Part 1
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GREEK DRESS
A Study of the Costumes Worn in Ancient Greece, from Pre-Hellenic Times to the Hellenistic Age
by
ETHEL B. ABRAHAMS, M.A.
With Illustrations
London John Murray, Albemarle Street, W. 1908
TO MY FRIEND ETHEL STRUDWICK
PREFACE
The object of this book is to give a continuous account of the dress worn by the people inhabiting Greek lands, from the earliest times of which we have any record down to the Hellenistic age. The first chapter stands somewhat apart from the rest, since it deals with the costume of the race which occupied the Ægean shores before the real Hellenic races arrived on the scene, and of which we have abundant remains in Crete and elsewhere within the Ægean area. The remains found at Mycenæ, Tiryns, and other so-called Mycenæan sites, seem to be the last efforts of this dying civilization, which was replaced in the period of invasion and conquest recorded in the Homeric poems. I have been unable to trace any continuous development from the dress of this pre-Hellenic people to that of classic Greece, and the marked difference in the type of costume between the two periods bears out the theory of a difference of race.
I have endeavoured to show that the dress described in the Homeric poems is of the same type as the dress of classic Greece, and of this I have traced the historic development, classifying it into two main divisions, namely, Doric and Ionic. The simple and severe Doric dress contrasts with the more luxurious costume of the Ionian Greeks, although there are many instances, from the fifth century and onwards, in which the two styles are blended. I have noted also the elements which probably came in from Northern Greece; these are chiefly the chlamys and petasos.
The bulk of the following pages constituted a thesis approved for the degree of Master of Arts in the University of London. In revising the work for the press, however, some alterations and additions have been made. The chief of these is the addition of the section on the toilet; the illustrations have been carefully selected from extant monuments.
My sources for the chapter on pre-Hellenic dress have been mainly the finds of Mr A. J. Evans at Knossos, which I had the opportunity of seeing in the Candia Museum; these have been supplemented by the figures found at Petsofa, in Crete, and by various Mycenæan objects, notably rings and gems. The papers published by Mr Evans and Mr J. L. Myres in the _British School Annual_ have been of very great value.
For the chapter on Homeric dress, my chief authority has been the poems themselves; in the absence of contemporary monuments, I have used the François vase to illustrate this section, since the figures upon it seem to tally most closely with the descriptions of dress found in the poems. Of modern literary authorities, the most valuable has been Studniczka’s _Beiträge zur Geschichte der Altgriechischen Tracht_.
For the dress of the classical period, the evidence from extant art is abundant, and I have based my study chiefly upon it. Sculpture and vase-paintings have furnished the majority of my illustrations. I have noted many references to dress scattered up and down the ancient authors, and a passage from the fifth book of Herodotus has furnished a starting-point for the classification into Doric and Ionic dress.
My theory as to the shape and “cut” of the himation worn by the archaic ladies in the Acropolis Museum at Athens is, I think, a new one; it is based on a very careful examination of the statues, supplemented by some practical experiments in draping a living model.
For the sections on head-dress, materials, and footgear, I have referred to passages in ancient literature, and have used extant remains for illustrations, chiefly vase-paintings; except in the case of materials, for which I have cited the actual fragments of fabric found in Greek tombs at Kertch, in the Crimea.
In describing individual garments, I have in each case suggested dimensions and given diagrams, which, it is hoped, may be of practical use to those who wish to make Greek dresses for themselves.
Throughout the work, in addition to ancient authorities, I have consulted the various articles in the current classical dictionaries. These include Pauly-Wissowa’s _Real Encyclopädie_, Daremberg and Saglio’s _Dictionnaire des Antiquités grecques et romaines_, Smith’s _Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities_, Gardner and Jevons’ _Manual of Greek Antiquities_, and the _Companion to Greek Studies_. Other works, to which single references have been made, are mentioned in the footnotes.
In addition to written authorities, I have received personal help from several scholars and friends, to whom I should like to express my thanks.
