Part 3

The χλαῖνα was used not only as an article of dress, but also as a blanket to sleep under;[35] as a rug to cover couches and seats;[36] a constant epithet is οὔλη, so that its material was evidently woollen; and the adjectives ἀλεξάνεμος and ἀνεμοσκεπής, “warding off winds,” show that it was worn for warmth, as a protection against cold winds.[37] It was thrown off for exercise or when speed in running was required.[38] The style in which the χλαῖνα was worn varied somewhat; the verbs regularly used for the act of putting it on are ἀμφιβάλλω and ἀμφιέννυμι, “to throw round”; περιβάλλω also occurs, and sometimes it is described as being placed ἐπ᾽ ὤμοισι, “upon the shoulders”; for taking it off, ἀποβάλλω and ἀποτίθημι are used, and in one case ἐκδύνω occurs, though this word should more correctly be applied to the χιτών. The constant use of ἀμφί, “around,” shows that the χλαῖνα was not a garment which was drawn on over the head, like the χιτών, but was a square or rectangular piece of material wrapped round the figure or laid over the shoulders. We read in Homer of the χλαῖνα ἁπλοΐς, “single cloak,” and the χλαῖνα διπλῆ, “double cloak”; the former expression must mean a cloak worn single, without being folded over; such a garment might possibly be put on as the himation was in later time, one end being laid on the shoulder, so that the mass of the material hung down towards the back; this mass of material would then be drawn across the back under the arm which was then left exposed, and across the chest, and the end would be thrown over the shoulder towards the back. The garment could easily be drawn up so as to cover both arms if the temperature required greater warmth, or it might be worn over both shoulders like a shawl, without being doubled, and the frequent mention of the shoulders in connection with the χλαῖνα seem to point to this style as the most common.[39] The χλαῖνα διπλῆ is mentioned twice in Homer—once in the _Iliad_ and once in the _Odyssey_; in both cases it is described as being fastened with a brooch:

ἀμφὶ δ᾽ ἄρα χλαῖναν περονήσατο φοινικόεσσαν διπλῆν ἐκταδίην. [_Iliad_, x., 133.]

“And about him he fastened a purple cloak, doubled, with no folds.”

χλαῖναν πορφυρέην οὐλὴν ἔχε δῖος Ὀδυσσεύς, διπλῆν· αὐτὰρ οἱ περόνη χρυσοῖο τέτυκτο αὐλοῖσιν διδύμοισι. [_Odyssey_, xix., 225.]

“Goodly Odysseus had a purple cloak, woollen and doubled; and it had a brooch wrought of gold, with a double groove for the pins.”

[35] _Odyssey_, iii., 349.

[36] _Ibid._, xvii., 86.

[37] _Ibid._, xiv., 522.

[38] _Iliad_, ii., 183.

[39] See Fig. 7 (_a_), where the second figure from the right is represented wearing only the χλαῖνα ἁπλοΐς.

In these cases the χλαῖνα was obviously folded over double, though in what way is not expressly stated; if the garment consisted of a wide rectangular piece of material, it might be doubled along its length horizontally and fastened with a brooch on one shoulder, like Apollo’s himation in the Thasos relief.[40] This method, however, is not found on the earliest vases, which, though not contemporary with Homer, are yet the nearest monumental evidence obtainable; moreover, the additional expression, ἐκταδίην, seems to be against this interpretation; the meaning of ἐκταδίην seems to be “stretched out straight,” and the word could hardly be applied to a garment draped in such a way as to fall in many folds; it is reasonable, therefore, to suppose that the χλαῖνα διπλῆ consisted of a large square[41] of woollen material folded along the diagonal, so that two opposite corners lay on each other; it would be laid on the shoulders so that these two corners hung down in the middle of the back, no folds being formed (ἐκταδίην), and the other two points hung down one on each side of the front; a brooch would prevent the cloak from slipping off the shoulders; this shawl-like method of wearing the mantle is frequently represented on the black figured vases.[42] The δίπτυχον λώπην, “double cloak,” which Athena wears, ἀμφ᾽ ὤμοισι, when disguised as a shepherd,[43] is probably a garment worn in this same fashion, and the δίπλακες which Helen and Andromache are described as weaving in the _Iliad_[44] are perhaps intended for cloaks to be so worn.

[40] E. A. Gardner, _Handbook of Greek Sculpture_, p. 128.

[41] Unless the garment were square, the diagonally opposite corners would not coincide when folded corner to corner; they are invariably represented on the vases as coinciding.

[42] Fig. 7 (_b_) is taken from the “François” vase.

