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http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924029921479
^
j'jo-. 50.— Boys at Soliool.
Vase signed ty X)wt:>i. Berlin,
CHAPTERS
ON
GREEK DRESS
BY
MARIA MILLINGTON EVANS
ILLUSTRATED
S-oxxboxi
MACMILLAN AND CO.
AND NEW TOEK
1893
\_AU rights reserved']
P
! - Vl-I i'
A. I ozo*f»f
GT
Sso
y
TO THE
OXFOED UNIVERSITY
DRAMATIC SOCIETY
IN EEHIEMBEANCE OF
THEIR PERFORMANCE
OF
THE FROGS
OF
ARISTOPHANES,
1892.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTEE I.
PAGE
Homeric ' Deess . . 1
CHAPTEE n.
DeESS EN" HiSTOEIC GeBECE — UnDEE-GAEMENTS or THE
Women .... 15
CHAPTEE III.
Deess oe the Female Figtjees in the Aceopolis MrsBUM,
Athens .... 35
CHAPTEE IV.
Unbee-gaements or the Men 43
CHAPTEE V.
OUTEE GaEMENTS OE BOTH MeN AND WOMEN OE GeEECE
IN HiSTOEic Times ... .... 48
CHAPTEE VI.
GlEDLES, FaBEICS, CoVEEINGS FOE THE HeAD AND
Feet, etc 5"
LIST OF ILLUSTEATIO:^S.
• SUBJECT AND SOURCE. PAGE
' a. Peleus, from a Vase Painting. Pub. in Heydemann's
" Griech. Vasenb.," T. 6, 4 6
(Smitli's "Diet, of G-reek and Eoman Autiq.," s.v.
"Pallium," vol. ii., p. 318. Mmray, 1891.)
h. Apollo with tbe lyre. Pub. in Gerhard's "Etrus. and
Campan. Vasenb.," T. 3 6
(Studniczka's " Beitrage." Kg. 15, p. 66.)
c. Plute-player, from Gerhard's " Auserl: Vasenb.," iv.,
T. 272 6
(Studniozka's " Beitrage." Pig. 16, p. 66.)
2. . " Apollo Citharoedus." Vatican 7
(Smitli's "Diet, of Greek and Roman Antiq.," s.v.
" Palla," vol. ii., p. 318. Murray, 1891.)
3. . "Hermes," from the Prangois Vase, Florence . . 8
(Smith's "Diet, of Greek and Roman Antiq.," s.v.
" Pellis," vol. ii., p. 362. Murray, 1891.)
^ a. Gold Seal from Mycenae 10
(Schliemami's "Myeenae and Tiryns." Murray, 1878,
p. 354, No. 530.)
4. .^ 6. Eutenu Woman 11
(Studmezka'B "Beitrage." Pig. 11, p. 34.)
Gem from Vapheio. Pub. '£(J. 'Ap^., 1889. PI. x., 34 11
(Prom a drawing by Mr. Anderson.)
5. . "MoirsB," from the Frangois Vase. Florence . . 12
(Smith's " Diet, of Greek and Roman Antiq.," s.v.
" Palla," vol. ii., p. 316. Murray, 1891.)
6. . Women ataFountain. Froma Vase, British Museum,/ace 12
("Aneient Pottery," S. Birch. Vol. i., p. 273, No. 130.
Murray, 1858.)
7. . From a Terra-cotta. Santangelo Coll., Naples Museum.
Pub. in the " Mittheil. des Kais, Deutsch. ArchEieoL
Instituts. Eom. Abtheil." Band vi., 1891, p. 253. face 13
(Prom a photograph of the cut in the " Mittheil.")
X LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
FIG. NO. SUBJECT AND SOUECB. PAGE
— ■ 8. . Scheme of the Dorian Chiton ..... 17
(Studniezka's "Beitrage," p. 6, fig. 1.)
9. . Selene, from the great altar, Pergamos . . . face 17
(Reproduction from Baumeister's "Deiikmaler,"p. 1238,
fig. 1423.)
10. . Hesperid, from one of the Metopes. Olympia . face 18
(Reproduction from Bamneister'B"Dentinaler," p. 1081,
fig. 1286.)
"11. . Chiton fastened on the Shoulders 18
(Studniezka's " Beitrage," p. 99, fig. 30.)
\2. . Dress Open at the Side 18
(Studniezka's "Beitrage," p. 7, fig. 2.)
13. . Dress Open at the Side .18
(Studniezka's "Beitrage," p. 7, fig. 3.)
- 14. . Scheme of the closed Dorian Chiton . . . .19
(Studniezka's "Beitrage," p. 10, fig. 6.)
" T.5. . Girl wearing the closed Dorian Chiton . . . .20
(Studniezka's " Beitrage," p. 10, fig. 5.)
16. . Girl putting on the partially-closed Dorian Chiton. Prom
Herculaneum. Naples Musetrm . . . .20
(Studniezka's "Beitrage," p. 10, fig. 4.)
17. . Bronze Figure from Herculaneum. Naples Museum.
face 20
(From a photograph.)
18. . Figui-e of Athena, from one of the Metopes. Olympia.
precede 21
(BVom a photograph.)
19. . Vase Painting. Procne and Philomela . . .21
(From a photograph.)
20. . Scheme of the " Peplos " of Athena . . . .22
(Studniezka's "Beitrage," p. 142, fig. 46.)
21. . The " Varvakeion " Statuette. Athens . . .22
(Studniezka's "Beitrage," p. 142, fig. 45.)
22. . Statuette of Athena. Athens . . . . .23
(Studniezka's "Beitrage," p. 142, fig. 47.)
23. . Dress of Modern Egyptian Woman . . . .23
(Studniezka's " Beitrage," p. 118, fig. 42.)
24. . Illustration of Sleeve of Chiton made by placing pins at
intervals. From a Vase . . . . . .24
(Reproduction from Schreiber's " BUderatlas, " Taf xii
10.)
LIST OF ILLUSTKATIONS.
PIG. NO. SUBJBCT AND SOURCE. PAGE
25. . Mounted Amazon. Athens face 24
(From a photograpli.)
- 26. . Scheme of the Ionian Chiton 24
(Studniczka's "Beitrage," p. 13, fig. 7.)
27. . Women wearing the Ionian Chiton . . . .25
(Eieproduotion from Schreiber'a " Bilderatlas," "vii. 1.)
28. . The Charites. Belief in the Vatican .... 26
(" Mythology and Monuments of Ancient Athena."
J. E. Harrison. Maomillan, 1890, p. 375, fig. 13.)
29
[ a. \ ^ ia.
h. { Etruscan Fibulae from the collection of Sir John \ b.
c. I Evans } c.
d. I (d.
(From the Originals.)
31
32
30. . Medea. From a Vase Painting 33
(Reproduction from Schreiber's "Bilderatlas," bfxxiY. 1.)
31. . Amazon. In the Berlin Museum 33
(Seyffert's " Dictionary of Classical Antiquities."
Translated by Nettleship and Sandys. Swan Son-
nenschein & Co., London, 1891, p. 25. s.v. " Ama-
zons.")
32. . The Eunning Girl. Vatican face 34
(From a photograph.)
33. . Figure ascribed to a base with the name of the artist
Antenor. Athens face 36
(From a photograph.)
34. . Female Figure discovered on the Acropolis, Athens face 36
(From a photograph.)
35. . Female Figure discovered on the Acropolis, Athens precede 37
(From a photograph.)
36. . Female Figure discovered on the Acropolis, Athens face 38
(From a photograph.)
37. . Bacchante. From a Vase Painting . . precede 39
(Keproduotion from Baumeister's " Denkmaler," p. 847,
fig. 928.;
38. . Female Figure found on the Acropolis, Athens face 41
(Prom a photograph.)
- 39. . Bas-relief. Soldier in a short Chiton ... . .45
(Seyfflert's "Dictionary," p. 130 (1). s.v. •' Chiton.")
-40. . Charon, wearing the Exomis 47
(Reproduction from Schreiber's " Bilderatlas," Introd.,
p. 10, Vign. 9.)
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
Fla. NO. SUBJECT AND SOURCE. PAGE
41. . Terra-Cotta Figurine from Tanagra . . . .49
(Seyffert's" Dictionary," p. 295 (2). s.v. '•Himation.")
42. . Terra-Cotta Figurine from Tanagra . . . .49
(Seyffert's " Dictionary," p. 610 (3). s.v. "Pottery.")