In the first place, I should like to acknowledge my indebtedness to the Reid Trustees of Bedford College, who elected me to a Fellowship in 1905, which enabled me to work for my second degree, and to spend some months in Greece as a student of the British School at Athens.
The suggestion that a thesis on the subject of Greek Dress might be of some value beyond getting me a degree, was due to Mr A. B. Cook, of Cambridge, under whom I had already worked for three years at Bedford College, and whose constant readiness to stimulate my leanings towards Archæology encouraged me to continue my studies in that direction. Mr Cook very kindly read this work in manuscript for me, and gave me the benefit of his criticisms. I owe a very great deal, also, to Professor Ernest Gardner, of University College, London, whose M.A. courses I attended regularly for two years, and from whom I constantly received help and guidance.
While in Athens, I devoted my attention chiefly to the dress of the archaic statues in the Acropolis Museum, and had the opportunity of discussing this subject with Mr R. C. Bosanquet, then director of the British School. I must also thank Herr Fritz Röhrig, the German sculptor, who placed his studio in Athens at my disposal, and procured a model for me, for the purpose of making my first experiments in reproducing the archaic style of draping the himation.
Special acknowledgments are due to Mr A. J. Evans, Mr J. L. Myres, and the Committee of the British School at Athens, for their courtesy in allowing me to reproduce subjects published by them in the _British School Annual_; to the Trustees of the British Museum, for permission to secure photographs of objects in the Museum for publication; to Mr Cecil Smith, for giving me free access to the library of the Department of Antiquities; and, particularly, to Mr H. B. Walters, who went through the illustrations with me, and greatly facilitated the task of securing suitable ones.
Lastly, my grateful thanks are due to Mr John Murray, for undertaking to publish the book, and to Mr A. H. Hallam Murray, for his constant courtesy and assistance during the progress of the work of publication.
E. B. A.
_July_ 1908.
CONTENTS
PAGE I. INTRODUCTION—PRE-HELLENIC 1
II. HOMERIC 15
III. DORIC 39
IV. IONIC 57
V. THE MAIDENS OF THE ACROPOLIS—THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE IONIC HIMATION 73
VI. MATERIALS AND ORNAMENTATION 97
VII. HAIR AND HEAD-DRESS 107
VIII. FOOTGEAR 115
IX. THE TOILET—CONCLUSION 120
ENGLISH INDEX 129
GREEK INDEX 133
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
Fig. 1.—Cupbearer of Knossos _face_ 6
Figs. 2 and 3.—Snake Goddess and Votary ” 11
Fig. 4.—Fresco of a Dancing Girl ” 12
Fig. 5.—Statuette from Petsofa ” 12
Fig. 6.—Studniczka’s Diagram 18
Fig. 7.—(_a_) Vase—British Museum, (_b_ and _c_) Vase- paintings by Klitias and Ergotimos, Florence _face_ 26
Fig. 8.—From the François Vase ” 30
Fig. 9.—Diagram of the Doric Peplos 43
Fig. 10.—Metope from the Temple of Zeus, at Olympia _face_ 44
Fig. 11.—Bronze Statue from Herculaneum, Naples ” 45
Fig. 12.—Vase-painting—British Museum ” 46
Fig. 13.—Vase-painting in the Polygnotan Style—Louvre ” 47
Fig. 14.—Vase-painting by Hieron—British Museum ” 49
Fig. 15.—Terra-cotta Statuette—British Museum ” 49
Fig. 16.—Vase-painting by Euxitheos—British Museum ” 50
Fig. 17.—Vase-painting by Falerii—Rome, Villa Giulia ” 50
Fig. 18.—Athena of Velletri ” 51
Fig. 19.—Bronze Statuette—British Museum ” 53
Fig. 20.—Vase-painting—British Museum ” 54
Fig. 21.—The Doric Himation ” 54
Fig. 22.—Vase-painting by Euphronios—Munich ” 55
Fig. 23.—The Chlamys and Petasos ” 55
Fig. 24.—Diagram of the Chlamys 55