[43] _Odyssey_, xiii., 223.

[44] iii., 126; xxii., 440.

The place of the χλαῖνα is frequently taken by the φᾶρος, constant epithets of which are καλὸν and μέγα, “fine” and “large,” so that we may conclude that the φᾶρος was an ample and somewhat luxurious garment. The word is used not only for an article of wearing apparel, but also for the shroud of Laertes,[45] and for the sails of a ship,[46] so that Studniczka’s conjecture that it was made of linen is probably right, and the difference of material probably constitutes the chief distinction between the φᾶρος and the χλαῖνα. The φᾶρος is several times described as “white” and “well-washed,” and the epithets ἀργυφεόν, λέπτον, χαρίεν, “silvery,” “fine,” and “graceful,” which are used of the φᾶρος of Calypso, are more applicable to a linen than to a woollen garment. Φᾶρος is the only word used in Homer for the dress of both men and women. When worn by men, the φᾶρος was in all probability draped in the same fashion as the χλαῖνα, but the woman’s φᾶρος would be draped differently, as will be shown later.

[45] _Odyssey_, ii., 97; xix., 137.

[46] _Ibid._, v., 257.

The χλαῖνα and the φᾶρος were not worn in battle, since they would encumber the wearer too much; armour was put on over the chiton, or in some cases warriors wore the skin of some wild beast slain in combat; we hear, for example, of Agamemnon wearing a lion’s skin,[47] and of Menelaus and Paris wearing leopards’ skins.[48] A man’s costume was completed by sandals, πέδιλα, which we are told were made of leather;[49] no mention is made of any head-covering worn in the pursuit of peaceful occupations; if any protection were needed, a fold of the mantle might easily be drawn up over the head; in battle, of course, some kind of helmet was worn, which was made usually of bronze, or sometimes of hide,[50] covered with boars’ tusks, such as have been found at Mycenæ.

[47] _Iliad_, x., 22.

[48] _Ibid._, 29; iii., 17.

[49] _Odyssey_, xiv., 23.

[50] _Iliad_, x., 261 f.

The women’s dress in Homer consists of two garments, the πέπλος and the κρήδεμνον or καλύπτρη, called also in one case the κάλυμμα;[51] the word ἑανός which is used sometimes as a substantive instead of πέπλος, sometimes as an adjective, simply means “something to be worn.”

[51] _Ibid._, xxiv., 93.

The principal garment of the women was the πέπλος. The derivation of the word is uncertain; it is probably connected with some root meaning to cover or wrap; the word is used in the _Iliad_ to signify things other than dress; for the covering of a chariot[52] and for the wrappings of the vessel which held the ashes of Hector;[53] the πέπλος, therefore, like the χλαῖνα and φᾶρος consisted of a square or rectangular piece of material which could be used for various purposes. When worn as a garment, it was held in place by means of brooches or pins (περόναι, ἐνεταί) and a girdle. A passage in the _Iliad_[54] gives a description of an elaborate toilette made by Hera when she is setting out to beguile Zeus:

ἀμφὶ δ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ἀμβρόσιον ἑανὸν ἕσαθ᾽ ὅν οἱ Ἀθήνη ἔξυσ᾽ ἀσκήσασα, τίθει δ᾽ ἐνὶ δαίδαλα πολλά· χρυσείῃς δ᾽ ἐνετῇσι κατὰ στῆθος περονᾶτο, ζώσατο δὲ ζώνην ἑκατὸν θυσάνοις ἀραρυῖαν, ἐν δ᾽ ἄρα ἕρματα ἧκεν ἐϋτρήτοισι λοβοῖσιν, τρίγληνα μορόεντα· χάρις δ᾽ ἀπελάμπετο πολλή. κρηδέμνῳ δ᾽ ἐφύπερθε καλύψατο δία θεάων καλῷ νηγατέῳ, λευκὸν δ᾽ ἦν ἠέλιος ὥς. ποσσὶ δ᾽ ὑπὸ λιπαροῖσιν ἐδήσατο καλὰ πέδιλα.

“Then she clad her in her fragrant robe that Athena wrought delicately for her, and therein set many things beautifully made, and fastened it over her breast with clasps of gold. And she girdled it with a girdle arrayed with a hundred tassels; and she set ear-rings in her pierced ears—ear-rings of three drops and glistering—and therefrom shone grace abundantly. And with a veil over all the peerless goddess veiled herself, a fair, new veil, bright as the sun, and beneath her shining feet she bound goodly sandals.”—LANG, LEAF, AND MYERS.

