Chapter IV: Introduction: Pre-Hellenic (2)

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:

Κομισθεὶς γὰρ ἐς τὰς Ἀθήνας ἀπήγγειλε τὸ πάθος· πυθομένας
δὲ τὰς γυναῖκας τῶν ἐπ᾽ Αἴγιναν στρατευσαμένων ἄνδρων
δεινόν τι ποιησαμένας ἐκεῖνον μοῦνον ἐξ ἀπάντων σωθῆναι,
πέριξ τὸν ἄνθρωπον τοῦτον λαβούσας καὶ κεντεύσας τῇσι
περόνῃσι τῶν ἱματίων εἰρωτᾶν ἑκάστην αὐτέων ὅ κῃ εἴη ὁ
ἑωυτῆς ἀνήρ. Καὶ τοῦτον μὲν οὕτω διαφθαρῆναι, Ἀθηναίοισι
δὲ ἔτι τοῦ πάθεος δεινότερόν τι δόξαι εἶναι τὸ τῶν γυναικῶν
ἔργον. Ἄλλῳ μὲν δὴ οὐκ ἔχειν ὅτεω ζημιώσωσι τὰς γυναῖκας,
τὴν δὲ ἐσθῆτα μετέβαλον αὐτέων ἐς τὴν Ἰάδα· ἐφόρεον γὰρ δὴ
πρὸ τοῦ αἱ τῶν Ἀθηναίων γυναῖκες ἐσθῆτα Δωρίδα τῇ Κορινθίῃ
παραπλησιωτάτην· μετέβαλον ὦν ἐς τὸν λίνεον κιθῶνα, ἵνα
δὴ περόνῃσι μὴ χρεώνται. Ἔστι δὲ ἀληθεϊ λόγῳ χρεωμένοισι
οὐκ Ἰὰς αὕτη ἡ ἐσθὴς τὸ παλαιὸν, ἀλλὰ Κάειρα, ἐπεὶ ἥ γε
Ἑλληνικὴ ἐσθῆς πᾶσα ἡ ἀρχαίη τῶν γυναικῶν ἡ αὐτὴ ἦν τὴν νῦν
Δωρίδα καλεῦμεν.

“When he came back to Athens bringing word of the calamity, the wives of those who had been sent out on the expedition took it sorely to heart, that he alone should have survived the slaughter of all the rest; they therefore crowded round the man and struck him with the brooches by which their dresses were fastened, each, as she struck, asking him where he had left her husband. And the man died in this way. The Athenians thought the deed of the women more horrible even than the fate of the troops. As, however, they did not know how else to punish them, they changed their dress, and compelled them to wear the costume of the Ionians. Till this time the Athenian women had worn a Dorian dress, shaped nearly like that which prevails at Corinth. Henceforth they were made to wear the linen tunic, which does not require brooches.

“In very truth, however, this dress is not originally Ionian, but Carian; for anciently the Greek women all wore the costume which is now called the Dorian.”—RAWLINSON.

[79] v., 87.

He goes on to say that after this the Argive and Æginetan women, out of rivalry with the Athenians, wore much larger brooches than before.

The importance of the passage is that it tells us of the two types of dress worn by Greek women. We learn that down to the early years of the sixth century all the Greek women wore the Dorian dress fastened with pins of such size and strength that they could become dangerous weapons in the hands of women excited by grief or passion. Later the Athenian women adopted a different dress, which did not need these large pins to fasten it, and which Herodotus calls the linen Ionic chiton, afterwards correcting himself and explaining that this kind of dress was really Carian in its origin.

The story of the slaying of the sole survivor of the Æginetan expedition, and of the punishment meted out to the Athenian women, seems in itself far-fetched and highly improbable; but there is probably some foundation of truth in it. Possibly the tale was invented by Herodotus, or, more probably, was current in his day as an explanation of a change in the style of dress which actually took place in Athens at the beginning of the sixth century, or more probably even earlier. Among the sumptuary laws introduced by Solon was one regulating women’s dress, and forbidding them to wear more than three garments when they went out to funerals or festivals.[80] The passing of such a law could only be necessary if the Athenian women had already adopted a luxurious and extravagant style of dress. Now, the essence of the Doric dress, as will be shown later, is simplicity; it did not admit of great variety or elaboration. On the other hand, that the Ionic dress was somewhat luxurious is clear from Thucydides, i., 6; so we may infer that by the time of Solon’s archonship, 594 B.C., the Athenian women had already adopted the Ionic dress, and had perhaps elaborated it by some modifications added by their own invention. If this is so, Herodotus’s story places the change at least a generation later than its actual occurrence; but as he is writing at a distance of more than a century from the event, we need not be surprised if he is a generation or so out in his dating.

[80] Plutarch, “Solon,” 21.

The simple Doric dress mentioned by Herodotus as being universally worn by Greek women down to the sixth century, finds abundant illustration in early art, especially in the Attic black-figured vases. It consists of a large oblong piece of material, in length about 1 ft. more than the height of the wearer, in width about twice the distance from elbow to elbow when the wearer’s arms are held out horizontally at shoulder level. The additional foot in height is used up by folding the upper edge over so that the material is double from neck to waist. The garment is put on by folding it round the body and pinning it on the shoulders at points a third of the distance from the middle line and the edges respectively. A diagram will make the arrangement clear.