Fig. 25.—Vase-painting from Lucania—British Museum _face_ 61
Fig. 26.—Diagram of the Ionic Chiton 61
Fig. 27.—The Delphi Charioteer _face_ 62
Fig. 28.—Vase-painting—Munich ” 63
Fig. 29.—Vase-painting by Brygos—British Museum ” 66
Fig. 30.—Diagram of the Sleeved Chiton with Overfold 66
Fig. 31.—Archaic Statue—Athens, Acropolis Museum _face_ 75
Fig. 32.—Archaic Statue—Athens, Acropolis Museum ” 78
Fig. 33.—Diagram of the Archaic Ionic Himation 90
Fig. 34.—Drapery in the Style of the Archaic Statues in the Acropolis Museum, Athens _face_ 91
Fig. 35.—Vase-painting—British Museum ” 93
Fig. 36.—Vase-painting—Ionic Dress ” 94
Fig. 37.—The Artemis of Gabii—Louvre ” 95
Fig. 38.—Vase-painting—Dress with two Overfolds ” 96
Fig. 39.—Fragments of a Sarcophagus Cover from Kertch ” 103
Fig. 40.—Embroidered Fragment from Kertch ” 105
Fig. 41.—(_a_ and _b_) Fragments of a Sarcophagus Cover from Kertch. (_c_) Embroidered Fragment from Kertch ” 106
Fig. 42.—Men’s Head-dress—Archaic ” 108
Fig. 43.—(_a_) Head of Apollo from the Temple of Zeus, at Olympia. (_b_) Head of an Athlete—Athens Acropolis Museum ” 110
Fig. 44.—Archaic form of Petasos 111
Fig. 45.—Women’s Head-dress _face_ 112
Fig. 46.—Sandals and Shoes ” 116
Fig. 47.—Boot 118
Fig. 48.—(_a_) A Bronze in the British Museum. (_b_) Foot of the Hermes of Praxiteles (from a cast in the British Museum). (_c_) A Terra-cotta Flask in the British Museum _face_ 118
Fig. 49.—Sandals 119
Fig. 50.—Diagram of an Aryballos 121
Fig. 51.—Diagram of a Lekythos 121
Fig. 52.—(_a_) A Pyxis in the British Museum. (_b_) A Toilet-box in the British Museum _face_ 122
Fig. 53.—(_a_) Bronze Box Mirror—British Museum. (_b_) Bronze Stand Mirror—British Museum _face_ 124
Fig. 54.—Diagram of an Alabastron 125
GREEK DRESS
I
INTRODUCTION
PRE-HELLENIC
In seeking to conjure up a vivid picture of the life of an ancient people, it is the task of the archæologist to neglect no point that can in any way throw light on the manners and customs which that people practised from day to day, both in the exercise of their public duties and in the privacy of their own homes.
Just as the habits and dress of an individual frequently give a true impression of his character and type of mind, so the salient characteristics of a nation are reflected in the external details of their manners and their costume. In making a careful study of the Greeks, therefore, whose innate feeling for beauty was part of their very being, and whose sense of the fitness of things rarely if ever played them false, we shall expect to find our efforts amply repaid, both by the satisfaction given to the æsthetic sense and by the knowledge we shall have gained of the development of the national character. The study of costume has, moreover, an ethnological significance which in itself justifies a detailed investigation of the subject.
Professor Ridgeway, in _The Early Age of Greece_, has pointed out that the civilization reflected in the Homeric poems differs in many essential points from that which is revealed by the monuments found at Mycenæan sites on the mainland of Greece and in the Ægean islands. Confirmation has since been added to his convincing arguments by the discoveries of Mr Arthur Evans in Crete, which prove that the so-called Mycenæan remains were but the last efforts of a dying civilization which stretched back at least as far as the third millennium before our era. The culture revealed by the excavations at Knossos and other sites in Crete presents a striking contrast to that of the Greeks of the classic period; whereas the state of society described in the Homeric poems seems to contain analogies with both periods.