43. . Slab. Central Museum, Athens .... face 50
(From a photograph.)
44. . Sophocles. Lateran Museum, Eome . . precede 51
(Seyffert's "Dictionary," p. 597. s.v. "Sophocles."
By permission of Messrs. Longman.)
45. . Penelope and Telemaohos. From a Vase Painting . 51
(Reproduction from Schreiber's " BUderatlas," Ixxt. 1.)
46. . Figure from the Francois Vase. Florence . . .52
(Smith's "Dictionary of Antiq.," vol. ii., p. 319.
Murray, 1891. s.v. "Pallium.")
47. . Caryatid from the Brechtheum, Athens. British
Museum .......... 53
(Seyffert's "Dictionary," p. 116. s.v. " Caryatides.")
48. . Eirene with the Infant Ploutos. Glyptothek, Munich . 53
(Seyffert's "Dictionary," p. 208. s.v. "Eirene.")
49. . Youth wearing a Chlaiuys 54
(Smith's "Dictionary of Antiq.," vol. ii., p. 428.
Murray, 1891. s.i;. " PiUeus.'')
50. . Boys at School. Vase signed by Duris. Berlin Frontispiece
(Seyffert's "Dictionary," p. 674. s.v. "Vases.")
-51. . Greek Babies. Terra- Cottas from Boeotia . . .54
(From a photograph.)
51a. . Diana of Gabii. Fastening the " Diplax." Louvre . 55
(Studniozifa's " Beitrage," p. 78, fig. 21.)
52. . Stele of Hegeso. Athens face 56
("Mythology and Monmnents of Ancient Athens."
J. E. Harrison, p. 691, fig. 25. Macmillan.)
53. . Athena. Part of slab from the great altar, Pergamos.
Berlin face 58
(Seyffert's " Dictionary," p. 470. s.v. " Pergamene
Sculptures.")
54. . Fragment of a Eobe. Crimea .... face 60
(Reproduction from Schreiber's ' ' Bilderatlas," Ixxiv. 11.)
55. . Vase signed by Hieron. " Departure of Triptolemos."
British Museum ....... G2
(Harrison's " Mythology and Monuments," p. l.,'fiff 8*
MacmiUan.) ' t , a ■
56. . Athlete with his hair bound up. OljTnpia .
(Reproduction from Schreiber's "Bilderatlas," Ixxxv. I.)
64
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. xiif
^la. NO. SUBJECT AND 80DE0K. PAGE
57. . Hair bound with a fillet. Coin of Syracuse. British
Museum 66
(British Museum " Catalogue of Greek Coins, Sicily,"
ed. by R. S. Poole, Loudon, 1876, p. 161.)
58. . Female Head, from a Ooia of Syracuse. British Museum 66
(British Museum "Catalogue of Greek Coins, SioUy,"
ed. byE. S. Poole, London, 1876, p. 162.)
' 59. . Pemale Head. The hair bound with beads. Coin of
Syracuse. British Museum 67
(British Museum " Catalogue of Greek Coins, Sicily,"
ed. by R. S. Poole, London, 1876, p. 154.)
60. . Hairbound with a "Sphendone." Coin of Segesta.
British Museum. 67
(British Museum " Catalogue of Greek Coins, Sicily,"
ed. by R. S. Poole, London, 1876, p. 133.)
61. . "Sphendone," wound several times round the head.
Coin of Syracuse. British Museum . . . .68
(British Museum "Catalogue of Greek Coins, Sicily,"
' ed. by R. S. Poole, London, 1876, p. 160.)
62. . Instance of a short, wide " Sphendone." Tetradrachm
of Syracuse. British Museum 68
(British Museum " Catalogue of Greek Coins, SioUy,"
ed. by E. S. Poole, London, 1876, p. 167.)
63. . Head bound with a "Sphendone." Tetradrachm of
Syracuse, by Phrygillos. British Museum . . 69
(British Museum " Catalogue of Greek Coins, Sicily,"
^ ed. by R. S. Poole, London, 1876, p. 168.)
64. . Female Head wearing the "Ampyx." Coin of Syra-
cuse. British Museum 69
(British Museum "Catalogue of Greek Coins, Sicily,"
ed. by R. S. Poole, London, 1876, p. 164.)
65. . Female Head wearing "Ampyx" jomed to hair-net
by a buckle. Coin of Syracuse. British Museum . 70
(British Museum "Catalogue of Greek Coins, Sicily,"
ed. by R. S. Poole, London, 1876, p. 162.)
66. . Hair in a Net, with Frontlet. Decadrachm of Syracuse.
British Museum 70
(British Museum " Catalogue of Greek Coins, Sicily,"
ed. by R. 8. Poole, London, 1876, p. 175.)
67. . Female Head wearing the "Sakkos." Coin of Syracuse.
British Museum 71
(British Museum " Catalogue cf Greek Coins, Sicily,"
ed. by R. S. Poole, London, 1876, p. 160.)
68. . Fragment of a Vase with Female Figures and Greo-
metrical Patterns ....... 72
(" Tiryns," by H. Sohliemann. Murray, 1886, p. 95,
No. 18.)
XIV LIST OF ILLUSTKATIONS.
FIG. NO, SUBJECT AND SOOECE. PAGE
69. . Varieties of Boots, Shoes, and Sandals . . . .74
(Smitli's "Dictionary of Antiquities," vol. i., p. 332.
Mvirray, 1891. s.v. "Calceus.")
70. . Female Figure found on the Acropolis, Athens . face 74
(From a photograph.)
71. . Varieties of the " Petasos " 75
(Smith "Dictionary of Antiquities," vol. ii., p. 428.
Murray," 1891. s.». " PiUens.")
72. . "The Foot-washing of Odysseus." Weariag of the
"EilQs." From a Vase painting . . . .76
(Reproduction from Schreiber's " Bilderatlas," hdii. 3.)
73. . Sailors wearing the " Pilos " . . . . .77
(Smith's "Dictionary of Antiquities," vol. ii., p. 427.
Murray, 1891. «.«»." Pilleus.")
74. . Hephaistos wearing the " Pilos " . . . . .78
(Seyfiert's "Dictionary," p. 277. s.v. "Hephaestus.")
INTRODUCTION.
In attempting to give a sketcli of the main principles
on which the ordinary dress of the ancient Greeks was
based, I do not propose to deal with the subject in an
exhaustive manner, nor do I for a moment pretend that the
materials used are entirely original. But, having noticed
in pictures of classical scenes and in Greek costume when
exhibited on the stage, some ignorance of the elements
of the subject, I venture to make public the following
pages in the hope that they may be of service to those
who, from archseological or artistic causes, wish to obtain
a correct insight into the character of the Greek dress in
classical times. In the desire to make the national col-
lections as useful as possible, I have made frequent
reference to examples in the British Museum, Blooms-
bury, or in the collection of casts at the South Kensington
Museum.
My debt to the labours of others, specially of German
archaeologists, is great. To Dr. Studniczka I tender my
best thanks for permission to reproduce many illustrations
from his work. My thanks are also due to Messrs.
Murray, Macmillan,- and Swan Sonnenschein, as well as to
the trustees of the British Museum for the loan of woodcuts.
The sources of the illustrations are acknowledged in the
XVI INTEOnUCTION.
list at p. ix. My friend Professor Gardner, of Oxford,
has added to his many kindnesses that of reading my
proofs.
I subjoin a list of works consulted that may be of use
to other students of the subject.
"Beitrage zur Greschichte der Altgriechisclien Tracht," von
Franz Studniczka. Karl Gerold's Sohn. Wien, 1886.
" Quaestiones de re Vestiaria Graecorum." J. Boehlau.
Weimar. 1884.
" Quaestiones Vestiariae." W. Miiller. Gottingen, 1890.
" Lehrbuch der GriecHschen Privatalterthiimer." Her-
mann. Dritte Auflage von H. Blumner. (Band iv. of Her-
mann's Lehrbuch der Griech. Antiquitaten.) J. C. B. Mohr.
Freiburg, 1882.
" Die Tracht bei Homer." Friederich. " Eealien " (p. 248 and
foil.), zweite Ausgabe. F. Enke. Erlangen, 1856.
" Das Homerische Epos." Helbig. Leipzig, 1884.
"Social Life in Greece." J. P. Mahaffy. 5th edition. Mac-
millan. London, 1888.
"Journal of Hellenic Studies," vol. viii., p. 170. E. Gardner.
