A Guide to the Exhibition Illustrating Greek and Roman Life

by British Museum. Department of Greek and Roman Antiquities

Fig. 139.—Diagram illustrating the Shape of the Toga.

The shape of the toga was roughly semicircular, the straight edge being about six yards long and the width in the middle about two yards, as in the diagram (fig. 139). The simplest mode of putting it on was to place one end on the left shoulder, with the straight edge nearest the centre of the body and the point almost touching the ground. The left hand would be just covered by the curved edge. The rest was then passed behind the back, over or under the right arm, and over the left shoulder again, so that the point hung almost to the ground behind. This was also a method of wearing the Greek himation, and it is difficult to distinguish the two garments when so arranged; but a close examination will discover the sharp point and the curved edge in the case of the toga. At the end of the Republic and under the Empire, to which period most of the monuments belong, more elaborate fashions were developed, as in fig. 140, from a statuette in the Bronze Room.

We turn to the accessories of the dress and the toilet in Table Case F.

Fig. 140.—Bronze Statuette of a Roman wearing Tunic and Toga. 1:2.

Greek and Roman Footwear.—The general distinction was that the Greeks wore both sandals, and also boots or shoes. The Romans wore the boot, the calceus, but disapproved of the sandal. Part of Cicero's charge against Verres was that he wore sandals, as well as other Greek dress.

The objects shown in Case F are either actual shoes and sandals or representations of them from works of art, such as fragments of statues; or applications of the device of a foot to the decoration of such things as vases, lamps, tripod-feet, etc.

Fig. 142.—Bronze Statuette of a Negro Slave cleaning a Boot (No. 355). 1:2.

The extant specimens include a Roman leather shoe (No. 344) of cut leather work, found in London; slippers from Antinoe in Egypt (No. 345), with coloured and cut leather work; a pair of cork soles from Egypt (No. 346), the edges of which were formerly gilt. A well-preserved pair of soles is exhibited (No. 347). They are made of wood, divided at the instep, and plated with bronze, held in place by iron nails. These appear to be of Etruscan origin, as several examples have been found at Vulci (Mus. Etr. Vat., I., pl. 57, fig. 7). The sandal in its simplest form, as in the vase B 587 (No. 348), consists of a sole attached to the foot by thongs passing between the great and second toes, and round the heel. The arrangement of the thongs gradually became more elaborate, with the result that the uncomfortable separation of the toes could be avoided. In the case of the foot of the Hermes of Olympia (No. 349; fig. 141) there is no toe-thong, but only a reminiscence of the ornament from which it formerly started. An undershoe or sock now became possible, and the shoe and laced sandal in combination (cf. the statue of Mausolos, about 350 B.C.) became highly elaborate. See also the cast of a relief in the Third Graeco-Roman Room (No. 350) and the feet in marble and bronze. In effect, the result was not greatly different from the Roman military boot (caliga) bound up the leg with thongs.