The palace of Alcinous and the house of Odysseus, as described in the _Odyssey_, correspond in plan to the palace of Mycenæ excavated by the Greek Archæological Society in 1886, which undoubtedly belongs to the older stratum of civilization;[1] on the other hand, the methods of disposing of the dead, and the underlying principles of costume, are utterly different in the two cases. The Homeric heroes burn their dead, whereas the remains found in Mycenæan graves prove that in the state of society to which they belong burial was the common method of disposing of the dead. The difference in costume is equally striking; the women’s dress, illustrated by the Mycenæan gems and the wall-paintings and faïence statuettes from Knossos, consists of elaborately made garments, with tight jackets fitting closely to the figures at the waist, and full and frequently flounced skirts; there is no indication of fastening by means of brooches or fibulæ. In Homer the brooch is almost invariably mentioned as an essential detail of female costume, and the garments described are of a simple character, and such that they can be spread out and used for other purposes. For example, Aphrodite, when protecting Æneas from his assailants, shields him from their weapons by drawing a fold of her peplos over him (_Iliad_, v., 315); and again, at the funeral rites of Hector, the body is covered, πορφυρέοις πέπλοισι μαλακοῖσιν (_Iliad_, xxiv., 796), “with soft purple robes.”
[1] J. L. Myres, _Journal of Hellenic Studies_, vol. xx. Cp. also, for general principles of ground plan, “The Palace at Knossos,” _British School Annual_, VIII.
The contrast between the forms of dress represented in Mycenæan art and in the Homeric poems can only be explained by supposing that there is a difference in race between the two peoples, and that the older civilization was almost entirely swept away by a great series of invasions carried out by men of a different race. The Homeric dress is closely akin to that of the Greeks of the classic period, whereas that represented on Mycenæan rings and gems belongs, as will be shown later, to the stratum of civilization revealed by the Cretan excavations.[2] We must suppose, then, that the Homeric heroes belonged to the invading race, which was full of youthful vigour and succeeded in superimposing its manners and customs upon those of the older, decadent society, and in finally ousting the older inhabitants from their homes altogether. The process was one which must have lasted over some centuries, and it is probable that the Homeric poems were composed whilst it was still incomplete, and that the siege of Troy represents one incident in the long wars which were waged between the two peoples. This view accounts for the fact that the Homeric house belongs to the older civilization, while the costume is that of the later. The invaders, having conquered or driven out the inhabitants, finding their houses strongly built and luxuriously decorated, would refrain from destroying them and settle themselves peacefully and comfortably there, naturally retaining their own style of dress and customs of disposing of their dead. Any new houses built after their settlement would be constructed after their own plans, and so the Homeric house would gradually give place to the Hellenic. The absence of brooches and fibulæ from the graves on the Acropolis of Mycenæ, and their presence in those of the lower city, adds confirmation to this theory. The Acropolis graves are earlier than the others, which in all probability belong to the time when the invaders had already imposed some of their characteristic customs upon their predecessors at Mycenæ and elsewhere in Greece. The use of the fibula is common to the early peoples of Central Europe, from which region it must have been introduced by the Achæan invaders into Greece.[3]
[2] Cp. Busolt, _Griechische Geschichte_, vol. i., 2nd ed., chap. i.
[3] Ridgeway, _Early Age of Greece_, chap. viii.; S. Müller, _Urgeschichte Europas_, pp. 95, 96.