1887. Published for the Society for Promoting Hellenic Studies,
by Maomillan & Co.
" Histoire de la Sculpture Grecque." Maxime Colligijon.
Paris, 1882.
" A Companion to the Iliad." Walter Leaf Macmillan.
1892.
" Olympia," "Bronzen." A. Furtwaengler, Taf. xxi. and
foil. (Band iv. of " Olympia," herausgegeben von E. Curtius
und F. Adler). A. Asher. Berlin, 1890.
Hope's "Costume of the Ancients." London, 1812.
Articles on special garments in Daremberg and Saglio's " Dic-
tionnaire des Antiquites Grecques et Komaines." Hachette &
Co., Paris (still in progress).
Similar articles in Baumeister's " Denkmaler des Klassischen
Altertums." Munich and Leipzig, 1885J etc.
Articles in the " Jahrbuch des Kais. Inst." Berlin, 1892.
vii. 4., by Mayer, and 1891, vn. 1., by Hauser.
INTEODirCTION. XVll
" Observations sur les statues arehaiques do type feminin du
Musee de TAcropole." H. Lechat in the " Bulletin de Corre-
spond. Hellenique," 1890.
" Die Qriecliischen Meisterschalen," by Paul Hartwig. Pub-
lished by Spemann, Stuttgart and Berlin, 1893.
The following table of the periods of Greek Art is
given for convenience of reference : —
I. Pbbhistoeic (Mycenae, Tiryns, &c.). To about 700 b. c.
II, Aechaic. (Artists as Antenor, Calamis, &c.) Circa
700 to 460 B.C. Period of the Vases with Black
Figures.
III. Eakly Fine Art. (Sculptures of Temple of Olympia,
Parthenon, &c.) Circa 460 to 400 b.c. Period of
the earlier vases with Bed Figures.
IV. Late Fine Art. (Artists of the Mausoleum, Praxiteles,
Scopas, &c.) Circa 400 to 300 b.c. Period of the
later vases with Red Figures.
V. Decline. (Artists of Pergamene sculptures, &c.)
Circa 300 to 100 b.c. Period of the vases of Apulia
and Campania.
Maria Milijngton Evans.
Nash Mills,
Hemd Hempstead,
November, 1893.
GREEK DRESS.
HOMEEIC DRESS.
To some persons it may seem a trivial undertaking to
set to work to describe the garments worn by a people so
far removed in time from our own day as the ancient
Greeks. But though removed in time, there is no race
whose spirit is more vitally present as an influence in
modern- thought. True, that the spirit of a great past
can be caught without technical accuracy as to its dress
— as witness the fact that Mrs. Siddons, in an ordinary
ball-dress of the period, could so play the part of Shak-
speare's heroines as to make spectators forget the
anachronism of her clothes. But there can be little doubt
that a clearer idea of ancient life is obtained if we can
picture the people "in their habit as they lived." To
use the words of quaint old Hope,^ " To clothe, as Paul
Yeronese has done, Alexander in French brocade and
Statira in Grenoa cut velvet, is beforehand wantonly to
mar the best fruits of one's labour, the applause of the
judicious. It is offering a masquerade instead of a
historic subject, a riddle in place of a tale clearly told."
But the subject is not without its difficulties. It is
' Costume of the Ancients, 1812.
2 GREEK DRESS.
easy to speak of the " Greeks," but Greece was at no
period a uniform whole, with customs common to every
part of it. No two towns could have been more dis-
similar in habits and thought than Sparta, where every-
thing was subservient to the military ideal, and Athens
with her " grace without softness." How great, even,
were the differences between Corinth the commercial and
Thebes the prosperous, and those more distant centres,
Miletus, Cyrene, Syracuse, each tinged by influences of
their surroundings !
The sources of information, too, are not quite so numer-
ous as those available for other branches of ancient history.
For example — inscriptions, usually such sure guides
in Greek matters, throw but little light on the subject,
though certainly one list of the temple treasures at Samos
gives the wardrobe of the image of Hera,^ a list almost as
long as the inventory of the ornaments and apparel of a
mediaeval abbey, or as that of the clothes left by Queen
Elizabeth. Other lists of garments dedicated in temples
also occur.
But the sources readily available for our inquiry are
mainly two, viz. : —
1. The literary, i.e. mention of garments, in Greek
literature, and especially the express statements of some
ancient Greek historians on the subject.
2. The artistic, by far the larger class, i.e. garments as
shown in ancient Greek sculpture, terra-cottas and vase-
paintings. But here some allowance has constantly to be
made either for the personal vagaries of the artist, or for
the limitations of his art.
* Curtius Urkunde tind Studien ; "Samos," p. 15; Taf.,
15—16.
HOMERIC DRESS. 6
In the case of dress in Homer, it is difficult to conclude
by the light of existing monumerits how far the state of
culture represented in the poems actually existed, how
much of what is described was a setting of past and
present realities tinged by the glamour of poetry, and
in the case of monuments, how long forms were retained
in art after they had fallen out of daily use.
Thus much, however, may be safely inferred from the
Homeric writings. Garments (cf^ara, ea6'yji) are woven
by the lady of the house and her maidens.^ Athena,
the patron of the arts among the gods, does not disdain
such womanly pursuits. Among mortals the Phoenicians
are conspicuous. The finest robes in the Trojan king's
treasure are the " work of Sidonian women."* Woven
garment-stufis in Homer are stored in large quantity.
They form part of the treasure (A-e(/x//Aia) of a house.
When the body of Hector is ransomed from Achilles,
robes are part of the price paid. They are favourite
offerings to the gods.* These robes were each woven as
one garment, separate and complete in itself. There was
no weaving of a long piece of stuff from which a length
could be cut as required, a method with which we are
nowadays so familiar. Such commercial convenience
was alien to the Greek idea of simple fitness and com-
pleteness.
These woven materials are stated to have been of wool.^
There is no special record of the working of flax in
Homer, but yet linen (\ivov) is mentioned, as in the case
' Iliad, iii., 388 ; Od., xviii., 316 ; IHad, xxii., 511, &c.
* Iliad, vi., 289.
5 Cf. Iliad, xxiv., 229, VI., 90, 271.
' Iliad, xvi., 224 ; Od., iv., 50, 135, &c.
R 2
GREEK DRESS.
of bed-clothes/ a linen corslet/ a fishing-line,^ and fish-
ing nets^" of flaxen twine. The thread of the Fates was of
flax.-" From this frequent mention of flax it has been
conjectured that linen cloth was a home production of
Greece in Homer's time, though it may have been
imported from the East, or the thread may have been
imported and woven in Greece by the women. Linen
was known in the East at a very early period, and even
in classical Roman times the wearing of linen garments
was considered a sign of oriental effeminacy. In those
days Cos was the centre of a manufacture of transparent
garments, as may be gathered from the mention of " Coae
vestes" by Tibullus and Propertius.
With regard to the dress of the men in Homer, the
chiton {yj.Twv) played an important part, but the text
gives no precise information as to its material or form,
though its appearance is denoted by various epithets, as
" shining," " soft," and the like.*^ By all accounts it
seems to have been a sewn, shirt-like garment, not
fastened with fibulae or pins, and probably made of linen,
as its brilliancy is insisted upon.^^ In the representa-
tions of the human figure 'on some of the gems, vases,
and other relics belonging to the prehistoric period of
Greece, the men wear a kind of bathing-drawers or short
double apron {cf. the " Man and Bull " wall-painting
from Tiryns^* and the gold cups from Vapheio^®). In
7 Iliad, ix., 661. » j/,-„f;_ ii_^ 539. s xn^ij^^ ^vi., 408.
" Iliad, v., 487. " Iliad, xx., 128; Od., vii., 198.
'* Iliad, ii., 42, &e. " Cf. Iliad, xviii., 595.
^' Given in Sehuchhardt's Sf/i&);7a)m's Excavations. English
translation by E. Sellers. Macmillan, 1891, p. 120.
1^ Schuchha.rdt, op. cit. p. 850 ; cf. Dr. Leaf.'s Introductory
chapter to that same work, pp. xxvii. — xxix.
HOMERIC DRESS. 5
Greek art of what is known as the early "archaic"
period, the short chiton sits closely, jersey-fashion, to the
skin. On later archaic Greek monuments the short chiton
worn under armour is fuller and falls in folds {cf. Warrior
■ of west pediment of Temple of Aegina, cast in British
Museum, Archaic Room, 160). The length of the Homeric
chiton does not seem to have been uniform in all cases.