_a_, _b_, _c_, _d_ represents the original rectangular piece of material, _ab_ being twice the wearers distance from elbow to elbow—that is to say, about 5 ft. 9 in.—_ac_ being 1 ft. more than the wearer’s height—namely, about 6 ft. 6 in.

After the upper edge _ab_ has been folded over to a width of about 1 ft., the dress is pinned on the shoulders at the points _e e′_ and _f f′_; the part which covers the back is drawn slightly forward over the front, so that there are four thicknesses of material where the pins are inserted; the garment is then girded at the waist, the position of which is indicated by the points _g_ and _h_, and any superfluous length is drawn up over the girdle.

The distance between the points _a′ f_, _f e_, _e′ f′_, etc., varies slightly, but is always approximately one-sixth of the whole width of the material. In practice, a better effect is produced if the width of stuff _e′ f′_, which covers the back of the neck, is shorter than the other sections.

The garment is usually represented as being sewn up along the side, sometimes along the whole length _ac_, _bd_, sometimes only along the length from the waist to the feet—that is, along the edges _gc_, _hd_; sometimes it is left open, being held in place only by the girdle. On the black-figured vases it is usually the closed Doric dress which is represented, probably because it offered the least difficulty to a technique which necessarily imposed somewhat close limitations on the artists who practised it. A good example is to be found in the figures of the Fates from the François vase, which has already been quoted in illustration of the Homeric peplos.

A freer and more realistic representation is to be found in the sculptured metopes from the temple of Zeus, at Olympia. Athena in the metope representing the cleaning of the Augean stables wears the closed Doric dress; here the ἀπόπτυγμα, or overfold, falls slightly below the waist, and below it the kolpos is clearly visible, the slight pouch formed by drawing the superfluous length of the material over the girdle.[81] On the vases the pouch is almost invariably absent, and the girdle is always visible. This is also the case in one of the archaic statues on the Acropolis at Athens, where the Doric dress is worn over an Ionic chiton. A slight variation of the dress is to be seen on the nymph of the Atlas metope at Olympia, where the overfold hangs considerably below the waist and no girdle or pouch is visible; here the additional length of the overfold probably obviated the necessity of a pouch, and the girdle, which is hidden, simply served to hold the dress in to the figure. A bronze statuette from Herculaneum shows the dress sewn up only from the waist downwards (Fig. 11).

[81] Fig. 10.

As time went on, the dimensions of the Doric dress became more ample, or at least were represented so in art; both pouch and overfold become deeper and the folds of the garment generally grow fuller; the distance of the shoulder pins from the points which hang immediately under the arms becomes proportionately larger, no longer being an exact sixth of the whole width of the dress. The most perfect examples in art of the Doric dress in its full development are to be found in the maidens of the Parthenon frieze and the Caryatids of the Erechtheum. Here the pouch is emphasized, and its graceful curve dipping over the hips, though idealized, is at the same time perfectly naturalistic, as can be shown at once by practical experiment.

The Munich copy of Cephisodotus’s Eirene holding the infant Plutus presents a very good example of the closed Doric dress as it was worn in the fourth century; it will be seen that the folds are more ample, and the overfold and pouch fall to a distance considerably below the waist, so that the garment must be larger than that originally worn, if we are to accept early monuments as faithful representations of the style of dress actually worn.

The simpler form of the Doric dress, namely, that which is unsewn and left open down the side, is not found represented in art before the fifth century; it becomes fairly common on red-figured vases, where it is very frequently depicted ungirt.[82] Sometimes it is the only garment worn; in other cases it is worn over an under-dress. A sculptured example is to be found in an Artemis in Dresden,[83] for the original of which Furtwängler claims Praxitelean authorship. This was probably the dress worn by Laconian girls, to whom the term φαινομηρίς, “showing the thigh,” was applied by some ancient writers.[84]

[82] Fig. 12.

[83] Furtwängler, _Masterpieces_, p. 324.

[84] Pollux, II., 187.

