wars both men and women wore their hair long. After the middle of
the fifth century a change took place, the men cutting their hair
short for the most part, the women binding it up. The story of the
Lacedæmonians combing their long hair when the Persians were close
upon them is familiar (Herodotus, VII., 208). Extant monuments show
us that before the Persian wars the men adopted various methods of
disposing of their long hair: sometimes we see it worn loose with a
simple fillet tied round the head;[165] sometimes the long ends are
turned up and tucked in under the fillet;[166] sometimes they are
turned up and held together by an additional band. This is the case
with a bronze head from Olympia,[167] where, however, some locks
seem to have been left free on the neck. A relief in Athens,
representing a Discobolus holding the “discus” behind his head,[168]
shows the hair probably divided and twisted together in two coils
fastened tightly at a little distance from the end by a ribbon, or
possibly by a metal spiral.[169] The golden τέττιξ mentioned by
Thucydides (I., 6) was obviously some kind of ornament inserted
in the hair to hold the “chignon” in place. It has been shown by
Helbig[170] that this was probably a metal spiral or series of rings
used to bind together the ends of the long hair; such a style is
frequently represented in the art of the end of the sixth century and
beginning of the fifth. The bands represented in Fig. 42 (_c_) are
possibly intended for such metal rings. Helbig’s view is supported
and confirmed by Studniczka.[171]
[165] Fig. 42 (_a_).
[166] Fig. 42 (_b_).
[167] Fig. 42 (_c_).
[168] Fig. 42 (_d_).
[169] The hair of Euphorbus, described in _Iliad_, xvi., 52, was
possibly dressed in this fashion.
[170] _Das Homerische Epos_, 166-170; cp. _Mittheilungen des
Deutschen Instituts in Athen_, vi., pl. 7, p. 186.
[171] _Jahrbuch des kaiserlich Deutschen Instituts_, xi., 1896,
pp. 284-291.
Probably the knot of hair bound up on the nape of the neck, as in
the above examples, represents the κρωβύλος or κόρυμβος mentioned
in Thucydides and elsewhere in literature. In later times this name
was applied to the knot of hair on the top of the head which occurs
so frequently in statues of Apollo; but there is no evidence to show
that it was worn in this position before the fourth century at the
earliest.
A style very commonly exemplified by extant statues of Apollo, dating
from the early part of the fifth century, is to tie a fillet round
the head and roll the long hair tightly over it, tucking the ends
in usually behind the ears.[172] These ends are, however, sometimes
allowed to hang down on the neck. Athletes very frequently disposed
of their long hair by braiding it into two plaits from behind; these
they crossed or brought round the head, fastening the two ends
together in front.[173] Sometimes the short hair in front was combed
down over the plaits, so as to conceal their union.
[172] Fig. 43 (_a_).
[173] Fig. 43 (_b_). It is interesting to note that little
Athenian schoolgirls of to-day wear their hair in this fashion.
[Illustration: FIG. 43.—(_a_) Head of Apollo from the Temple of Zeus,
at Olympia. (_b_) Head of an Athlete—Athens Acropolis Museum.
_Face page_ 110.]
The date of the change of fashion is impossible to fix. We find the
athletes of Myron and Polycleitus represented with short hair, but
long-haired Apollos are found considerably after their date. The
change took place, in all probability, shortly after the Persian
wars; it then became the fashion for Ephebi to cut off their
long hair, which they consecrated to Apollo and Artemis or to a
river god.[174] When once the change had come about, long hair
was considered, in Athens at least, as a mark of affectation or
effeminacy. In _The Wasps_ of Aristophanes,[175] Amynias, the typical
fop, is designated by the name of οὑκ τῶν Κρωβύλου, “he of the
‘chignon,’” and in _The Clouds_ the wearing of the τέττιξ is spoken
of as a fashion quite out of date, or, as we might say, antediluvian.
There is some uncertainty as to whether the Lacedæmonians wore their
hair short or long; some authorities state that even in the fourth
century they still wore it long as a mark of freedom, and since they
were more conservative than the rest of the Greeks, it is quite
possible that this was the case. With this possible exception, the
custom of wearing the hair short continued, though Alexander probably
set the fashion of wearing rather long and mane-like hair.