That worn by Odysseus as a beggar (Od., xiii., 434 ; xix.,
450) must have only reached to the knee, or else the soar
would not have been visible, but some passages'®" may be
taken to imply that, at least in the case of elder and
more venerable wearers and the " lonians," it was longer ;
and this is borne out by the evidence of archaic monu-
ments, where the long chiton falls to the feet. (Fig- 1,
a, h, c.)
The ordinary daily dress of middle-aged men in Homer,
when engaged in active pursuits, such as war or hunting,
seems to have been a kind of jerkin, perhaps of felt or
leather, worn under the harness to prevent friction to the
skin, and to promote general comfort {cf. British Museum,
"Euphorbos pinax," 1st Vase Room, Case D, No. A 268).
This dress is evidently short. When Menelaos is
wounded in the side, the blood runs down over his legs,
implying that these are bare. Sometimes, even, the
word "chiton," instead of being used for the jerkin,
designates the actual coat of mail. Idomeneus wounds
Alcathoos through his yj.Twva. yoKKeov^^ but the word is
not generally used in this sense.
As we now find it represented on early black-figured
15°^ Iliad, v., ,734—736, but cf. W. Miiller : " Quaestiones
Vestiariae," p. 1 ; xiii., 685 ; Od., xix,, 242.
'« Iliad, xiii., 439.
GREEK DKBSS.
vases made in Greece (for example, in the instances in the
British Museum, Vase-room II., No. B. 53, pedestal 1 ;
pub. in Miss Harrison's Myths and Monuments, p. 432)
!Fig. 1 (a). — Peleus,
from a Vase Painting.
Fig. 1 {h). — From a
Vase Painting.
Kg. 1 («). —From a
Vase Painting.
and as shown in Fig. 1, the long Homeric chiton of
peace is ungirdled. This custom of wearing the long
chiton was retained for all " cultus " garments of classical
Greece, that is for garments worn on solemn and religious
HOMERIC DRESS. /
occasions ; for example, in representations of Apollo play-
ing the lyre (" Citharoedus ") as in Fig. 1 1), or in the well-
known statue of this god in the Vatican (Fig. 2), or in the
figure of the priest of the east frieze of the Parthenon
(British Museum, Elgin Eoom, Slab No. V., Fig. 33).
For ordinary informal dress
in the house in Homeric times
the woven chiton, long or
short, seems to have been worn
alone. Out of doors a cloak
{yXalva), apparently an early
variety of the later himation
{Ifxdmo}'), made of wool and
dyed in colours, was put on
scarf fashion or like a shawl
folded lengthwise (Fig. 1,
a, b). Being evidently rather
long and cumbrous it is thrown
ofi' to increase facilities of
speed. Odysseus tells how it
is discarded for convenience
in moving actively among the
men.-*^ Telemachos,'* when
about to make trial of the
bow, "rising, puts off from his shoulder his purple cloak."
As an outer covering the skins of animals were worn
in Homeric times. Agamemnon,^® Diomedes,^* Mene-
laos^' wear the skins of lions and leopards. Representa-
tions of such skins, with the paws of the animal hanging
Ms. 2.
-Apollo Citharoedus.
Vatican.
" Od., xiv., 500.
i» Iliad, X., 23.
■'' Iliad, X., 29.
'« Od., xxi., 118.
■" Iliad, X., 177.
GREEK DRESS.
down as a finish in front, are not at all rare on some early
Greek vases (Fig. 3), where Heracles, Meleager, Iris, and
Hermes all wear them. In the country men wear goat
ekins.'''^ Pan, as a country god in the Homeric hymn
(19, 23), wears on his shoulders the pelt
of a spotted lynx.
The dress of the women in Homer
consists chiefly of the " Peplos," i.e. an
under-garment which probably reached
to the feet and sometimes trailed behind,
worn with a girdle. The word " peplos "
is one that occurs in the Greek tragedians
also, but by them it is not used in quite
the same sense as by Homer. Thus
Aeschji-lus uses it both of men's and
women's dress.^^ In fact, in the trage-
dians the words TreTrAos', -neTvXwfxa seem to be the general
poetic term for "garment." The "peplos" in Homer
may be taken as the equivalent of that dress known in
later times as the " Dorian " chiton, the typical classical
dress of Greece, of which I shall have a good deal to say
later. It is distinguished from the chiton of the men
by the fact that, whereas theirs is a sewn garment put
on like a shirt, the women's peplos is a piece of cloth
merely fastened with pins. The peplos presented by
Antinoos to Penelope had twelve such pins (jrepovai).^*
The garment was all of one piece, and was probably left
open at one side like the dress of the Dorian maidens
that I shall subsequently describe. "When Aphrodite
Fig. 3. — Hermes.
From the Francois
Vase, Florence.
^'- Od., xiv., 530.
" Persae, 468. 1031 ;
Hec, 465—473. '
Cf. Soph. Track.,
' Od., xviii., 292.
602; and Eur.
HOMERIC DRESS. 9
would protect her son Aineias, she flings open her peplos
and veils him in its shining folds as a protection against
the darts.^® The most frequent epithet applied to women
in Homer is " white-armed " (\evKw\evos), which implies
the absence of a sleeve. This was also a characteristic of
the true Dorian chiton, which originally seems to have
been without sleeves and therefore distinct from the dress
of the Easterns.
The stuff of the Homeric peplos is never expressly
mentioned. Its colour is spoken of as " variegated "
(ttoikiXov),^^ and it is described as jxaXaKOi, soft, and
XeTtTos,^^ thin or fine. Hence it may, in some degree,
have resembled our Indian shawls.
For an over-dress, a veil-like piece of stuff, the " Kre-
demnon" (Kprjiefjivov), or " Kaluptre " {KaXvTTTpr]), is worn
by ladies in Homer ;^® Penelope and other ladies of high
degree are mentioned as wearing it. The maidens of
Nausicaa lay it aside. Perhaps it may have been an addi-
tion worn by women of rank. The mourning Thetis^^ when
preparing to go to Olympus wears a dark-coloured veil,
but it seems that only in the direst grief was the coun-
tenance completely covered. The veils in Homer are
spoken of as white and shining, and may probably have
been linen, inasmuch as wool would have been too heavy.
The veil of Hera^" is compared to the sun for brilliancy, a
simile that would hardly be applied to the dead surface of
wool, and evidence for silk in Homeric times is hardly
forthcoming. Many pieces of small, generally folded,
drapery occur in the Homeric descriptions, such as the
2= Iliad, v., 315. "' Iliad, v., 735.
" Od., vii., 97. '' Od., l, 334.
»" Iliad, xxiv., 94. '" Iliad, xiv., 185.
10
GREEK DKESS.
"lope" (X^TTi/)'" and others, as well as those I have
mentioned, but I will not linger over a detailed consider-
ation of them.
It is not easy to reconcile the account given in Homer
with the very earliest prehistoric representations of
women's dress found in Greece, though a fairly close
parallel may be established between the decorations of
early black-figured vases and the Homeric account.
Fig 4 (")- — Gold Seal from Mjxenae. Twicu linear measure.
On the gold seal from Mj^cenae (Fig. 4, a) the women
seem to wear an extremely tight-fitting bodice and a
frilled or tucked skirt. These frills may represent the
dress of the period, or the gem may be of foreign work-
manship denoting foreign, probably oriental, styles of
dress. A curious parallel is found in the dress of the
llutenu women of Egyptian wall-paintings (Fig. 4, h).
A similar dress seems to be represented in a wall-picture
■'■ (>). — Rutenu "Woman.
Pig. i {r). — Gem from Vapheio.
Twiue linear measure.
the Homeric peplos is pretty much the same as the women's
dress on the Francois vase in the Etruscan Museum at
Florence, a piece of painting that may be referred to about
B.C. 550 or earlier, some figures from which are given in
Fig. 6. On other early black-figured vases also the women's
garments frequently agree very closely in detail with the
Homeric description. They generally show the straight
chiton, shorter or longer as may be, sometimes with a
girdle, sometimes without, but frequently of so narrow a
'"■ Figured in Schuchhardt, op. cit. p. 291, fig. 288.
'-" Cf. ^cj>r]fj.€pk ' ApxaioXoyiKTi, 1889, pi. X., 84.