A variety of this dress appears in art about the middle of the fifth century; it is sometimes known as the “peplos of Athena,” because Pheidias chose it as the style in which to drape his statue of the Athena Parthenos. The word “peplos” is usually reserved for the Doric dress whether open or closed, the word “chiton” for the Ionic, though the latter is frequently applied to the Doric, and is invariably used of the under-dress, when the two styles became confused. The “peplos of Athena” is similar to the ordinary open Doric dress, except that the overfold is longer and reaches to the thighs and the girdle is worn over it.[85] The material is pulled up very slightly over the girdle, but not sufficiently to hide it in front, the purpose of the slight pouch being merely to prevent the dress from dragging under the arms, and from trailing on the ground at the sides. The girdle is at first worn round the waist, but later it is put on higher, until, on the Athena from the frieze of the altar at Pergamon, it is worn immediately under the breasts. The clearest representation in art is to be found in the Varvakeion copy of the Athena Parthenos, and it occurs also in many representations of Athena which were obviously influenced by Pheidias. In the Dresden “Lemnia,”[86] the girdle is passed not only over the overfold, but also round the ægis; in the “torso Medici”[87] this overgirt peplos is worn over an under-dress of the Ionic type. The date of the introduction of this style of wearing the Doric dress is a point of some uncertainty. The question arises as to whether it was invented by Pheidias or was already commonly worn and adopted by him as being most appropriate for his great representation of the maiden goddess. Certainly, in sculpture we have no example of it before the time of Pheidias, unless we assign an earlier date to the little relief of the “mourning Athena,” which seems improbable; the Iris of the Parthenon frieze wears it; and among slightly later works the Victory of Pæonius at Olympia is a good example, though here the dress is slightly varied by being fastened only on one shoulder. Further evidence is afforded by the vases, but even these do not give any certain proof; the dress does not appear before the middle of the fifth century, but after that date it becomes fairly frequent, and is given not only to Athena but to other divine or mythological personages, such as Persephone,[88] Nike, Cassandra, and also to hand-maids attending on ladies in more elaborate costume. In some of these vases the work is obviously post-Pheidian, but many of them were probably made before the completion of the Athena Parthenos, and the fact that the overgirt dress is so frequently represented on slaves renders it likely that it was a style of dress actually worn, and not merely the invention of the great sculptor’s imagination; it was probably selected by him for the Parthenos because of its extreme simplicity and the possibilities of statuesque dignity which it contained.

[85] Fig. 13.

[86] Furtwängler, pl. ii.

[87] _Ibid._, fig. 6.

[88] B.M., E. 183.

It has been mentioned incidentally that the Doric peplos is sometimes found worn over another garment, but it is ordinarily the only garment worn indoors, and for outdoor wear another is sometimes put on over it. The overfold of the peplos could itself be used as a veil by drawing the back part up over the head; it is so used by a woman on a red-figured vase in the British Museum.[89]

[89] E. 307.

The outer garment worn by women in classical times corresponds to the Homeric κρήδεμνον and is called the ἱματίον, although this term is applied by Herodotus to the Doric peplos. By derivation the word simply means “a piece of clothing,” being connected with εἷμα and ἕννυμι. It consisted of a large oblong piece of material about 7 or 8 feet in length, and in breadth about equal to the wearer’s height. Considerable variety was possible in the arrangement of it. It could be worn both as head covering and cloak, by placing the middle of the upper edge over the head and letting the two sides fall down over the shoulders like a shawl; it is often so depicted on the vases both black- and red-figured; the figure of Eleusis wears it so on the Triptolemus vase by Hieron in the British Museum.[90] It was frequently worn over the shoulders in this fashion without covering the head, and could easily be pushed back or drawn up over the head at will. A second very common way of arranging the himation was to draw one end over the left shoulder from the back towards the front, so that it hung down in a point in front, then to pass the mass of material across the back and under the right arm and throw the other end over the left shoulder again, so that the second point hung down towards the back: this was a very common style both for men and women.[91] If additional warmth were required, it could easily be obtained by drawing the cloak up over the right shoulder, so as not to leave the right arm and chest exposed. A combination of these two styles is seen in some of the Tanagra statuettes, where the himation is put on over the head. Both shoulders are covered; but instead of the two ends being allowed to hang down symmetrically one on each side of the front, one is taken up and thrown over the other shoulder, so that the whole figure is covered in the ample folds of the cloak.[92]

[90] Fig. 14, the figure to the right in the upper band.

[91] See Fig. 20.

[92] Fig. 15.

A rather exceptional variant of the second style of wearing the himation is to be seen on a vase of Euxitheos in the British Museum,[93] where Briseis is represented wearing it with one end placed on the left shoulder, the mass of the cloak being drawn across the back; the other end is passed under the right arm, but instead of being thrown over the left shoulder again, is turned back over the right shoulder, and so leaves the front of the figure exposed.

[93] E. 258, fig. 16.

A third fashion is somewhat similar to the second, except that it leaves the front of the figure exposed to the waist or a little below. Instead of being drawn across the chest and thrown over the left shoulder, the second end is simply thrown over the forearm and held in place by the bend of the elbow.[94] A cloak worn in this style would be very likely to slip, so another fashion was adopted, which produced approximately the same effect, but which prevented the possibility of slipping. Instead of throwing the end over the left arm, the wearer secured it at the waist under the arm either by a brooch or more probably by simply tucking it under the girdle. To prevent the garment from hanging down too low and dragging on the ground, a large corner was usually doubled over before it was secured at the waist. The part thus fastened was sometimes passed over the end which hung down from the left shoulder, sometimes under it. The himation is so worn by Mausolus and Artemisia in their portrait statues from the Mausoleum. A very good example is the Athena of Velletri published by Furtwängler.[95]

[94] Fig. 17.

[95] _Masterpieces_, p. 142, fig. 18.

On many of the monuments of the Pheidian period and the time immediately preceding it, we find that the Doric peplos is worn alone or with a small cloak or shawl laid on the shoulders and hanging down the back, as in the case of the maidens carrying sacrificial vessels on the Parthenon frieze. This small shawl was perhaps worn more for ornament than for the sake of warmth, and an ample peplos of warm woollen material might be found sufficient protection.