[52] _Ibid._, v., 194.

[53] _Ibid._, xxiv., 795.

[54] xiv., 178 f.

We gather from this passage that the garment was fastened on the shoulders by brooches or pins inserted, κατὰ στῆθος, which Studniczka rightly explains[55] as meaning “down towards the breast,” a method of fastening which is represented on the François vase[56] and elsewhere; the material is drawn from the back, and wraps over that which covers the front; the pins are then inserted downwards, and hold the two thicknesses of material together; the dress is held in to the figure by a girdle worn round the waist, over which any superfluous length of material could be drawn, forming a κόλπος or pouch. No mention is made in Homer of the ἀπόπτυγμα, or overfold, which is a common feature of the women’s dress in historic times; but from its constant appearance on the earliest monuments, it is not unreasonable to suppose that it formed an element in women’s costume of the draped type from the very earliest times. It is formed by folding over the upper edge of the garment before it is put on, in such a way that a double thickness of material covers the figure from the neck to a distance a little above the waist in front and behind. The original purpose of this overfold may have been either to secure greater warmth, or to prevent the dress from tearing at the points where the brooches were inserted; such a thing might easily happen, if only the single stuff were used, since the whole mass of material hung down from the two points where it was secured on the shoulders.

[55] p. 97 f.

[56] Fig. 8.

Another question which arises in connection with the Homeric peplos is as to whether it was worn open or closed at the side; a passage which has been much discussed in this relation is the one which describes the peplos given by Antinous to Penelope, with its twelve brooches:

Ἀντινόῳ μὲν ἔνεικε μέγαν περικαλλέα πέπλον ποικίλον· ἐν δ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ἔσαν περόναι δυοκαίδεκα πᾶσαι χρύσειαι, κληῗσιν ἐϋγνάμπτοις ἀραρυῖαι. [_Odyssey_, xviii., 292.]

“For Antinous, his henchman, bare a broidered robe, great and very fair, wherein were golden brooches, twelve in all, fitted with well-bent clasps.”—BUTCHER AND LANG.

The point in dispute is the purpose of the twelve brooches. Studniczka maintains that two were used to fasten the dress on the shoulders, and the remaining ten to hold it together down the open side; he states in support of this theory that sewing was not commonly practised by the Homeric women, although he has previously pointed out that the men’s chiton was always sewn; this being the case, it is only natural to suppose that the women applied the art of sewing to their own garments also where necessary. There is no example in early art of a peplos fastened in this way with brooches; it is invariably joined round, the seam being covered by a band of ornament either woven in the edge of the material or embroidered upon it afterwards. In fifth century art we sometimes find representations of the peplos worn open down the side; it may have been worn so also in Homeric times; if the garment were wide, one edge could easily be wrapped over the other and held in place by the girdle, so as not to leave the figure too much exposed. It is more probable that the twelve brooches in question were used to fasten the dress on the shoulders and down the upper arms six on each side, forming a kind of sleeve to the elbow. That the ample Ionic chiton was worn in this way in later times is manifest from the numerous vase-paintings and other monuments of the late sixth and early fifth centuries; it may have been a fashion peculiar to the East in Homeric times, but Eastern fashions and customs were not unknown to the author of the Homeric poems. We read[57] of rich robes that were the work of Sidonian women whom Paris brought from Sidon, and it is not unlikely that Antinous, wishing to offer Penelope some rich gift, would choose a luxurious garment brought from the East.

[57] _Iliad_, vi., 289.

However, we must regard the use of twelve brooches as exceptional, and consider that the peplos was ordinarily fastened with only two, and with a girdle round the waist. That it was a fairly ample garment and trailed on the ground behind, is proved by the epithets τανυπέπλος and ἑλκεσιπέπλος, “with trailing robes,” frequently applied to women. Athena finds it certainly too cumbersome to fight in; for when she is preparing for battle, we are told that she lets her peplos slip to the ground, and puts on the chiton of her father,[58] Zeus. A very constant epithet of the peplos is ποικίλος, or sometimes the intensified form, παμποίκιλος,[59] The meaning of the adjective is, “bright, varied, covered with patterns.” Whether these patterns were woven in the material at the loom or embroidered is a question not easy to decide.[60]

[58] _Ibid._, v., 733; viii., 385.

[59] _Odyssey_, xv., 105; xviii., 292.

[60] See section on “Materials and Ornamentation.”

In some cases they were apparently woven, in others probably embroidered.