12
GREEK DRESS.
shape that walking comfortably in such garments would
have been out of the question. This excessive narrowness
can hardly have existed as a fact, but must be set down
as in a great measure due to the limitations of early art
and the difficulty it experienced in the adequate repre-
Fig. 5. — Moirae. From the FraiKjois Vase, Florence.
sentation of falling folds. Instances of such garments
are given in Fig. 6. For further instances of them the
reader is referred to the British Museum, 2nd Vase
Room, Nos. B 333, Case 45, or B 379, Case H.
Down the front of these garments broad bands of
decoration are frequently found. Some writers think
HOMERIC DRESS.
13
tHat these served as an edging to an actual opening
down the front, or were, at any rate, a survival from an
opening that once existed and was so trimmed. But it
is a well-known fact in archaic art that, like a child
attempting to depict the human figure, the early artist
loves to represent the upper part of the body full-face.
Fig. 7. — From an archaic Terra Cotta. Santangelo CoUeetion,
Naples Museum.
and the lower in profile, and vice versa. It has been sug-
gested by Helbig that to this custom the stripe down the
centre of either the body or skirt drapery may be referred,
being derived from an opening that really ran down the
side of the wearer — a characteristic in the Laconian-
Dorian chiton — a pattern of which I propose to give
later. In archaic black-figured vases, as in Figs. 5 and
14 GREEK DKESS.
6, it is usual to find the surface of the dresses co-vered
with minute, elaborately scratched patterns. An instance
of a richly-decorated robe is given in Fig. 7, where a
"chores" of dancing men and maidens and a Homeric
subject (?) are represented on the stiff foldless surface of
a dress. Occasionally, as I shall subsequently have to insist,
these patterns on dresses in Greek Art vary suddenly on the
same surface, and it is not unreasonable to suppose that
the artist, wishing to make his work as pretty as possible,
may have been moved to add a band of decoration here
and there regardless of the actual make of the garment.
Or, such bands of embroidery may have been imported
from the East and sewn on as a trimming by the Greeks,
in similar fashion to the " orphreys " on copes and
chasubles in mediaeval days. But it is time to return to
the Homeric description.
From what I have said I hope it is clear that the
main divisions of dress in Homeric time, were broadly
two, both for men and women, viz. :
1. The class of " endymata " ('cvSiJ^iora), i.e. garments worn
near or next the skin.
2. The class of " epiblemata " (cVt^SA.'^/AaTa) , i.e. mantles
of various cut thrown over these in shawl or veil fashion as a
suitably modest out-of-doors dress and a protection against the
weather.
These two classes of garments prevailed also in his-
toric Greek times, both for men and women. For men
two garments were generally sufficient. In the case of
women these two were often supplemented by two or
three others. This may easily be seen in the course of a
walk round the galleries of the British Museum or the
Cast Collection at South Kensington.
IT.
DRESS IN HISTORIC GREECE.
UNDER-GARMENTS OF THE WOMEN.
I NOW propose to enter more in detail into the two
classes of garments, the "endymata," or garments worn
next the skin, and the " epiblemata," or wraps thrown
over these, which prevailed in Historic as they seem to
have done in Homeric tim^es. Dates in such matters are
. exceedingly difficult to give. They have rather to be
extracted from the evidence than laid down in any
arbitrary fashion. For instance, the date assigned for the
commencement of the " Historic " period in Greek
history has changed a good deal even since Grote's day,
and is still ever liable to be shifted in consequence of
fresh results from the excavator's spade. But I will
endeavour to give a few " milestone " dates, leaving the
rest to the reader's own industry.
Taking first the class of "endymata" to which the
generic name of " chiton " (-^itwu) may be given. The
origin of the dress is not to be affirmed with certainty.
The word used {xiruiv = Kuttonet, Kethoneth (Heb.),
and Kittun (Chald.), as given by Dr. Studniczka (p. 15,
op. cit.), seems to point to an oriental source. The
short chiton, according to Dr. Miiller (p. 8, op. cit.), is
16 GREEK DRESS.
found among the peoples in Asia Minor before the ascen-
dency of the kingdoms of Lydia and Persia. In a
slightly longer form it is found among the Egyptians.
From the East this garment may have madq its way into
Greece through Phoenician agency. It is mentioned in
Homer as an accepted and ordinary garment for the
" lonians," and may have come into Greece from the
ancient inhabitants of Asia Minor. From the fact that
the chiton is not found, so far as is at present known, on
the monuments of prehistoric art at Mycenae and other
centres, it can hardly be supposed that it was, in the very
earliest times, known to the Greeks in Greece. The
Asiatic peoples mentioned above may (I again cite Dr.
Miiller) have obtained it from Babylon, for the short
chiton appears on some of their very oldest rock-sculptures
as having been worn by the Babylonians.
The long tunic or chiton seems to have come into
Greece later than the short, though it occurs in the East
among very much the same people, viz., the Chaldeeans
and the Assyrians.^*
Dr. Miiller assumes that the long chiton probably
passed from Assyria to the Phoenicians, thence to the
coast of the Asiatic side of the JEgean, and so to Greece
itself. After the age of Homer the Greeks seem, except
for wear on solemn and religious occasions, to have pre-
ferred the short woollen tunic to the long linen one.
The following is a description of the Dorian or long
woollen chiton of the women, the '^nwv 7ro5i'/o}y?, which
in the main seems to correspond with the peplos of
Homer, together with what appears to have been the
ancient method of arranging it : —
'' Cf. Hdt., I., 195.
Fiy. 9.— Suleiu'. From tliu eiicat Altar, Pcrjrar
UNDER-GARMENTS OF THE WOMEN.
17
A large piece of material is chosen, a b c b (of. Fig.
8), in the direction a d and B c about a foot longer
than the extreme height of the figure of the wearer, and
in the direction b a and c d as long as the distance
from tip to tip of the hands with the arms stretched out
to their widest extent. This piece is then taken, and the
upper edge of it folded over (aTrorvy fia, apotygma) about
the depth of from the neck to the waist, a e, b f, of
the diagram. Then the whole
piece is doubled at G h, and the
lengths F G, E G, are divided
into three. It is generally-
supposed that these were three
equal parts, but it is found in
practice that this leaves too
much for the neck, and that
when a garment so divided is
put on it immediately falls off
again. This difiiculty seems
to have been felt by the
Greeks, and at a later period
(about 200 — 168 b.c.) some-
thing very like " gathers " is found on the monuments in
this part of the dress, and even then it seems slipping
off! (Fig. 9.) At the finest period a pleated fold occurs
in the front of the neck, i.e. in the middle section k m,
I L (Fig. 10), but how this was produced is not very clear.
It may have been secured by pinning.
The points i L and k m being taken, the garment is
folded round the body ; these points are made to corre-
spond, and are fastened on the shoulder by means of pins
(Fig. 11).
Fig. 8. — Scheme of the
Dorian CHton.
18
GREEK DKESS.
Thus one gets one side of the person covered by the
closed side g h, and the side A E D
and B F c remains open.
Epithets, such as (j)aivofj.ripU
(" showing the thigh "), used of
Laconian maidens, imply that this
side was so left open among them,^*
and instances of this custom are
found in Art (Figs. 12, 13). The
Iris " of the Parthenon Pediment (British Museum,
Fig. 11. — Dress fastened
on tlie Shoulder.
From a Vase Painting.
Pig. 12. — Dress open at the side. Fig. 13. — Dress open at the side.
Elgin Room, No. G) and the woman in the group from
the Temple at Bassae (British Museum, Phigaleia Poora,
No. 524) wear chitons open at the side.
" Cf. Eur. Androm. 598, and Hec. 933. Of. also Miiller's
Dorians, iv., 2, 3.
Fig'. 10. — FiguiX' of :i Husperid. Olympiii.
UNDEK-GARMENTS OF THE WOMEN.
19
But in practice this seems to have been generally
modified. The open side was closed by some means (either
sewing or pins), partially, at d n, c o (see Fig. 8), or
wholly (Figs. 14, 15).
After putting on the chiton, the wearer of the garment
stands up, with extended arms, and a girdle is passed
round the waist by some one standing behind, and the
superfluous length is pulled up through the girdle, and
allowed to hang over it in
a kind of bag, the koXttos,
"kolpos" (Fig. 15). To
this class of the wholly or
partially closed Dorian
chiton belongs the dress of
the maidens of the Parthenon
frieze (British Museum, Elgin
Eoom, JSTo. 324, Slabs VII.,
VIIL, Figs. 52 — 60), the
Caryatid of the Erechtheum
porch (same room, No. 407),
the bronzes from Hercula-
neum, now in the Naples
Museum (Figs. 16, 17), and the metope from the Temple
of Zeus, Olympia (Fig. 18), of which a cast may be seen
in the South Kensington collection. (Perry's Catalogue,
No. 78e.)
