly be applied to the χιτών. The constant use of ἀμφί,
“around,” shows that the χλαῖνα was not a garment which was drawn on
over the head, like the χιτών, but was a square or rectangular piece
of material wrapped round the figure or laid over the shoulders. We
read in Homer of the χλαῖνα ἁπλοΐς, “single cloak,” and the χλαῖνα
διπλῆ, “double cloak”; the former expression must mean a cloak worn
single, without being folded over; such a garment might possibly be
put on as the himation was in later time, one end being laid on the
shoulder, so that the mass of the material hung down towards the
back; this mass of material would then be drawn across the back under
the arm which was then left exposed, and across the chest, and the
end would be thrown over the shoulder towards the back. The garment
could easily be drawn up so as to cover both arms if the temperature
required greater warmth, or it might be worn over both shoulders
like a shawl, without being doubled, and the frequent mention of
the shoulders in connection with the χλαῖνα seem to point to this
style as the most common.[39] The χλαῖνα διπλῆ is mentioned twice in
Homer—once in the _Iliad_ and once in the _Odyssey_; in both cases it
is described as being fastened with a brooch:
ἀμφὶ δ᾽ ἄρα χλαῖναν περονήσατο φοινικόεσσαν
διπλῆν ἐκταδίην.
[_Iliad_, x., 133.]
“And about him he fastened a purple cloak, doubled, with no folds.”
χλαῖναν πορφυρέην οὐλὴν ἔχε δῖος Ὀδυσσεύς,
διπλῆν· αὐτὰρ οἱ περόνη χρυσοῖο τέτυκτο
αὐλοῖσιν διδύμοισι.
[_Odyssey_, xix., 225.]
“Goodly Odysseus had a purple cloak, woollen and doubled; and it had
a brooch wrought of gold, with a double groove for the pins.”
[35] _Odyssey_, iii., 349.
[36] _Ibid._, xvii., 86.
[37] _Ibid._, xiv., 522.
[38] _Iliad_, ii., 183.
[39] See Fig. 7 (_a_), where the second figure from the right is
represented wearing only the χλαῖνα ἁπλοΐς.
In these cases the χλαῖνα was obviously folded over double, though
in what way is not expressly stated; if the garment consisted of a
wide rectangular piece of material, it might be doubled along its
length horizontally and fastened with a brooch on one shoulder, like
Apollo’s himation in the Thasos relief.[40] This method, however,
is not found on the earliest vases, which, though not contemporary
with Homer, are yet the nearest monumental evidence obtainable;
moreover, the additional expression, ἐκταδίην, seems to be against
this interpretation; the meaning of ἐκταδίην seems to be “stretched
out straight,” and the word could hardly be applied to a garment
draped in such a way as to fall in many folds; it is reasonable,
therefore, to suppose that the χλαῖνα διπλῆ consisted of a large
square[41] of woollen material folded along the diagonal, so that two
opposite corners lay on each other; it would be laid on the shoulders
so that these two corners hung down in the middle of the back, no
folds being formed (ἐκταδίην), and the other two points hung down
one on each side of the front; a brooch would prevent the cloak from
slipping off the shoulders; this shawl-like method of wearing the
mantle is frequently represented on the black figured vases.[42] The
δίπτυχον λώπην, “double cloak,” which Athena wears, ἀμφ᾽ ὤμοισι, when
disguised as a shepherd,[43] is probably a garment worn in this same
fashion, and the δίπλακες which Helen and Andromache are described
as weaving in the _Iliad_[44] are perhaps intended for cloaks to be
so worn.
[40] E. A. Gardner, _Handbook of Greek Sculpture_, p. 128.