[174] Pausanias, I., xxxvii., 2; _Æsch. Choeph._, 6.
[175] 1267.
[Illustration: FIG. 44.]
A covering for the head was rarely worn by men, except when riding
or travelling long distances; in these cases the πέτασος was worn as
a protection against sun and rain. This consisted of a felt hat with
broad brim, which could be turned up or down. Figs. 44, 22, and 23
represent its various shapes, Fig. 44 being the earliest form. The
πέτασος, like the χλάμυς, which it almost invariably accompanies,
probably came originally from Northern Greece, Thrace, or Thessaly,
where more protection was needed against cold and inclement weather.
Another head-covering, worn by sailors and by the god Hephaistos, is
the πῖλος, a felt cap of conical shape resembling the modern fez.[176]
[176] Fig. 19.
[Illustration: FIG. 45.—Women’s Head-dress.
_Face page_ 112.]
Extant monuments show that before the Persian wars women for the
most part wore their hair down, although instances occur where it is
fastened up with bands or fillets. When worn down it was usually held
in place by a fillet, and frequently a metal ornament, rather high
in front and narrowing towards the back, was added. This was known
as the ἄμπυξ, or στεφάνη, and was probably made of gold; almost all
the “Maidens” of the Acropolis wear it, and in several instances it
is adorned with floral patterns.[177] The high πόλος or crown worn
by Hera (Fig. 45 (_a_)) was probably also made of metal. Sometimes
when the hair was worn down, the ends were prevented from flying in
the wind by being tied together in a kind of little bag,[178] which
reminds one of the many fashions adopted by men in the Georgian
period in England. Sometimes, like the men, the women tucked the long
ends up under the fillet, and let them hang out over it at the back.
The fillet itself frequently assumed the dimensions of a scarf, the
ends of which were tucked up at the sides and allowed to hang down
behind the ears. When the hair was done up, the “chignon” was at
first worn low on the nape of the neck and held in place by bands
variously arranged.[179] Sometimes the στεφάνη alone was worn,[180]
and very often the hair was held up by a kerchief or snood (μίτρα,
σάκκος). The styles in which it was worn present abundant variety:
sometimes it covered the hair completely,[181] except for a curl or
two allowed to escape in front of the ears; sometimes it left the
hair visible over the forehead only;[182] sometimes over the forehead
and on the crown of the head, and the ends of the kerchief might
be tucked through at the side and allowed to hang down in front of
the ears.[183] Fig. 45 (_f_) gives an example of the στεφάνη worn
in addition to the snood. In the fourth century fashion seems to
have dictated that the “chignon” should be worn higher up at the back
of the head, and a small kerchief was used to hold it up, folded in
such a way that it narrowed almost to a point over the forehead.[184]
Apparently a net was sometimes worn over the back of the hair. Fig.
45 (_l_), from the Meidias vase, furnishes an illustration of this.
In Hellenistic and Roman times the styles of dressing the hair became
very numerous. The snood seems to have been discarded altogether,
and adornment by means of artificial waving and curling apparently
took its place. The modes of “coiffure” of the Alexandrian Greeks
are as varied as those of modern Europe. Probably cosmetics were
used for the hair and paint and powder for the face; for we learn
from Xenophon’s _Œconomicus_ that as far back as his date, not only
hetairæ but married women resorted to artificial means of beautifying
the complexion.
[177] Fig. 32.
[178] Fig. 45 (_b_).
[179] Fig. 45 (_c_ and _d_).
[180] Fig. 45 (_e_).
[181] Fig. 45 (_g_).
[182] Fig. 45 (_h_).
[183] Fig. 45 (_i_ and _j_).
[184] Fig. 45 (_k_).
More than one allusion is made in literature to some kind of hat worn
by women; in Theocritus (_Idyll_, xv., 39), Praxinoa, when going out
to the festival of Adonis, asks her maid for her wrap and hat (θολία).
