Greece Empire Fashion Greek Goddesses Art
It'southward true that the Greeks and other Mediterranean people under Greek cultural influence, prized nudity in art, and in certain cases, in life: Greek men worked out nude in the gymnasium (the word derives from the Greek discussion gymnós, pregnant "nude"), and male athletes competed in the nude in the Olympics and in other aboriginal games, at least partially in a sexist endeavour to prevent women from participating.
But the ancient Greeks did article of clothing clothing, and there is plenty of evidence of that in the Jaharis Galleries of Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Art. And Greek clothes did not consist simply of artistically draped bedsheets: a variety of political, economic, social, and cultural factors determined what people wore, and when they wore it. Some garments were worn by both men and women in ancient Greece, although different genders ofttimes wore them differently. And for the record, no one in Greek civilisation wore trousers. Those were dismissed equally the dress of non-Greek "barbarians."
The peplos
An aboriginal garment for women, the peplos was a large rectangle of wool wrapped around the body, sometimes belted, and pinned at the shoulders.
Illustration of peplos course Mireille Lee'southward book Trunk, Clothes, and Identity in Aboriginal Greece
This was definitely a instance of "one size fits all," as any actress material would exist folded downward every bit far as necessary to accommodate the top of the wearer. According to the Greek historian Herodotus (c. 484–425 BCE), the peplos went out of style when the alone survivor of a battle confronting the isle of Aegina returned to Athens. The Athenian women were so resentful that he had survived when their husbands had non that they stabbed him to expiry with their pins. In response, the Athenian authorities ordered that the peplos be replaced past the chiton, a garment originally worn by men.
Historians are now generally skeptical about this story, attributing it to patriarchal fears virtually "out of control" women. In any instance, goddesses and other female figures with mythological associations continued to wear the peplos in art, its "historical" nature existence considered appropriate to their "timeless" divinity.
The Chiton
The chiton was a low-cal tunic-like garment made from two pieces of material sewn together with a hole cut out for the head and invariably belted at the waist. Originally made of fine linen, it was often made of silk for women.
The uncomplicated Chiton
Since the sleeves were sewn together, in that location could be no danger from potentially lethal pins. Historian Mireille Lee has noted that the discussion "chiton" has a Semitic root, implying that this garment originated in the East, which made it a source of concern for its "foreign" luxuriousness. A long chiton was originally worn by men, only equally nosotros have seen, information technology was adopted by women in the 5th century BCE. At the same time, men's chitons became shorter.
the elaborate chiton
Past the 4th century BCE, chitons had get more elaborately decorated with borders and patterns, as can be seen on the loutrophoros from southern Italy. Though some commentators in later periods liked to hold up Greek apparel in general every bit a model of "simplicity," at the time these more luxurious chitons were condemned by the philosopher Plato and others as signs of decadence.
The himation and the chlamys
The himation was a kind of cloak worn by both men and women, consisting of a large rectangular piece of fabric, usually wool, typically draped diagonally over one shoulder and wrapped effectually the body, every bit seen beneath.
Ancient Greek
Although a himation was commonly worn over a chiton, men sometimes wore the himation on its own. A garment exclusive to men was the chlamys, a brusque cloak clasped at the correct shoulder.
the chlamys
The chlamys was oft worn by soldiers because it could be held up to aid ward off sword blows. In late antiquity, the chlamys became longer and was often made of silk and sumptuously decorated with gold and precious stones. As such, it was worn by emperors and high-ranking officials of the Byzantine Empire.
mixed and matched
Although the story from Herodotus referred to earlier makes information technology sound as though the peplos went out when the chiton for women came in, the creative record implies a more complex situation. Both garments appear on the stamnos by the artist known as the Chicago Painter (because his nearly important vase is this one in the Fine art Institute's collection).
Chicago Painter
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On one side of the vase, a woman wearing a class of peplos is framed past women wearing chitons and himations. Could the peplos possibly signal a nymph or maenad, 1 of the ecstatic followers of the vino god Dionysus, or is it a ritualistic garment, in dissimilarity to the more stylish chiton?
Representations of clothing can sometimes be realistic, but are sometimes based on artistic conventions. The hydria (water jar) attributed to the Leningrad Painter shows an encounter between men and women; visual clues indicate that these women are likely sex workers, and the setting is possibly a brothel.
Leningrad Painter
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The men are completely enveloped in their himations and carry walking sticks, both artistic conventions to bespeak that they are traveling, or at to the lowest degree not at home. One of the men is embracing one of the women in a way that a "respectable" women would not be represented on a vase, while the woman at right is putting aside a small loom; female sexual activity workers often wove material as a "sideline" to supplement their incomes. The object hanging on the wall that looks like a badminton baboon is likely a sakkos, a soft, beanie-like snood or pilus-wrap that was particularly associated with sexual practice workers. The woman second from the left appears to have her hair covered with a sakkos.
So y'all tin can run into that ancient Greece was non just one large "toga party," and not just because the toga is a Roman garment, non a Greek ane. Every bit with whatever culture in earth history, Greek dress was about expressing social and cultural values besides as "looking adept." The next fourth dimension yous take a chance to explore the Jaharis Galleries, proceed in mind that, as with all "classic" way, it's never every bit simple as information technology looks.
—Jeff Nigro, research associate and coordinator of the Boshell Foundation Lecture Series, Arts of the Ancient Mediterranean and Byzantium
Explore our Ancient Greek collection.
Citation
Lee, Mireille. Torso, Dress, and Identity in Ancient Hellenic republic. Cambridge University Press, 2015.
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