The silver-shining φᾶρος which Calypso puts on[61] takes the place of the peplos, and was probably worn in the same way,[62] with the overfold and girdle, over which the superfluous length was drawn, forming the κόλπος, or pouch, which varied in depth according to the wearer’s fancy. That it was sometimes fairly roomy is proved by the fact that the nurse of Eumæus was able to hide three cups ὑπὸ κόλπῳ[63] “under the folds of her dress.”

[61] _Odyssey_, v., 230.

[62] The passage is repeated word for word of Circe, _Odyssey_, x., 543.

[63] _Odyssey_, xv., 469.

The material of which the girdle (ζώνη) was made is uncertain. We hear of golden girdles of Calypso and Circe, and of a fringed girdle of Hera with a hundred tassels, but these are exceptional. The ordinary girdle may have been of metal, or cord, or leather; this last material is suggested by the magic κεστὸς ἱμᾶς of Aphrodite, which may have been a girdle; or, since we are told that the goddess took it ἀπὸ στήθησφιν,[64] “from her bosom,” and that Hera received it and ἑῷ ἐγκάτθετο κόλπῳ, “put it on her own bosom,” perhaps it was something of the nature of Athena’s ægis, which also possessed magic power. On a vase in the British Museum[65] a goddess is represented wearing an ægis, and would naturally be interpreted as Athena, were it not that the vase-painter has clearly written her name, “Aphrodite,” by her side. It has been suggested that he has made a slip, and meant to write “Athena”; but in all probability he knew what he was doing, and it was his intention to represent Aphrodite wearing her κεστὸς ἱμᾶς.

[64] _Iliad_, xiv., 214.

[65] B., 254.

The second garment which was essential to the completion of a woman’s dress, at least when she appeared in public, was the κρήδεμνον or καλύπτρη,[66] which served both as cloak and veil. It was probably put on over the shoulders like a shawl, without being folded, in such a way that it could be drawn over the head without difficulty, and across the face, serving as a veil.[67] Sometimes it may have been doubled corner to corner diagonally and laid on the shoulder. That it was worn over the head is clear from _Odyssey_, v., 232, where Calypso puts on her φᾶρος; κεφαλῇ δ᾽ ἐρύπερθε καλύπτρην, “and over her head a veil.” From the description of Penelope, when she appears among the suitors “holding her shining veil before her cheeks,” we may gather that it was customary for women to veil themselves before men.[68] No woman would think of leaving the house without her κρήδεμνον. Helen, though she quits her house in haste, first veils herself with shining linen,[69] ἀργεννῇσι καλυψαμένη ὀθόνῃσιν, and it is only when they are far from the town and enjoying the quietude of the river bank, that Nausicaa and her attendant maidens throw off their veils for the ballplay.[70]

[66] The κάλυμμα κυάνεον, “dark blue veil,” of Thetis (_Iliad_, xxiv., 93) is the same garment.

[67] Hera is represented wearing it so on the François vase, Fig. 7 (_c_), and although her head is not covered, yet, from the way in which the folds lie high upon the nape of the neck, it is clear that they could easily be drawn up over the head (cp. also, Aphrodite, on the same vase).

[68] Thetis is represented in the François vase just about to veil or unveil her face; though the head is missing, it is clear, from the position of the arm, that the κρήδεμνον was worn over the head.

[69] _Iliad_, iii., 141.

[70] _Odyssey_, vi., 100.

From the constant use of the epithets λιπαρός and λαμπρός, “shining” or “bright,” we may infer that the κρήδεμνον was usually made of linen, and, in summer at least, it was probably a fine, light garment, possibly even semi-transparent. In no case are any pins or brooches mentioned in connection with it; and from the ease with which it can be slipped off,[71] it is reasonable to infer that it was worn without fastening of any kind, like a shawl or scarf. In the passage where Andromache casts off her head-dress in her anguish at the death of Hector,[72] Studniczka supposes that because the κρήδεμνον is mentioned as falling off last, the other δέσματα must have been worn over it and held it in place; this seems to be putting a too literal and even prosaic interpretation upon the lines. There is no occasion to suppose that the poet enumerated the various parts of the head-dress in the order in which they fell; and if we read in that spirit, we shall frequently find that the Homeric heroes put on their cloaks before their undergarments; for more than once the φᾶρος or χλαῖνα is mentioned before the χιτών.[73]

[71] Cp. _Iliad_, xxii., 406, 470.

[72] _Ibid._, xxii., 468 f.

[73] _Odyssey_, xvi., 173; xxiii., 155, etc.