In the _Œdipus Coloneus_[185] Antigone recognises Ismene from a
distance by the Thessalian hat which she wears as a protection
against the heat of the sun. The words used are κυνῆ Θεσσαλίς, which
seem to imply that the hat was made of some kind of skin, probably
felt, and resembled the men’s “petasos,” which originated in
Thessaly or Thrace; its shape may have been slightly different. The
Tanagra statuettes frequently represent women wearing a broad-brimmed
hat with high pointed crown.[186]
[185] 313.
[186] Fig. 15.
VIII
FOOTGEAR
The practice of covering the feet seems to have varied somewhat among
the Greeks. In all probability it was the custom to go barefoot
indoors, and the habit prevailed among certain classes of going
always unshod in the street also. It was a mark of hardihood in the
Spartan youths always to go barefoot, and at Athens, in addition to
the lower orders, who probably never wore shoes, philosophers and
those who affected a simple life were in the habit of going unshod.
That Socrates rarely covered his feet is proved by more than one
reference in Plato’s Dialogues;—Phædrus[187] speaks of him as ἀεὶ
ἀνυπόδητος, “always unshod,” and in the _Symposium_[188] we learn
that for the occasion of Agathon’s banquet Socrates has washed and
put on his shoes, ἃ ὀλιγάκις ἐποίει, “which he seldom did.”
[187] Plato, _Phædrus_, 229 A.
[188] 174 A.
Other references in literature show that he was not the only
philosopher who preferred to have his feet untrammelled.[189]
[189] Aristophanes, _The Clouds_, 103; Theocritus, XIV., 6.
The normal fashion, however, for people of good breeding was to wear
sandals or shoes out of doors, and we learn from Aristophanes[190]
that the Athenians at least were particular about the fit;—to “swim
about” in large boots was a mark of boorishness. Xenophon[191]
notices the division of labour in the shoemakers’ trade, where he
mentions at least four different hands employed in making a pair of
shoes.
[190] _Knights_, 321.
[191] _Cyropædia_, xviii., 2, 5.
[Illustration: FIG. 46.—Sandals and Shoes.
_Face page_ 117.]
The simplest form of footgear was the sandal, the πέδιλον of Homer,
the ὑπόδημα of later times; this consisted of a leather sole cut
to the shape of the foot and fastened on by means of straps or
thongs, passing sometimes round the instep, sometimes between the
toes and round the heel and ankle.[192] At times a piece of skin was
attached to the sandal at the back, so as to cover the back of the
heel, or even to wrap round the instep entirely, leaving only the
toes bare;[193] from this form of sandal the ἔμβας, or slipper, was
probably developed. This is described by Pollux[194] as εὐτελὲς μὲν
ὑπόδεμα, Θράκιον δὲ τὸ εὕρημα, “a cheap shoe, of Thracian invention.”
Its name suffices to show that the foot was inserted into the ἔμβας,
in contradistinction to the sandal, which was bound under the foot;
and the epithet signifies that it covered the foot completely.
This description could be applied to many varieties of shoes and
boots represented in extant art. Fig. 46 (_e_ and _f_) gives two
examples of shoes—_e_ being an ordinary soft shoe covering the
foot completely to the ankle, _f_ is turned up at the toes, like a
modern Greek shoe, and reaches above the ankle at the back. A vase
at the British Museum represents a woman cleaning a shoe of this
shape. We learn from Aristophanes[195] that shoes were cleaned with
blacking made of pitch and applied with a sponge; they were usually
black, except when the leather was allowed to retain its natural
colour. The word ἔμβας seems to have been used for various kinds of
foot-covering; in Aristophanes it refers sometimes to a kind of easy
slipper worn by old men,[196] and in other instances it is used of
any ordinary shoe or boot. The mention by Pollux of its Thracian
origin perhaps refers to the high boot turned over at the top,
frequently represented on vase-paintings as being worn by horsemen
with the Thracian cloak and petasos.[197] Different varieties of this
kind of boot are to be seen in Fig. 46 (_g_, _h_, _i_, and _j_).
[192] Fig. 46 (_a_ and _b_); Fig. 48 (_c_).