It may be objected that in the majority of the examples chosen as illustrations the himation is worn not over the Doric peplos, but over the Ionic chiton, and it has indeed been sometimes regarded as an element of the Ionic dress rather than of the Doric.

It does, however, appear over the Doric peplos, _e.g._, in Fig. 18 and on many black-figured Attic vases,[96] and it is not difficult to trace its development from the Homeric κρήδεμνον worn symmetrically over the head and shoulders. It is an easy step in advance to throw one end of the cloak over the opposite shoulder, push it back off the head, and bring one arm out free instead of letting it remain covered. Fig. 15 might serve to illustrate an intermediate stage between those represented in Figs. 14 and 17.

[96] B.M., B. 331.

An attempt will be made later to show that the Ionic himation was fastened with brooches, and had a different development. The wearing of the unpinned himation over the Ionic chiton is an instance of the blending of Doric and Ionic dress.

The Doric dress of men was similar to that of women, both with regard to under-dress and cloak. The name χιτών is used for the under-dress, as it was in Homer, the word peplos being restricted to women’s garments. The outer garment of men as well as of women is called the himation.

The Doric men’s chiton is fastened by brooches on the shoulders and girt in at the waist. It was a short garment reaching midway down the thighs, or to a distance just above the knees, had no overfold, and was narrower than the women’s peplos. No kolpos was worn, there being no superfluous length to dispose of. The side was sewn up so that the garment before being pinned was cylindrical in shape. This somewhat scanty garment was the only one worn by slaves, and men engaged in active pursuits and workmen frequently wore it fastened only on one shoulder, leaving the other bare and the arm quite free. When worn in this way it was called the χιτὼν ἔξωμις or ἑτερομάσχαλος; the god Hephaistos is usually represented wearing it in this way in his capacity as craftsman. We learn from Pollux, vii., 47, that the ἔξωμις was a περιβλῆμα as well as an ἔνδυμα, from which we may gather that a small cloak was sometimes worn fastened on one shoulder and girt round the waist, but left unsewn down the side. Fig. 19 represents the χιτὼν ἔξωμις.

Representations of Amazons and of Artemis the huntress are frequent, wearing the χιτὼν ἔξωμις; but in these cases it is usually a longer garment than that worn by men, and its superfluous length is drawn up over the girdle, forming a pouch; and then a second girdle is worn over this to prevent it from flapping in the wind. The Amazons of the Mausoleum frieze wear the short Doric dress without overfold and unsewn down the side; this, however, is perhaps merely a device on the part of the sculptor to afford an opportunity of displaying the physical forms, as well as the drapery. Various references in literature show that the Spartan women wore more scanty clothing than the Athenians; they are described as μονοχίτων, “wearing a single garment,” and we learn from Pausanias that the girls who competed in the running races at Olympia wore the short χιτὼν ἔξωμις. As monumental testimony to the truth of this statement, we have the statue of a girl runner in the Vatican Museum.

The τρίβων worn by Spartans and people of austere or Laconizing tendencies, like Socrates and the Cynic philosophers, was probably a scanty Doric chiton made in some coarse homespun material; men of leisure and elderly men preferred to wear a longer chiton with sleeves either sewn or fastened with brooches; this was the case even after the reaction against anything savouring of Orientalism which followed the Persian wars. If we are to consider the monuments, both sculpture and vases, as giving a realistic picture of Greek life, we shall see that men frequently wore only the himation; but it is difficult to believe that this was so, except, perhaps, in the height of summer.

The methods of draping the himation were the same for men as for women, except that after the period of the early black-figured vases we do not find men represented wearing it laid on both shoulders like a shawl; nor do they ever wear it drawn up over the head, although in the sunshine of a southern summer some such protection against the heat might be considered indispensable. The favourite style for men was that of laying the one end on the left shoulder and drawing the rest round the body from the back and throwing the other end either across the left forearm or over the shoulder.[97] This was called wearing the himation ἐπὶ δεξιὰ, presumably because it was drawn closely round the right side of the body. It was considered a mark of good breeding to throw it over the shoulder and let it hang down in such a way as to cover the left arm completely.[98] To wear it ἐπ᾽ ἀριστέρα, “over the left side,” was a mark of boorishness, as we gather from Aristophanes _Birds_,[99] where Poseidon taunts the barbarian Triballus for wearing it so.

[97] Figs. 20 and 21.

[98] Fig. 20.

[99] i., 1567.