Sometimes the piece of the apotygma falling down
the back is drawn over the head as a veil. The girl,
in Fig. 17, seems about to draw hers up.
Another way of dealing with the large square of
material is to omit the folding over of a e, b f, and to
take points parallel to i l, k m, in the upper edge of the
c 2
Fig. 14. — Scheme of the closed
Dorian Chiton.
20
GEEEK DKESS.
unfolded stuff, thus having no apotygma, and then to
draw the whole superfluous length through the girdle (c/.
Fig. 15.— G-irl wearing the closed Mg. 16. — Girl putting on partially
Dorian Chiton. closed Dorian Chiton. Naples
Museum,
the figure with the child in Fig. 19). Or the piece folded
over at A E, B r, may be made so deep that no girdle is
required, since there is nothing left to be drawn through
J
m
^
w
MM
W- w^tn
f
M
i
1
J
\
I^^^H
w ,
Pig. 17. Bronze figure from Herculaneum. Naples Museum.
yijj,-. IS. — Atlit'iiJL wuiiriii,!;' the clu-sed Dorian Chitini,
(.)lyiii}iia.
TJNDEE-GAKMENTS OF THE WOMEN. 21
it, Figs. 12, 13 (c/. the " Iris " of the East Pediment
of the Parthenon, British Museum, Elgin Eoom, No. G).
A third method, known by the name of the " Peplos
of Athena," since the goddess generally affects this form
of chiton, is given in Figs. 20, 21, 22. A glance
Kg. 19. — Procne and Philomela. From a Vase Painting.
at the scheme, Fig. 20, will make the arrangement
clear, and show that the girdle is put on over a
larger "apotygma" (or "folded-over piece") than in
scheme Fig. 8, and that no hanging bag, or koXtto^,
is drawn over the girdle. Fig. 21 is from the "Var-
vakeion " statuette, in the Central Museum at Athens,
which may be a far-away echo of the celebrated gold and
22
GREEK DRESS.
ivory statue set up by Pheidias in the Parthenon about
the middle of the fifth century B.C. (A cast of the
Varvakeion statuette will be found in the corner of the
Elgin Eoom, British Museum, No. 300). In Figs. 21,
22, over the peplos the goddess wears her "aegis," with
the head of Medusa in the centre of the chest.
Tig. 20.— Scheme of the "Peplos
of Athena."
Kg. 21. — From the Varvakeion
Statuette. Athens.
The Dorian chiton was made of fine wool, and was of a
kind more or less common to all Indo-Germanic tribes.
A modern parallel also still exists in the dress worn
by some Egyptian women (Fig. 23). Very often a
sleeve is formed, in the Greek edition of the garment,
by placing buttons or pins at intervals from i k, l m,
downwards to the elbow (of. the woman with the goat,
UNDER-GARMENTS OF THE WOMEN.
23
Fig. 24 ; or the -woman with the child, Fig. 19 ; or the
so-called figure of " Alcestis," British Museum, Ephesus
Room, H 1). More elaborate girdlings formed by the
addition of extra cords crossed on the breast, and attached
to the ordinary girdle, are often found. (Fig. 25.)
On monuments it is not always easy sharply to dis-
Fig. 22. — Statuette of Athena.
Athens.
Fig. 23. — Dress of modern
Egyptian Woman.
tinguish the closed Dorian chiton from the variety that
must now be discussed, viz., the Ionian chiton. The chief
distinctive feature of the Dorian chiton consists in the
pins seen on the shoulders. From this peculiarity it
received the name irepovarpU {cf. Theocritus, xv., 21).
The Ionian chiton was entirely a sewn garment, with no
It was made of linen, and came to Greece, more
24
GREEK DRESS.
especially to Athens, ia the first half of the sixth century,
from the lonians of Asia Minor, who borrowed it from
the peoples of Asia proper.
Fig. 24.— Illustration of Sleeve of Chiton, made by placing pins at
intervals. Prom a Vase Painting.
A plan pf it is given in Fig. 26. It will be seen that
the piece of material, as a
whole, is less than that re-
quired for the several varieties
of the Dorian chiton, being
at least a foot less in height.
This garment may consist
either of two pieces (one in
front and one at back), or of
one piece double the size and
folded. Instead of the one
side being closed by pins as in
Fig. 14, these two pieces are
joined, and both sides are closed by sewing at g c, h d.
D
. 26. — Scheme of the
Ionian Chiton.
Fig. 25. — Amazon, with crossed bands from the gii'Jle. Athens.
UNBEE-GARMENTS OF THE WOMEN.
25
and also at the shoulders a e, f b, as indicated by the
dotted lines. The distance from a to b being hSi the
full span of the wearer with the arms stretched out, a
long hanging sleeve is thus obtained (Fig. 27). The
girdle is put on, as in the Dorian variety, and the extra
length is drawn up through it so as to hang over and
form a "kolpos." Por an example of a girl arranging
Fig. 27. — "Women wearing- the Ionian Chiton. From a Vase Painting.
her own girdle, the reader may be referred to the vase
from the Branteghem Collection lately acquired by the
British Museum. (Third Vase Room, Turret Case C).
Good instances of this Ionian chiton may be studied in
the British Museum Archaic Room, Cast 'No. 156, or on
the figures of the so-called "Harpy Tomb," No. 94, in the
same room. This dress seems to have been generally made
26
GREEK DRESS.
of linen. The material, judging from the instances depicted
on monuments, is of a finely crinkled kind, apparently
elastic in nature, similar to a stuff still to be found among
the home productions of modern Greece. It is finished
off with a selvage, not a hem. This elastic material
Fig. 28.— Relief of the Charites (Graces). Vatican.
would close round the neck of a wearer of the Ionian
chiton after the head had been inserted, as in the case of
our modern vests and jerseys. A band of decoration is
occasionally seen round the neck, as in Fig. 27.
The two great varieties of chiton, the Dorian and the
Ionian, may be clearly seen side by side in Fig. 28,
UNDER-GARMENTS OF THE WOMEN. 27
from the " Chiaramonti " collection in the Vatican, Rome,
of which a cast will be found in the South Kensington
collection (Perry's Catalogue, No. 54).
In this group of " Graces " the figure to the extreme
left wears the ordinary closed Dorian chiton with " kol-
pos " and " apotygma," as given in Fig. 14. That in the
centre has the same chiton, apparently open down the left
side, and arranged as in Fig. 16, while the one to the
right wears the Ionian chiton of Figs. 26, 27, made of
the crinkled fine linen material just described.
In the two figures of this relief that wear the Dorian
dress, I am bound to say I cannot see the pins as in
Fig. 15, but the work of the relief is coarse and the style
heavy, and it may only be an " archaistic " copy of an
archaic original. The artist in such a case might not
be very careful to represent exactly what he was copying,
but there is small doubt of the fact of these two being
instances of the Dorian chiton.
With regard to these two kinds of dress (the "Dorian "
and the " Ionian ") Herodotus makes a definite statement
in his history.^* The land of the Epidaurians, he says,
yielded no fruit, so the oracle at Delphi was consulted as
to a remedy, and the Epidaurians were bidden to set up
images of Damia and Auxesia (goddesses of increase).
The material of which these statues were to be made was
to be cultivated olive wood. The Epidaurians therefore
besought the Athenians to allow them to take some from
their olive-trees as they had a large supply. The petition
was granted on condition of their sending, in return,
yearly ofi'erings to Athena Polias and Erechtheus in
Athens. These terms were agreed upon, the wood was
^ Herod., v., 82; cf. Pausanias, ii., xxx., 5.
28 GKBEK DRESS.
cut, the statues carved, the gods appeased, and the earth
of the Epidaurians yielded her fruit in due season.
But it came to pass that the Aeginetans subdued the
Epidaurians by sea, and carried ofF the statues to their
own land. Thereupon no more tribute was paid to Athens
by the Epidaurians, and the Athenians, complaining of its
cessation, were referred to the Aeginetans, who possessed
the images. In consequence, the Athenians sent a company
of men to Aegina to demand the statues. Their request
was refused. Then force was tried, and the Athenians
attempted to drag the images from their pedestals. But
dreadful consequences ensued. It thundered, and the
earth shook, the statues are said to have fallen upon their
knees, and madness to have overtaken the men, so that they
slew one another, and only one returned alive to Athens.
When he got there and told his tale, the widows of the
de.ad men were very indignant at his safety. They came
round him demanding their lost husbands, and finally, in
their rage, stabbed him with the pins, or clasps (■7Tep6i'i](Tt),
of their garments till he died. The Athenians, in horror
at the women's deed, as the most terrible punishment they
could devise, changed the fashion of women's dress from
the " Dorian " to the " Ionian," so that they might have
no further need of clasps or pins, while the Greeks of
Argos and Aegina made their fastenings larger than before.
As to this statement of the historian's there is little
doubt that somewhere about 570 B.C., war was raging
between the two alwiiys hostile peoples of Aegina and
Athens, and that somewhere about the same time a change
took place in the dress of Athenian women, and the fame
of the two things was connected. From monumental
evidence it would appear that one of the early forms of
UNDER-GAKMENTS OF THE WOMEN. 29
women's dress is of a " sewn " kind, while dress on monu-
ments that must be dated after the Persian Wars is of the
" Dorian " variety, as may be seen in the instances quoted
above. Figs. 10, 12, 13. The " Dorian," as Herodotus
points out (v., 88), was in all probability the old universal
dress of all Hellenic women. Afterwards in Athens, about
the first half of the sixth century, the so-called " Ionian "
kind came into fashion, and was in vogue, contem-
poraneously with the Dorian, till about the time of the
Persian Wars, 490 — 479 b.c. Then, in the wave of
renewed Hellenism which spread over Greece in the
national reaction against everything Eastern, the old
Hellenic fashion revived, bearing the name " Dorian "
(ly avTTj TJv TVjv vvv Awptia KaKe.oiJ.ev. Hdt. v. 88), because
it was among such conservative people as the Spartans
that it had been preserved.
But, strong as the reaction was, the " Ionian " dress
was not absolutely ousted from its place, since Oriental
influence was still too powerful for its radical rejec-
tion.
The original pin used for the fastening of garments
among early races appears to have been one made from
the small bone of the leg of an animal, whence the name
" fibula," or -Tiepovrj. This is next reproduced in metal,
furnished with a round head, and decorated with balls of
bronze, a characteristic Greek type of which may be seen
on the shoulder of the woman to the left in Fig. 5. In
some instances the point of such a pia has been bent back,
evidently to prevent its falling out of the garment when
once stuck in. It is a tempting hypothesis that from this
bending back of the point arose that developed form of
" fibula" of which the modern " safety-pin" is the direct
30 GREEK DRESS.
and almost unmodified descendant. Such safety-pins in
bronze have lately been discovered at Mycenae during
the works carried on by the Greek Archaeological Society
in 1888 and following years.^^ Fibulae occur among
the oldest bronzes of Olympia, as will be seen in the
works of Dra. Furtwangler and Curtius, published by the
German Archaeological Institute, and included in the list
of books in my Introduction. They are also found in the
early graves of Thebes, Athens, Austria, Sicily, and other
places. Golden fibulae {-jrepovai) are mentioned in Homer
(as in II. V. 425, &c.), but it is difficult to determine
whether the Homeric form is that of the straight pin or
the " safety-pin."
Most representations on vases seem to depict in long or
short variety the characteristic Greek type of pin found
in tombs (cf. Fig. 5). The " safety-pin " type, for some
reason, seems almost or altogether absent from Greek
tombs of the sixth and fifth century B.C.
Wounds would be more deadly and more easily inflicted
by such pins as those of Fig. 5 than by the point of a
" safety-pin." The Greek tragedians mention dresses worn
by women both with and without pins. Polyxena, in the
Hecuba of Euripides, takes hold of her dress near the
shoulder and tears it open to the waist, implying a sewn
garment that could not be simply unpinned at the
sho alder ; but in the same play Polymnestor is blinded
by means of the pins or brooches (TropTrij — Trepoi/i]) that
the women take from their garments for the purpose. In
'" Cf. Schuchhardt, op, cit. pp. 296, 313 ; Daremberg and
Saglio's " Dictionnaire," art. " Fibula," p. 2004, Fig. 2977 ; and
Montelius " Arcbiv fiir Anthropologie," Brunswick, 1892, p. 31,
Fig. 35.
U>fDER-GAKMENTS OF THE WOMEN.
31
the Perscw of Aeschylus {circa 472 b.c.) Hellas wears
the " Dorian " as the real Greek dress.
Some tj^pical instances of the developed "safety-pin"
form of fibula are given full-size in Fig. 29, a, h, c, d,
from my husband's collection.
Fig. 29 (fi).
Fig. 29 (b).
Existing specimens of pins and fibulae may be studied
in any good collection, such as that in the Bronze
Room of the British Museum, or in the Ashmolean
Museum, Oxford. Those of very large size in these col-
32
GREEK DRF.SS.
lections may not have been worn, but were perhaps used
for " ex -votes," or offerings in temples,^' or for fastening
curtains or other decorative hangings, or, as they are
found in graves, they may have been made for the decora-
tion of the dead. A fibula from Halstatt belonging to my
husband was evidently made for funeral purposes, as it
Fig. 29 (rf).
still contains some of the clay used as a core in its manu-
facture, and the edge of its decoration still feels sharp
and rough to the finger, in evidence that it was not worn
previously to its interment.
In later times, when the conquests of Alexander had let
loose a new flood of Orientalism on Greece, the " Ionian"
style with many rich varieties of Eastern decoration
■" Hdt., V. 88.
UNDER- GARMENTS OF THE WOMEN.
33
seems to have been largely worn. {Cf. Fig. 30.) This
figure, however, represents Medea, who can perhaps be
hardly counted among the pure Greeks. Other instances
of rich dress may be found in the British Museum
Kg. 30.— Medea. From a Vase
Paintino".
Fig. 31. — Amazon. Berlin
Museum.
(Fourth Yase Room. Case 18. Vase signed by Python
(no number), and case 54, F 326, and F 117 pedestal
case.)
The short chiton of the women is also found on monu-
34 GREEK DRESS.
ments, together with the long. It follows the longer
style in its varieties of sewing, pinning, and arranging,
but it is not so Ml, and only reaches to the knee. It is
worn by women and girls engaged ■ in active exercise or
when speed is desired. Iris the messenger, Artemis the
huntress, girls in running contests and warring Amazons,
all wear it. Instances are numerous in the frieze from
the Mausoleum, Halicarnassos, in the British Museum, of
which casts exist at South Kensington (Perry's Catalogue,
No. 137). Others are given in Figs. 25, 31, 32.
Sometimes {cf. Fig. 32) it is fastened on one shoulder
only, and the figure is supported by a broad belt. This
statue may represent one of the girls who used, according
to Pausanias (v. 16, 2), to take part in a race at the
Festival of Hera at Olympia, wearing a garment that
hardly reached to the knee and left the right shoulder and
part of the breast uncovered. The race was run in the
stadium, but only over one-sixth of the course. In
Fig. 31, a second belt is put on over the top of the
" kolpos," or bag of material drawn up through the girdle
beneath it.
Fi.'. :i-J.— Till- •■EuiiniiK/ Ttirl." Vatioan.
III.
DRESS OF THE FEMALE FIGUEES IN THE
ACROPOLIS MUSEUM, ATHENS.
At this point, before proceeding to a discussion of the
dress of the men of Greece in historic times and the
outer garments {epihlemata) of both men and women, it
wiU be well, I think, to notice the garments on that
remarkable series of statues of archaic female figures,
found in the course of the excavations conducted on the
Acropolis, under the direction of M. Cavvadias in the
years 1882-8, of which a description is given in M. Col-
lignon's History of Greek Sculpture^ and in Professor
Gardner's book.'^^
These statues, which were discovered between the
Erechtheum and the north boundary wall of the Acropo-
lis, have, owing to the variety of surfaces represented in
their garments and their brilliant colouring, attracted
much attention and have given rise to opposite opinions,
Their brilliant polychromatic decoration is very remark-
able, hair, eyes, and borders of garments sharing in the
^ Histoire de la Sculpture Grecque, M. Collignon, p. 340, &o.
'' New Chapters in Greek History, Percy Gardner, p. 247, &c.
[Cf. Cavvadias' Les Musees d'Athhnes, and the " e^?;ju6pk
ap-^atoXoyiKifj, 1883 — 88).
D 2
36 GKEEK DRESS.
colours which do not always follow natural laws ; for
instance, the eyes of the figures are sometimes coloured
red, a tint that seems, to our notions, most abnormal and
undesirable.
I have on an earlier page spoken of the great difficulty
of giving precise dates in Greek art. In the case of these
figures this difficulty is, to a great extent, removed.
After the Acropolis was sacked by the Persians in 480 b.c,
and, spoiled and ruined, had once more come into the
hands of its rightful owners, the victorious Greeks buried
the fragments of statues and other objects that had deco-
rated their citadel before its spoliation.
This was done partly in reverence to the gods, since
anything once dedicated ,to a deity was always sacred and
could not be put to profane usage; partly to hide: the
traces of the Oriental invaders' brief triumph ; and partly
from utilitarian motives to increase the level space on the
summit of the Acropolis, since, in the full spring of
renewed patriotism, the Athenians desired to make " all
things new," and required other and enlarged temples
filled with fresh statues. Probably many of the objects
found in these excavations had only just been made at the
time of their destruction. Be this as it may, the last of
the series, which ranges over a considerable period of time,
cannot be later than 480 B.C. One of the series, Fig. 33,
is held to belong to a base inscribed with the name of
the sculptor Antenor.'^" With regard to this artist we
know that he made the statues of Harmodius and Aristo-
geiton, who slew the tyrant Hipparchus, 514 B.C. Those
statues must have been set up soon after the murder, and
^"■^ Of. Collignon's Histoire, p. 365 and £07;/x, : dpx : 1886 ;
No. 6, PI. IV., p. 81 ; and C. I. A. iv. 373.
-Figure ascribed to a Tjush with the ^'^K- ''''^- — Female tiy-iirc disemeird
name of the artist Anterior. Atliciis.
on thr Aoropiih.s. Athens
Fifj. 35. — Fciiuilo figure disc•o^'ercd on tlir Acropolis. Athens.
THE FEMALE FIGUEES IN THE ACROPOLIS MUSEUM. 37
probably tlie Acropolis figure to which the Anterior base is
ascribed is of the same period. By this means we get two
points of date for the Acropolis series, viz., B.C. 480 back
to circa B.C. 514 — 510. Another of'the series may, on the
evidence of style, even go back to 600 B.C. Fourteen of
these figures came to light at once in February, 1886,
having been buried together in a single pit, and others
were found later. The series has given rise to much dis-
cussion as to whether the figures represent portraits of
the priestesses of the goddess, of the actual goddess, or
of the votaries who dedicated the images. Whomsoever
they are intended to represent, thej' doubtless portray for
us the costume of Athenian ladies of good position in the
years preceding the great Persian invasion of 480 b.c.
Some of the more typical varieties of dress found on them
are given in Figs. 34, 35, 36. It cannot, however, be
denied that the. sculptor has allowed himself considerable
latitude in the treatment of the garments. In consequence
of this latitude two schools of disputants on their dress
have arisen, the one typified by M. Lechat,*" the
other by Dr. Miiller.*^ It is evident to the most casual
observer that the drapery is not always true to actual
fact, the curves going across the body when in repose in
a way that could only be produced by rapid motion.*^
Again, it is not unusual to find a garment that shows
some special and well -defined pattern or border covering
one part of the body, while where we should expect to
find the same garment continued, another pattern or
^ Bulletin de Corr. Hell, 1890.
^' Quaestiones Vestiariae. W. Miiller.
^^ See notes on these figures, by Ernest Gardner, in the
Journal of Hellenic Studies, viii. 1, p. 170.
38 GREEK DRESS.
border suddenly comes out without apparent reason. There
can be little doubt that the upper and lower portions of
such a dress {endyma) do really belong to one and the
same garment — the Ionian chiton — with sleeves close
fitting and often elaborately bordered, while over this is
thrown the ordinary himation (epiblema). But some
archaeologists (like M. Lechat, already mentioned) have
endeavoured to make out a separate garment for every
piece represented by a different pattern or border till, by
this means, each figure seems to be clothed in three or
four separate garments, of a kind otherwise unknown, for
which distinctive titles have to be invented. To such
critics a difference oi pattern always implies a difference
of material. Thus for Fig. 34, the existence of an
under-chiton and a " chitoniscus," or knitted vest put
over the chiton under the himation is assumed.
For my own part, I must confess that, in spite of its
apparent absurdity, the possibility of such a multiplica-
tion of garments as that indicated by M. Lechat, and
adopted by M. CoUignon, did remain in my mind, until
in April, 1892, I had the good fortune, in the course of a
cruise among the Greek islands, to visit the rough wooden
shed that does duty for a museum in the little island of
Mykonos, where are housed some fragments of the
objects found on neighbouring sites. There, with some
difficulty, owing to the intense interest taken in our
visit by every man, woman, and child of the place, I
came across a piece of sculpture that, to my mind,
solved the question. I found a headless female figure,
apparently belonging to the same period of art, and
dressed in the same manner as the Acropolis statues,
i.e. in the Ionian chiton, with a himation over it. On
Fiy. oG. — Fei)]ale figure discovered on tlio Aurojiolin.
AtheuK.
IIl', 37. — A Bacchante. From a Vase Painting
THE FEMALE FIGURES IN THE ACEOPOLIS MUSEUM. 39
the left breast of the figure, for a space of about six
inches square, without the slightest semblance of a join
in the material of the chiton, the sculptor had suddenly
changed the pattern of the garment- stuff from one of
three deeply-crinkled lines, with interspaces of plain
material, to a patch of close and continuous wavy lines
with no interspaces. Unfortunately, so far as I know,
this figure is not published, and I cannot give an illus-
tration of it. But after my visit to Mykonos, I found,
in the Acropolis Museum at Athens, a similar instance
on a female statue (No. 598 in the official catalogue,
edit. 1891), and the same thing may be noticed in Fig.
35, where the lines of the pattern coalesce on the right
side in a way impossible in fact.' Since then I have had it
brought to my notice, in an excellent article by Dr.
Hauser,*^ that the same is the case in the dress of the so-
called " "Woman getting into a Chariot " (cast in British
Museum, Archaic E-oom, No. 155), where the sleeve only
of an under-garment that falls in heavy folds to the feet
is shown with a crinkled surface, the remainder being
smooth. This figure (be it a woman or a male charioteer)
seems to me, as Dr. Hauser suggests, to wear a long,
linen, sleeved, " Ionian " chiton, with a shawl-like wrap
over it. These differences of creased or crinkled surface,
therefore, occurring irregularly, do not represent a dif-
ference of material, and consequently a separate gar-
ment, but are attempts to show the various ways in which
the same garment may appear, owing to the folds which
it assumes and the shape of the body it covers ; falling
in close, fine folds over the chest and shoulders, and in
" Jahrhuch des Kais. Deutsch. Arch. Inst. vii. 1, 1892,
p. 55.
40 GREEK DRESS.
larger, freer style over the legs (Fig. 37). Other
instances, both in sculpture and vase-painting, might be
cited.
By this view the " chitoniscus " of Lechat and Boeh-
lau,** or the "woUene Warns" of the catalogue of
vases in the Berlin collection, by Dr. Furtwangler, dis-
appears as a separate garment, and becomes merely the
upper portion of the Ionian chiton, arranged over the
girdle in a " kolpos," in the manner described in my
previous chapter. Figs. 26, 27. There is little doubt
that the " chitoniscus," mentioned by classical writers,^**
is the short form of chiton given above (Figs. 25, 31, 32).
In the case of artists who could so indiscriminately use
their colours as to paint the eyes of a woman red, as the
sculptors of the Acropolis figures did, it seems an affec-
tation to imagine that the lines and patterns on the gar-
ments, graved by their tools and coloured by their brush,
must necessarily be exactly true to reality. It is, there-
fore, unwise to argue from their productions a subservience
to the exact representation of actual material, only to be
equalled in the work of the draughtsman of the modern
fashion-plate. In such early art as that of the period to
which these figures belong the artist was free and un-
trammelled, and could change at will from one pattern to
another in the same garment, without thereby giving
good grounds for inferring that the material was really
different. The fact that the garments themselves of this
series vary in a parallel manner cannot be taken to count
** Cf. Boehlau's Quaestiones de re vestiaria Graecorum, fig.
14, p. 38, &c.
"» E.I/, by Aristoph. Birds, 94G, 955 ; Demosth., 583, 21,
403, &c.
Fi^^ 38.— Female fi