[193] Fig. 46 (_c_ and _d_).
[194] VII., 85.
[195] _The Wasps_, 600.
[196] _The Wasps_, 274; _The Clouds_, 719.
[197] Fig. 22.
An article in Daremberg and Saglio’s _Dictionnaire_ suggests an
Asiatic origin, and indeed the resemblance between Greek boots and
those represented on Assyrian monuments is striking. A comparison is
actually made by Herodotus[198] between Assyrian boots and Bœotian
ἐμβάδες.
[198] I., 195.
It is quite possible that boots of this kind may have come to Greece
from the East by way of Thrace, and the fact that Dionysus is very
frequently represented wearing them seems to add confirmation to
this conjecture.
[Illustration: FIG. 47.]
A variety of the ἐμβάδες is to be found in the ἐνδρομίδες, a kind of
boot worn by runners, as also by Hermes, Artemis, and the Amazons.
They seem to have had no flap at the top, and to have been laced over
a tongue either through holes or round buttons.[199] Another kind
seems to have consisted of strips of cloth or leather, or possibly
felt, wound round the legs like the modern puttees.
[199] Figs. 47 and 48 (_a_).
The word κρηπίδες is frequently used of some kind of foot-covering,
and we learn from Theocritus[200] and from Pollux[201] that these
were worn by soldiers. The κρῆπις was probably some kind of sandal
with a thick sole and stout straps interlacing one another in such a
way as to form a protection for the heel and instep.[202] Pliny[203]
tells us that sometimes they had nails in them.
[200] XV., 6.
[201] VII., 85.
[202] Figs. 48 (_b_) and 49 (_a_ and _b_).
[203] XXXV., 25.
[Illustration: 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 page_ 118.]
Many varieties of shoes or boots are mentioned by Pollux[204] and
other ancient writers. We read of ἀρβύλαι, ἀρβυλίδες, a cheap kind
of boot worn on journeys; βλαυταί, light sandals with latchets,
called also κονιπόδες, from the fact that they allowed the feet to
get covered with dust; εὐμάριδες, Persian slippers of yellow kid;
Περσικαί, cheap white shoes worn by women, especially by hetairæ;
Λακωνικαί, distinguished by their red colour—these were probably
the same as the Ἁμυκλαί mentioned by Theocritus. One of the archaic
female statues in the Acropolis Museum at Athens wears red shoes.
Wood was sometimes used for sandals. Pollux tells us that κρουπέζια
were a special kind of wooden sandal used for dancing, and that
Pheidias represented Athene Parthenos wearing Τυρρηνικά, sandals with
high rectangular wooden soles and gold latchets.
[204] VII., 84-93.
[Illustration: FIG. 49.]
Other shoes are too numerous to mention, and cannot be identified
with certainty.
IX
THE TOILET
CONCLUSION
The toilet of the ancient Greeks was quite as elaborate as that of
any modern people, and much time and care was bestowed upon it. That
of the men was usually performed at the barber’s shop (Κουρεῖον),
which became, as we gather from frequent allusions in Aristophanes,
a regular resort for lounging and picking up news and scraps of
gossip of all kinds. A fashionable Athenian would probably spend a
whole morning at the barber’s shop, where, in addition to having his
hair cut and beard clipped or shaved, he could submit to the various
operations of manicure and chiropody. An epigram in the palatine
anthology[205] gives a list of barber’s implements, some of which
have survived in a few examples, and may be seen in our museums. The
list includes: scissors (ψάλις), razor (ξυρόν), some sharp, pointed
instrument for paring and cleaning the nails (στόνυξ). Mention is
also made of a scraper (ψήκτρα), which was probably used after
bathing. An ancient razor differs from a modern one, in that it is
crescent shaped.
[205] _Anth. Pal._, vi., 307.
In addition to these implements, various ointments were used, one
of which, ψίλωθρον, containing arsenic, was employed for removing
superfluous hairs.
[Illustration: FIG. 50.]
When repairing to the wrestling school or the gymnasium, a Greek
would invariably be provided with an oil-flask (ἀρύβαλλος, λήκυθος)
and a strigil (ξύστρα). The aryballos (Fig. 50) was a small globular
vessel, with an opening just large enough to allow the oil to trickle
slowly out, the lekythos being a long narrow bottle with a foot and
a narrow neck.[206] Both were used to carry the olive oil with which
athletes were accustomed to anoint themselves. The strigil was a
curved metal instrument used for scraping the oil and sand from the
body after wrestling. The famous statue of the Apoxyomenos in the
Vatican Museum represents an athlete engaged in this operation.
[206] Fig. 51.
[Illustration: FIG. 51.]
The processes and requisites of the feminine toilet were many
and various, and toilet scenes are frequently represented in
vase-paintings. Sometimes we may see the process of the bath: an
attendant slave pouring water from a large vessel over the crouching
figure of the bather; in other instances we find a lady engaged in
binding her hair with a fillet, tying her girdle, or fastening her
sandal. There is almost invariably a maid in attendance, who assists
in the operations, holding a scent-bottle, or a casket from which her
mistress selects jewels.[207] One vase-painting shows a lady applying
powder or colour to her cheeks with a brush.
[207] Fig. 52 (_a_).
Many allusions in literature, and especially in Aristophanes, show
that paint and cosmetics of various kinds were in use in Athens in
the fifth century B.C. It is not surprising to learn that hetairæ
made use of these artificial aids to beauty; but from a passage in
Xenophon’s _Œconomicus_[208] we gather that the wives and daughters
of respected citizens did not despise such means of enhancing and
preserving their appearance. The passage describes how Ischomachus
found his young wife ἐντετριμμένην πολλῷ μὲν ψιμυθίῳ ὅπως λευκοτέρα
ἔτι δοκοίη εἶναι ἢ ἦν, πολλῇ δ᾽ ἐγχούσῃ ὅπως ἐρυθροτέρα φαίνοιτο
τῆς ἀληθείας, ὑποδήματα δ᾽ ἔχουσαν ὑψηλά, ὅπως μείζων δοκοίη εἶναι
ἢ ἐπεφύκει, “with much white lead rubbed into her skin, to make her
look fairer than she was; and with much rouge, to make her appear
rosier; and wearing high sandals, to add to her natural height.”
[208] x., 2.
Ischomachus persuades her to give up these vanities, asking her if
she will like him better if he goes about μίλτρῳ ἀλειφόμενος καὶ τοὺς
ὀφθαλμοὺς ὑπαλειφόμενος, “anointed with red ochre, and with pigment
under his eyes.”
[Illustration: FIG. 52.—(_a_) A Pyxis in the British Museum. (_b_) A
Toilet-box in the British Museum.
_Face page_ 122.]
White lead was commonly used for producing a fair complexion; it was
prepared by laying lead in vinegar, scraping off, powdering, and
heating the white rust thus formed.[209] Various substances were used
for producing rouge—some mineral, some vegetable; of the latter,
the root of a plant (ἔγχουσα or ἄγχουσα), certain kinds of seaweed
(φῦκος), and mulberry juice (συκάμινον), were common. That some kind
of pigment was used for darkening the eyelids is further testified
by Pollux[210] and Aristophanes.[211] Lamp-black and a sulphuret of
antimony (στίμμις), were used for blackening eyebrows and eyelids.
Perfumed powders and unguents were used for skin and hair, scented
with myrrh or roses or other products. The simplest and most common
unguent was, of course, olive oil. In addition to artificial
complexions, we learn that false hair and wigs (πηνίκη, προκομίον),
were not unknown, and that these came from the East.[212]
[209] _Theophr. de Lapidibus_, 56.
[210] VII., 95.
[211] Fragment 695.
[212] See Xenophon’s _Cyropædia_, I., iii., 2.
Many examples have survived of the various articles pertaining to
the equipment of a Greek lady’s toilet-table. Combs, hair-pins,
mirrors, boxes, and bottles are numerous in our museums. Combs are
usually made of ivory or bone, with a double row of rather fine
teeth. Hair-pins of bone, ivory, or metal consist of a single pin
with an ornamental head. Mirrors are of highly polished metal,
usually bronze, though some have been found in silver. The mirrors
may be divided into two classes—disk-mirrors and box-mirrors. The
former consists of a single disk polished on one side, the reverse
being usually engraved. The disk is furnished with a handle, which
is sometimes so constructed that it can serve also as a foot; the
mirror can so be made to stand on a table. The handle of a mirror of
this kind very frequently takes the form of a human figure.[213] The
box-mirror consists of two disks, the lower one, with its polished
upper surface, serving as the mirror, the upper one as a cover to
protect it. The two are sometimes quite separate and fit closely on
to one another, but more often they are joined by a hinge; the cover
is usually ornamented with relief work, a favourite subject being
Aphrodite and Eros, although other mythological scenes are also
found.[214]
[213] Fig. 53 (_b_).
[214] Fig. 53 (_a_).
[Illustration: FIG. 53.—(_a_) Bronze Box Mirror—British Museum. (_b_)
Bronze Stand Mirror—British Museum.
_Face page_ 124.]
Of the various receptacles used for containing trinkets, hair-bands,
cosmetics, and so on, the commonest is the pyxis, although we find
also baskets and little square caskets represented in vase-paintings
and on the Attic grave reliefs. A box for cosmetics in the British
Museum is in the shape of a bird.[215] The pyxis is a circular box
with a lid; its sides are sometimes straight, but more often concave,
and it is frequently raised on a foot. Its material was originally
boxwood, hence its name, πύξις; but the majority of those which
are extant are terra-cotta, though they are known also in ivory,
alabaster, and precious metals. A common subject on a terra-cotta
pyxis is a toilet scene or a marriage procession.[216]
[215] Fig. 52 (_b_).
[216] Fig. 52 (_a_).
[Illustration: FIG. 54.]
The alabastron used to contain unguents or perfumes is a long narrow
bottle with a spreading neck and small opening; it has no foot, and
is round at the bottom, so that some kind of stand must have been
necessary to hold it upright when not in use.[217] It was usually
made of stone, alabaster, or terra-cotta. The lekythos also was
sometimes used for the same purpose.
[217] Fig. 54.
That Greek ladies wore abundant jewellery is proved by frequent
representations both in sculpture and vase-paintings, as also by
actual finds of jewellery, notably in the Greek graves of the fourth
century at Kertch. These objects have been described and discussed by
Mr A. B. Walters, in his book on _The Art of the Greeks_.[218] Rings,
bracelets, necklaces, brooches, and ear-rings, were commonly worn,
as well as ornamental hair-pins and metal diadems for the hair. Many
examples of goldsmith’s work are extant including some gold ornaments
set with precious stones.
[218] Page 259 ff.
* * * * *
In summing up the results of the foregoing enquiry, we find that
the nature and development of the costume of the Greeks is entirely
in accordance with what we know of the nature and development of
the national character. The chief characteristics of the Doric
dress, which was probably worn in early days by all the inhabitants
of the mainland alike, is a certain broad simplicity; that of
the Ionic dress, which was worn by the Asiatic Greeks, and for a
short period at least by the Athenians also, is graceful elegance.
These characteristics distinguish the Doric and Ionic temperaments
as exhibited in art also, notably in architecture, and to some
extent also in sculpture. Athens appears to have occupied a middle
position between the Peloponnese and Ionia. The Peloponnesians seem
to have clung throughout their history to the Dorian dress, as the
Ionians probably did to the Ionic; but in Athens we find change and
development most strongly marked. In very early days the Athenians
wore the Doric dress; then in the course of the seventh and sixth
centuries their intercourse with the East brought them into contact
with Eastern ideas and Eastern customs, and they appear to have
caught something of the luxury which was characteristic of the East.
At any rate, for a time at least they adopted the Ionic dress,
and carried it to a great degree of luxury and extravagance. Then
with the Persian wars came a reaction against anything savouring
of Orientalism, and a return to greater simplicity. This led to a
resumption of the Doric dress, with certain modifications and the
retention of some Ionic elements.