Another variety of over-garment worn by men is the χλάμυς, a cloak used for riding or travelling. It is considered to be of Macedonian origin,[100] another form of it being the ζειρά, a rough Thracian riding-cloak sometimes depicted on Greek vases.[101] It was probably brought into Greece from the north by the Dorian invaders when they came down, and in its origin may have been no different from the Homeric χλαῖνα. In classical times it was always worn over the short chiton by travellers and riders, and was the characteristic dress of Ephebi.[102] The Parthenon frieze affords abundant illustration of the way in which it was worn. Like the himation, it consisted of a rectangular piece of material, but was of a slightly different shape, being rather more oblong; in fact, when doubled it would form almost a perfect square. Its normal dimensions would be about 6 to 7 feet long by 3½ feet wide. In putting it on, the wearer would double it round him and stand inside it, so that the middle line came along the back of the left arm and shoulder; he would then fasten the two sides together with a brooch on the right shoulder, close to the neck, at the points _e_ and _f_ in the accompanying diagram; the corners _d_ and _b_ would hang down in front and behind respectively at a distance of about 1 foot from the ground, and the corners _a_ and _c_ would hang down together along the right side; the left arm which held the reins in riding would thus be covered, while the right would be free to hold spear or whip. The left could easily be freed also by swinging the cloak round so that the brooch came under the chin instead of on the shoulder; the two corners _a_ and _c_ could then be thrown back over the arms. The χλάμυς is frequently represented in art worn in this way, especially in cases where the wearer is occupied in vigorous action.

[100] Pauly-Wissowa, _Real Encyclopädie_.

[101] Fig. 22.

[102] Fig. 23.

IV

IONIC

We must now turn to a consideration of the Ionic dress, which Herodotus tells us was adopted by the Athenian women in the sixth century B.C. According to his account, it was Carian in its origin; our knowledge of the Carians is somewhat vague and indefinite. We learn from Thucydides[103] that they originally inhabited the Cyclades, but were driven out by Minos of Crete; and a little later on[104] he speaks of them, together with the Phœnicians, as islanders who practised piracy. Herodotus[105] gives a slightly different account, saying that the Carian inhabitants of the islands were subjected by Minos and used by him to man his ships, and were not driven out until later by the Dorian and Ionian immigrants. He also mentions the belief of the Carians themselves that they were autochthonous in Caria, and attributes to them various inventions afterwards adopted by the Greeks. According to Thucydides, their method of burying the dead seems to have differed from that of the Greeks; and from the various accounts of the two historians, we may gather that their race was different, although possibly they were soon hellenized by their Ionian neighbours. If, as Herodotus tells us, the Greeks adopted some Carian inventions, it is not unlikely that they may also have adopted the Carian dress, or at least may have modified their own by assuming some Carian elements.[106]

[103] i., 4.

[104] i., 8.

[105] i., 171.

[106] According to Ridgeway, _Early Age of Greece_, the Carians,
like the Leleges, were a Pelasgian people.

In his account of the assumption of the Ionic dress by the Athenians, Herodotus speaks only of the women; but we know that it was worn by men also, partly from the evidence of the monuments and partly from Thucydides, who tells us[107] that not long previously to the time at which he is writing the elder men of the wealthy classes gave up wearing linen chitons and fastening their hair with the τέττιξ, “cicala,” a luxurious mode of dress common to them and their kinsfolk the Ionians. The Ionic dress was probably discarded by the Athenians shortly after the outbreak of the Persian war, when a reaction set in against Orientalism and a tendency towards greater simplicity began to manifest itself; Thucydides is writing more than a generation after the Persian wars, but his expression, οὐ πολὺς χρόνος, “no great length of time,” is sufficiently vague, and he probably recollected the change which took place in his youthful days; moreover, he speaks only of the elder men of the wealthy classes, who would naturally be of conservative tendencies and the last to adopt any change in their mode of life or dress. The exact period at which the Athenians adopted the Ionic dress is unknown; the Æginetan expedition of 568 B.C., of which Herodotus makes use in dating the change, is too late, for we know that already in Solon’s days luxury in dress had reached such a pitch as to necessitate the passing of a sumptuary law to regulate it, and such luxury could hardly have been reached so long as the simple Doric dress was retained. It may not be unreasonable to assume, then, that constant intercourse with the Ionians in the islands on the coast of Asia Minor led the Athenians to adopt their dress at some time towards the end of the seventh century.

[107] i., 6.

The Ionic chiton differed from the Doric in length, material, and method of fastening. We read in Homer already of the Ἰάωνες ἑλκεχίτωνες, “long-robed Ionians,” and Pollux tells us of the λινοῦς χιτών ὅν Ἀθηναίοι ἐφόρουν ποδήρη, καὶ αὖθις Ἴωνες,[108] “the linen tunic which the Athenians wore reaching to the feet, and the Ionians too.” This χιτών ποδήρης is a long chiton reaching to the feet; that its material was linen is testified by Thucydides and Pollux, as well as other writers.[109] The story of Herodotus shows that its fastening was different from that of the Doric, since the Athenian women were forced to adopt it, ἱνα δὴ περόνῃσι μὴ χρεώνται, “so as not to need brooches.” This expression is usually taken to mean that the characteristic difference between the Doric and Ionic chitons is, that the Doric is fastened by means of pins or brooches, the Ionic is always sewn on the shoulders. That this is not invariably the case is proved by many examples both in sculpture and vase-painting, where a chiton is represented, which, from its length and fulness and the fine texture of its material, is clearly Ionic, but which is not sewn on the shoulders, but fastened together down the upper arm by a series of small round brooches; this fastening forms a kind of loose sleeve which reaches frequently to the elbow. It is the formation of this sleeve, whether sewn or pinned, which, apart from size or material, distinguishes the Ionic from the Doric chiton, which is sleeveless. The Ionic chiton in its simplest form is cylindrical in shape, and varies considerably in length, but is always longer than the height of the wearer; the superfluous length is drawn up through the girdle to form a kolpos, which varies in depth according to the length of the chiton. The Mænad vase of Hieron gives a good idea of the size to which this kolpos sometimes attained.[110] Being made of a fine linen material, the Ionic chiton is naturally fuller than the coarser woollen Doric garment, and its folds are consequently more numerous and more delicate; it is the greater width of the garment which necessitates the formation of the sleeve, as a single fastening from the shoulder would leave too great a mass of material hanging down under the arms. The sleeve is made by joining the two top edges of the garment together and gathering them up so as to form regular folds; an opening is left in the middle for the neck and one at each end for the arms. The arm-holes were probably not formed, as some believe, by lateral openings in the side-seams, since this method produces a clumsy effect in practice; and moreover, in many vase-paintings[111] the ornamental border which runs along the neck and upper arm passes also round the arms without being continued down the side, which shows that it was embroidered or woven along the top edge of the chiton before the sleeves were made.