The various parts which composed this head-dress have given rise to much discussion. The passage runs:

τῆλε δ᾽ ἀπὸ κρατὸς βάλε δέσματα σιγαλόεντα, ἄμπυκα κεκρύφαλόν τε ἰδὲ πλεκτὴν ἀναδέσμην κρήδεμνόν θ᾽. [_Iliad_, xxii., 468.]

“And far from her head she flung the shining bonds, diadem and kerchief, and meshy net and veil.”

The δέσματα σιγαλόεντα are explained by the words which follow, and which stand in apposition. No question is raised as to the nature of the ἄμπυξ; it was a metal diadem like the στεφάνη, worn across the front of the hair. The κρήδεμνον has already been explained; the κεκρύφαλος and the πλεκτὴ ἀναδέσμη need some comment. The former is sometimes taken to mean a “net,” but it will be shown later that this meaning is better applied to the πλεκτὴ ἀναδέσμη; the word κεκρύφαλος is obviously connected with the verb κρύπτω to cover, and therefore means “something which covers,” “a covering.” In all probability, then, the κεκρύφαλος is simply a kerchief worn on top of the head behind the ἄμπυξ. The ἀναδέσμη is obviously something which serves to bind up (ἀναδέω) the hair and hold it in place, which is the proper function of a net. The epithet πλεκτή, which Helbig[74] has tried to explain as “folded,” means primarily “plaited”; it is applied elsewhere in the Homeric poems to baskets,[75] which shows its perfect appropriateness to the meshes of a net. We need give no other meaning, then, to the πλεκτὴ ἀναδέσμη, but can easily explain it as a net that confined the long hair behind. This completes the head-dress proper, the κρήδεμνον being a separate scarf or shawl worn over it.

[74] _Das Homerische Epos_, p. 157, f.

[75] _Iliad_, xviii., 40.

The women’s dress in Homer is completed by sandals, and for ornament they wore, in addition to the brooches which fastened their clothes, ear-rings and necklaces of varied workmanship; the γναμπταὶ ἕλικες and κάλυκες of which we read[76] are perhaps spiral-shaped brooches and ear-rings or necklaces in the shape of lilies, such as have been found in the later Mycenæan graves.

[76] _Odyssey_, ix., 247.

Few colours are mentioned in Homer in connection with dress. The epithets “white” and “shining” are frequently applied to the chiton and κρήδεμνον and to the φᾶρος. Φοινικόεις and πορφύρεος are frequently used of the χλαῖνα and the δίπλαξ, the former meaning “red,” and the latter probably “dark purple”; the word is used also of the sea and of clouds. The veil of Thetis[77] is described as κυάνεος, indigo, probably, or blue-black, since we hear immediately afterwards that “no garment ever was blacker.” The dark veil may be a sign of mourning; but in any case, the epithet might be used of the garments of the sea-goddess, just as κυανοχαίτης, “blue-haired,” is applied to Poseidon. Only once is yellow mentioned, and that in the case of “saffron robed dawn.” The veil of Hera, that was “bright as the sun,”[78] might have been yellow-gold. Yellow is a favourite colour among the Greek peasant women of to-day for the kerchiefs with which they cover their heads; and in the clear atmosphere and brilliant sunshine of Greece, it is natural to wear bright colours.

[77] _Iliad_, xxiv., 93.

[78] _Iliad_, xiv., 182.

The embroidered robes of the women would naturally be worked in various colours, among which red and blue probably predominated, as they do on the sixth century statues on the Acropolis at Athens, and also in more modern Greek embroideries.

Enough has been said on the subject of Homeric dress to show that it differs entirely from the pre-Hellenic type of costume which appears on the monuments from Knossos and elsewhere. The absence of contemporary monumental evidence renders it impossible to make any very definite statements as to the details of Homeric dress; but the poems themselves afford sufficient proof of the fact that it was of the draped type, and resembled Greek dress as we know it from the monuments dating from historic times; the dress of the classical period is simply a development of that described in the Homeric poems, with the addition of some foreign elements which blended with it and somewhat transformed it in its details, while still preserving the main types unaltered.

III

DORIC

When we come to the question of Greek dress during the classical period, we find that the literary evidence is somewhat scanty; however, in addition to the various casual references to dress that are to be found chiefly in the plays, there are a few passages which bear directly on the historical development of dress in Greece. The most important of these is a passage in Herodotus,[79] in which he describes a disastrous expedition against Ægina undertaken by the Athenians during the first half of the sixth century, probably in the year 568 B.C.; only one man returned alive to Athens, to meet with an ignominious death at the hands of the wives of those who had perished. Herodotus shall tell the story in his own words: