User:Dinnerghost/Clothing in ancient Greece

Ancient Greek clothing refers to clothing starting from the Aegean bronze age (3000 BCE) to the Hellenistic period (31 BCE). Clothing in ancient Greece included a wide variety of styles but primarily consisted of the chiton, peplos, himation, and the chlamys. The people of ancient Greece had many factors (political, economic, social, and cultural) that determined what they wore and when they wore it. Customarily, clothing was homemade and cut to various lengths of rectangular linen or wool fabric with minimal cutting or sewing, and secured with ornamental clasps or pins, and a belt, or girdle (: zōnē). Pieces were generally interchangeable between men and women. However, women usually wore their robes to their ankles while men generally wore theirs to their knees depending on the occasion and circumstance. Additionally, clothing often served many purposes than just being used as clothes such as bedding or a shroud.

Textiles
Small fragments of textiles have been found from this period at archeological sites across Greece. These found textiles long with literary descriptions, artistic depictions, modern ethnography, and experimental archaeology have led to a greater understanding of ancient Greek textiles. Clothes in Ancient Greece were mainly homemade or locally made. It is thought that textile making was primarily women's responsibility within the household. Linen was the most common fabric due to the hot climate which lasted most of the year. On the occasion of colder weather, ancient Greeks wore outer garments made with wool. Silk was also used for the production of clothing though for ceremonial purposes by the wealthy. In Aristotle's The History of Animals, Aristotle talks about the collection of caterpillar cocoons to be used to create silk.

Production Process
In the production of textiles, upright warp-weighted loom were used to weave clothing in Ancient Greece. These looms had vertical threads or warps that were held down by loom weights. The use of looms can be seen in Homer's Odyssey when Hermes comes across Calypso weaving on a loom. Another example of the loom in Homer's Odyssey can be seen when Odysseus comes across Circe for the first time. The use of looms can also be seen being depicted on ancient Greek pottery.

Color and Decoration
Clothing in ancient Greece has been found to be quite colorful with a number of hues and colors. Colors found to be used include black, red, yellow blue, green and purple.  Yellow dyed clothing has been found to be associated with a woman's life cycle. The elite typically wore purple as a sign of wealth and money as it was the most expensive dye due to the difficulty in acquiring it. The ancient Greeks also embroidered designs into their clothes as a form of decoration. The designs embroidered included representations of florals patterns and geometric patterns as well intricate scenes from Greek stories. An example of this embroidery can be seen in Homer's Iliad where Helen is described as a purple textile where she embroidered a scene Trojans in battle.

Chiton
The chiton (plural: chitones) was a garment of light linen consisting of sleeves and long hemline. The chiton was commonly worn by both men and women but the time in which each did so depended. Chitons typically fell to the ankles of the wearer, but shorter chitons were sometimes worn during vigorous activities by athletes, warriors, or slaves. A himation, or cloak, could be worn over-top of the chiton.

Peplos
The peplos was a rectangular piece of woolen garment that was pinned at both shoulders leaving the cloth open down one side which fell down around the body. The top third of the cloth was folded over to create an over-fold. '''The use of a girdle or belt was be used to fasten the folds at the waist and could be worn over or under the over-fold. Variations of the peplos were worn by women in many periods such as the archaic, early classical, and classical periods of ancient Greece. '''

Himation
The himation was a simple wool outer garment worn over the peplos or chiton by both men and women. It consisted of heavy rectangular material, passing under the arm, and secured worn over the shoulder. The himation could also be worn over both shoulders. Woman can be seen wearing the himation over their head in depictions of marriages and funerals in art. Man and boys can also be seen depicted in art as wearing solely the himation with no other clothing. A more voluminous himation was worn in cold weather. The himation is referenced as being worn by Socrates in Plato's Republic.

Chlamys
The chlamys was a seamless rectangle of woolen material worn by men for military or hunting purposes. It was worn as a cloak and fastened at the right shoulder with a brooch or button. It is thought that the chlamys could ward against light attacks in war.

The chlamys was typical Greek military attire from the 5th to the 3rd century BC.

The chlamys went on to become popular in the Byzantine Empire by the high class and wealthy.

Undergarments
Women possibly wore a strophic, a breast-band or bra, under their garments and around the mid-portion of their body. The strophic was a wide band of wool or linen wrapped across the breasts and tied between the shoulder blades.

Men and women sometimes wore triangular loincloths, called perizoma or diazoma, as underwear.

Nudity
The ancient Greeks viewed nudity as an essential part of their identity that set them apart from other cultures. Males went nude for athletic events such as the Olympics. Male nudity could also be seen in Symposiums, a social event for elite men. Male nudity could also be seen in rituals such as a boys coming of age ceremony. Public female nudity was generally not accepted in ancient Greece. Though occasionally woman are nude in athletic events and religious rituals. Women who were sex workers are commonly depicted as nude in ancient Greek art. Partial nudity could also be seen through the fabric being expertly draped around the body, and the cloth could be slightly transparent.

Fasteners, Buttons, and Pins
Since clothing being cut or sewn was uncommon, fasteners and buttons were often used to keep garments in place. Small buttons, pins, and brooches were used. Large straight pins, called peronai were worn at the shoulders, facing down, to hold the chiton or peplos in place. Fibulae were also used to pin the chiton, peplos or chlamys together. These Fibulae were an early version of the safety pin. In Sophocles' Oedipus Rex, Oedipus uses pins to stab his eyes out after learning he was the one to kill his father and marry his mother.

Belts, sashes, or girdles were also worn at the waist to hold chitons and peplos.

Footwear
Men and women wore shoes such as sandals, shoes or boots, which were made most commonly out of leather. At home, people typically went barefoot. It was also common for philosophers such as Socrates to be barefoot as well.

Headgear
Women and men wore different types of headgear. Woman could wear veils to preserve her modesty. Men would wear hats for protection against the elements. Both men and women also wore different types of headbands to pull their hair up or for decoration.

Pileus and petasos were common hats for men in ancient Greece. The pilues was a close-fitting cap which could have been made out of a variety of materials such as leather and wool. While the petasos was a broad brimmed hat with an attached cord that hung down around the chin .

Jewelry
Ornamentation in the form of jewelry, elaborate hairstyles, and make-up was common for women.

While jewelry was used to decorates oneself, it was also used as status symbol to show one's wealth. The Greeks wore jewelry such as rings, wreaths, diadems, bracelets, armbands, pins, pendants, necklaces, and earrings. Common designs on jewelry in ancient Greece included plants, animals and figures from Greek mythology. Gold and silver were the most common mediums for jewelry. However, jewelry from this time could also have pearls, gems, and semiprecious stones used as decoration. Jewelry was commonly passed down in families from generation to generation.