[108] _Poll._, vii., 49.

[109] Studniczka has pointed out that the word χιτών is of
Semitic origin, and connected with a root signifying “linen,”
_Beiträge_, p. 17 f.

[110] Cp. Fig. 14, the second figure to the right in the lower
band.

[111] _E.g._, B.M., E. 73; cp. Fig. 25, the two male figures.

A diagram will best show how the sleeves were formed, and the position of the openings for neck and arms: _ab_ represents the upper edge of the chiton, along which a border is frequently woven or embroidered; _ef_ represents the space for the neck, through which the head is thrust; _ad_ and _bc_ represent the arm-holes, which hang down parallel to the wearer’s sides when the arms are held down in a normal position; the side-seams _ag_ and _bh_ are sewn along their whole length; the distances _de_ _fc_ are joined and gathered to form the full sleeve. The fulness is frequently held close to the figure by the addition of cross-bands, either crossing both in front and behind and attached to the girdle at the sides, or crossing only at the back and passing round the front of the shoulders. A very excellent sculptured representation of this, the simplest form of the Ionic chiton, is to be found in the famous Delphi charioteer, where the gathering of the sleeves is very clearly marked.[112] In cases where the sleeve is not sewn, the spaces _de_ and _fc_ are joined by a series of brooches, varying in number from four to six on each side. The fulness is produced by taking up a little group of folds at each fastening and leaving the spaces between quite plain; the two edges are usually parted in these spaces, so as to show the arm through. These groups of folds are perhaps more effective than the continuous row of gathers which we get with the sewn sleeve. The Euxitheos vase reproduced above[113] will furnish an illustration of the chiton with pinned sleeves. A short chiton, with sleeves pinned in several places, was frequently worn by men, as is proved by many vase-paintings. We sometimes find women represented wearing a full chiton without overfold, fastened only once on each shoulder, like the Doric dress. This is one of the many modifications which the Ionic dress underwent when introduced into the mainland of Greece. We frequently find on vases figures in rapid motion wearing the long Ionic chiton with many folds, represented by fine close lines, in which the lower edge of the chiton in front is drawn up to an angle on one or often more places. It was supposed by Böhlau[114] that this was meant to indicate that the garment had been cut at the bottom in a series of points. The object of this cutting is difficult to see, and on examination it will be found that wherever the lower edge of the chiton is so drawn up, immediately above it the kolpos hangs down deeper over the girdle; the figures are usually in rapid motion, and the lower edge of the back of the garment, which shows behind the feet, is represented by a continuous curve, without being drawn up anywhere.[115] It is obvious, then, that the artist intended to indicate that the wearer had drawn the dress up through the girdle, so as not to impede progress. Anyone who has ever moved about freely wearing a chiton of this kind, will know that unless the girdle is uncomfortably tight the dress has a habit of slipping down, so that it is necessary to pull it up sometimes, so as to prevent treading on it in front.

[112] Fig. 27.

[113] Fig. 16.

[114] _Quæstiones vestiariæ._

[115] Fig. 28.

A feature of the Ionic chiton not very easy to understand is the overfold, which occurs very frequently, especially in vase-paintings of the severe red-figured class; it is not a normal feature of the Ionic chiton, and may very possibly have been added by the Athenian women when they adopted the dress, since they had always been accustomed to wearing it with the Doric peplos. The view that Herodotus (v., 87) is wrong, and that the Athenian women never wore the Doric dress at all, is hardly tenable in the face of such evidence as the François vase and others like it, which are certainly of Attic workmanship.

The Ionic chiton with overfold is really, then, an instance of the blending of the two types of dress, which later became so complete that it is frequently difficult to decide whether a particular garment should more correctly be called Doric or Ionic.