The earliest remains found on Greek soil are those which have been unearthed by Mr A. J. Evans, in his series of excavations at Knossos, in Crete. They represent earlier stages of that civilization which has hitherto been known as Mycenæan. The costume revealed by the art of this pre-Hellenic age forms a study in itself, since it presents a striking contrast to that of the classic period in Greece, and also to that of contemporary Asiatic peoples. The costume of the men is simple; when not entirely nude, they wear sometimes a waist-cloth rolled round a girdle, with a loose end hanging down like an apron in front;[4] in a lead statuette of the same period found near Abbia, in Laconia, the waist-cloth appears to take the form of a triangular piece of material wrapped round the girdle, the apex of the triangle being drawn up between the legs and tucked into the belt in front. In some terra-cotta figurines from Petsofa,[5] a third garment appears, consisting of a rectangular piece of material with the long side tucked into the belt all round and the short sides hanging down perpendicularly in front. In the later Mycenæan period, the garment takes the form of short breeches reaching half-way down the thigh. These are probably a development from the earlier waist-cloth.[6]
[4] Fig. 1, Cupbearer of Knossos. Cp. also, Vaphio Cup, gems, Perrot and Chipiez, VI., 426. 21.
[5] _British School Annual_, IX., pls. ix. and x.
[6] Dagger blade from Mycenæ. Perrot and Chipiez, VI., pl. xviii., 3.
In most cases the upper part of the body appears to be quite bare, but in some instances a line is drawn at the neck and wrists which may indicate the edges of a close-fitting, long-sleeved tunic. It is more probable, however, that these lines are meant to represent a necklace and bracelets, such as have been found in considerable numbers in Mycenæan graves. On a siege scene represented on a fragment of a silver vase from Mycenæ,[7] the majority of the fighting warriors are represented quite nude; but in one case (at the lower right-hand corner) a tunic and head-dress are worn; but in this instance the tunic has sleeves reaching only half-way to the elbow, as is also the case with the inhabitants, who are watching the progress of the battle from behind the city wall; two figures, which appear to be just leaving the city, wear square cloaks fastened on the right shoulder and leaving both arms free; they do not appear to be fighting, and probably represent heralds about to make some proposal to the enemy. The covering here described as a cloak has been regarded as representing an oblong shield (ἠΰτε πύργος); but in view of the fact that the men carry no weapons and that both arms are exposed, it seems more reasonable to suppose that a mantle is intended. The warriors in front are fighting without protection; and if any shield were represented, we should expect it to be of the usual Mycenæan shape, which appears as a decoration on the upper left-hand corner of the fragment. A fragment of a wall-painting from Mycenæ represents a warrior wearing a short-sleeved tunic and having a double bracelet at the wrist; it appears, then, that when the pre-Hellenic man wore a tunic, it was not furnished with long sleeves, and even when his clothing was of the scantiest possible nature, he was not far enough removed from primitive barbarism to prevent his adorning his person with bracelet and necklace.
[7] Perrot and Chipiez, VI., fig. 365.
The indication of some kind of footgear is frequent: it is represented on the Vaphio cups; and on a wall-painting from Tiryns depicting the capture of a bull, it takes the form of pointed shoes turned up at the toes and fastened by a series of bands above the ankles. Such pointed shoes were common to the Assyrians and the Hittites, and are worn to this day by Greeks and Turks, and frequently also in other rocky countries.[8]
[8] The characteristic Cretan boots may possibly be a direct survival.
In the wall-painting from Tiryns, and on a Mycenæan intaglio (Perrot and Chipiez, VI., 426. 21), a number of bands is indicated just below the knee. Possibly the boots were fastened by leather laces crossed round the legs and then passed two or three times round under the knees. At present these bands have only been found in cases where the wearer is engaged in some violent occupation, such as the bull-taming scene; it has been suggested that they represent a leather thong wound round the knees to act as a protection; on stony ground some such guard would be necessary.
The head-dress, of conical shape, finished by a button or flattened knob on the top, represents a helmet, made sometimes probably of metal, as was the case in Assyria, but in some cases certainly of felt or leather, covered with rows of overlapping boar’s tusks, turned alternately in opposite directions. A large number of boar’s tusks were found by Dr Schliemann[9] at Mycenæ, flattened on one side and with several holes in them, which obviously served to fasten them to some object; such a helmet is to be seen in an ivory fragment from Mycenæ,[10] and would exactly correspond to that described in _Iliad_, X., 261.