PLATE II
Greek costumes. “Queen and two attendants.”
The dress of the Greeks, when at the height of their civilization—and that of the Assyrians, Egyptians, and ancient Romans was not essentially different—was very simple. It often consisted of a simple garment, the tunic, which pleased the eye by the gracefulness of its drapery, and at the same time was comfortable by reason of its looseness.
The chief and indispensable article of female dress was the chiton, or tunic, consisting of one piece of material, sewed together in the form of a sack, open at top and bottom, in height reaching from the neck to the feet of the wearer, and in width equal to that of the extended arms. Within this stands the figure, and first it is girt around under the breasts by a girdle, to keep it from falling; next the upper edges are fastened together on the top of the shoulders by a brooch, and the arms are either left bare, pressing down into folds at each side the masses of material, or these masses may be gathered around each arm, and fastened down the outside with buttons and loops, so as to form sleeves.
To secure greater warmth on the breast and shoulders the chiton was made long enough to be doubled back at the top, and this part reached to the waist. Underneath the chiton was worn a band of cloth, to support the breasts, and, in addition to this, a cord was sometimes crossed round the breasts outside the chiton, to assist either in supporting them or in bringing out their form. Round the loins was sometimes worn either a short petticoat of thick woolen stuff or a sort of bathing drawers, such as acrobats wore. This was all of the essential dress for indoor wear. The chiton was made of a variety of fabrics, though generally of linen.
For outdoor wear was the himation, a garment also worn by men; it was made of woolen stuff and was worn like a plaid.
The chiton and himation, as above described, continued to be the standard dress from 450 B. C. onward.
The hair was most usually worn gathered back from the temples, and fastened in a knot behind by hair-pins of ivory or bone, either plain or mounted with gold.
For the feet, sandals were usually worn, in exceptional cases shoes, and for hunting, high boots. Gloves were never worn by the Greeks, except to protect the hands in working.
From the time of Pericles, the great European distinction between male and female dress consisted in the length of the skirt, old men, priests, and officials being allowed the privilege of wearing long or women’s skirts, and young girls being permitted to wear the short or man’s skirt. Among the Romans, this single garment, worn by both sexes, was called the toga.