In some instances the overfold of the Ionic chiton is formed in exactly the same way as that of the Doric dress, only it is frequently shorter: it is turned over before the garment is put on, then back and front are fastened together along the arm, either by sewing or by brooches. In this latter case the only distinction from the Doric dress, in addition to those of size and material, is that instead of being pinned only once on each shoulder, and so being sleeveless, it is pinned along from shoulder to elbow, so as to form sleeves. An example of this is to be seen in a figure of Aphrodite from a vase-painting in Paris reproduced by Miss Harrison.[116] This style of dress, with the sleeves sewn instead of pinned, is found on the first of the so-called Fates of the Parthenon pediment, and on one of the Nereids from the Nereid monument, on a torso at Epidaurus, and on many vase-paintings. Although not always represented in art, shoulder-cords or cross-bands were probably actually worn with this dress, as a general rule, since without some such contrivance it would slip inconveniently.

[116] _Prolegomena to Greek Religion_, p. 292.

A type of dress very commonly found on vases is that which has full sleeves to the elbow and an overfold covering the chest and back, and passing under the arms without covering the sleeves, as was the case in the chiton described above. The Mænads on the famous Hieron vase are represented wearing this kind of dress, and numerous examples could be quoted from other vase-paintings.[117] Some such effect might be produced with the ordinary cylindrical-shaped chiton with overfold, if shoulder-bands were worn such as those worn by the Delphi Charioteer and by one of the so-called Fates of the east pediment of the Parthenon; but in actual practice such an arrangement would produce a somewhat clumsy mass of folds under the arm, and could not be managed at all unless the overfold were considerably deeper than that usually represented on the vases. We must look, therefore, for some other explanation; and it will not be far to seek, if we allow the Ionian women and their Athenian imitators a freer use of scissors and needle than their Doric sisters were accustomed to make. A close examination of the monuments will show that although the sleeve of the Ionic chiton was frequently formed in the manner described above, yet in a very large number of cases, in almost all of which the overfold is present, the sleeve is more like our modern notion of a sleeve—that is to say, it fits closer to the arm, as though shaped to some extent, while the rest of the garment fits closer to the figure. The vase-painter Brygos is fond of depicting women in this kind of dress: the accompanying illustration[118] is taken from his representation of Hera and Iris pursued by Silenoi. This dress is obviously not composed simply of a cylindrical piece of material folded over at the top and fastened on the arms, for the rather deep overfold leaves the sleeves quite free, and covers only the body of the wearer. This effect could be produced in two ways, in both of which, however, the sleeve-pieces must be sewn in separately. In the first method, we may suppose that two rectangular pieces of material are taken, equal in size and shape, represented in the diagram as _abcd_.

[117] Cp. Fig. 29.

[118] Fig. 29.

These are sewn together along the sides up to the points _e_ and _f_ at a distance of about 5 feet from the lower edge; when the dress is worn, these points will come immediately under the arms. We may next suppose that two rectangular pieces of material measuring about 18 by 20 inches are taken for the sleeves; these are folded double, so that the longer sides lie upon each other, and then sewn on to the body of the chiton at the points _f_, _h_, _g_, and _e_, so that the fold lies in the position indicated by the lines _fl_ and _el′_ in the diagram; the openings _kl_ and _k′l′_ will form the arm-holes; that part of the chiton _abgh_ which still extends above the sleeve-pieces is then folded over, so that it hangs down in the position _gha′b′_. The line _kk′_ now represents the upper edges of the garment, which are fastened together (leaving the space _mn_ for the neck) either by sewing and gathering or by groups of folds held in place by a series of brooches. The front and back part of the overfold would then hang down separately, but they could be joined together under the arms, provided that the space round the shoulder were left free for the arm to pass through into the sleeve.

The second method of making this dress is nothing but a modification of the first. It consists of taking two smaller rectangles in the first place, _ghcd_, to form the body of the chiton; two pieces _abgh_ are sewn on back and front, after the sleeve-pieces, to form a sort of false overfold, which will have exactly the same effect as if it were in one piece with the rest of the chiton.

It is possible to conceive of the sleeve-pieces being originally in one piece with the rest of the chiton, which would then be a dress composed of two cross-shaped pieces of material sewn together along the edges _dfl_ and _cel′_; it is more reasonable to suppose, however, that the sleeve-pieces were sewn on separately. That such sleeve-pieces were attached to the ordinary Ionic chiton without overfold seems likely from many vase-paintings. The addition of sleeves was certainly not unfamiliar to the Greeks, for we find slaves wearing a narrow, ungirt chiton, with tight sleeves reaching to the wrists. A familiar example of this is to be found in Hegeso’s attendant on the well-known grave relief in Athens. In an inscription, dating from the middle of the fourth century,[119] and recording a large number of garments dedicated to Artemis Brauronia, the expression χειριδωτός occurs, which can only mean “sleeved.” In the same inscription special mention is frequently made of the fact that the chiton, or χιτωνίσκος, is ἐμπλαισίῳ, “oblong,” from which we may infer that it was not always so. Now, the ordinary simple Ionic chiton would be oblong in shape when not worn, so that we may take the others, which are not described as oblong, to be chitons with separate sleeve-pieces attached.

[119] _C. I. A._, ii., 754.

The false overfold was sometimes attached also to the simple cylindrical Ionic chiton. In these cases it covered the chest only, leaving the arms covered only by the sleeves; it was probably simply sewn on at the neck in front only. Kalkmann has collected and stated the evidence for this false overfold to the chiton in an article in the _Jahrbuch_, vol. xi., where he shows that it was sometimes applied to the over-garment also. Very clear examples of it are to be seen in some of the archaic female statues on the Acropolis at Athens, especially in those cases where the himation is worn like a shawl over both shoulders.[120]

[120] Nos. 687 and 688.

That the long Ionic chiton with sleeves was worn by men as well as women, is abundantly evident from the monuments. On the vases, Zeus and Dionysus and other gods are almost invariably represented wearing it; and in sculpture also, kings, priests, and others are represented so dressed. Together with the himation, it probably constituted a sort of state dress for priests and other officials, even after it had been discarded for daily use, as being too luxurious.

A short chiton, with or without sleeves, and made of some fine material, is to be found on the vases worn by men engaged in active pursuits. It sometimes has an overfold; although, with the long chiton, this feature is usually confined to women. A good example of the men’s short chiton with overfold is to be seen on the vase of Brygos representing the exploits of Theseus.

The cross-bands and shoulder-cords already mentioned are, strictly speaking, an element of the Ionic chiton, though they are sometimes represented in art over the Doric peplos. Their object is to hold the ample folds of the full chiton close to the figure, and to prevent the sleeves from slipping or flapping about with every movement of the wearer. The cross-bands are usually attached to the girdle and can be of one piece with it; their place is sometimes taken by a second girdle, worn rather high over the kolpos, as is the case with the Artemis of Gabii reproduced below (Fig. 37).

This high girdle was known as the ταινία, or ἀποδέσμος, whereas the low girdle was called περιζῶμα. A broad band, known as the στρόφιον, was sometimes worn by women under the breasts, to serve the purpose of modern corsets.[121]

[121] B.M., Vase, E. 230.

A word or two must be said about the diminutives of χιτών—namely, χιτώνιον, χιτωνάριον, and χιτωνίσκος. We should naturally expect the words to mean a small or short chiton, but this does not seem always to be the case. The χιτώνιον and χιτωνάριον are frequently described as διαφανές, “transparent,”[122] and Eustathius (iii., 1166) explains the words as referring to a fine and luxurious dress worn by women. In the inscription to Artemis Brauronia[123] we read more than once of a χιτώνιον ἀμοργῖνον—that is, a garment made of linen from Amorgos, which we know was very fine and expensive; we may infer, then, that the diminutives χιτώνιον and χιτωνάριον refer to fineness of material rather than to shortness of cut. The case of the χιτωνίσκος is somewhat different; it is not referred to as being transparent, and is usually described in the inscription cited above as being very ornate. Women are frequently represented on vases[124] wearing over the long Ionic chiton a short and sometimes very ornate garment, which cannot be described as a himation. Possibly this short over-chiton is the garment indicated by the name χιτωνίσκος.[125] A similar garment was worn by musicians over the long ungirt chiton (ὀρθοστάδιος).[126] Another instance of a special dress worn for a special purpose is the costume worn by actors; it had long sleeves, and was probably padded to complete the impression of increased size produced by the high masks and buskins.

[122] _Ar. Lys._, 48; _Menander Meineke. frag. incert._, 141.

[123] _C. I. A._, ii., 754.

[124] _Jahrbuch_, i., pl. 102_a_; Gerhard, _Auserlesene
Vasenbilder_, 79, 80; Dumont and Chaplain, pl. 8; _Journal of
Hellenic Studies_, 1890, pl. 12.

[125] Cp. Amelung in Pauly-Wissowa’s _Real Encyclopädie_, _s.v._
“Chiton,” p. 2322.

[126] B.M., E. 270.

The himation worn over the Ionic chiton presents considerable variety of shape and arrangement. In very many cases we find that the Doric himation is worn, whether over both shoulders or only over one. In the Harpy monument, where we might have looked for Ionic dress in its purest form, we find the Doric himation worn over the fine linen-sleeved chiton, and on very many of the red-figured vases of the severe style this is the case. There is one set of monuments, however, which may be considered as Ionic in origin, or at least of Ionizing tendencies, where a far less simple garment takes the place of the Doric himation. This set includes the archaic female statues and flying victories of the Acropolis Museum at Athens, and a large number of small painted terra-cotta statuettes in the same museum, the sculptures of the Treasury of the Cnidians at Delphi, and a number of other statues and reliefs from Athens, Eleusis, Delos, and elsewhere. The dress presents a somewhat complicated appearance at first sight, and has given rise to a considerable amount of discussion. The following section is based upon a careful study of the original monuments and of the literature already written on the subject.

V

THE MAIDENS OF THE ACROPOLIS

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE IONIC HIMATION

The problem of the drapery of the archaic female figures in the Acropolis Museum has been considered by various archæologists, but has not yet been satisfactorily solved in all its details by any of them. The questions to be decided are: Firstly, are we to suppose that the draperies of the statues give us a faithful and realistic reproduction of a costume actually in fashion among the Athenian ladies at the close of the sixth century, or must we take into account the fact that the work is still archaic and the artists have not yet sufficiently mastered their material to be able to reproduce exactly what they saw before them? Secondly, what are the separate garments which constitute the elaborately complicated whole? And thirdly, how are these garments arranged so as to produce the effect seen in the statues?