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.”
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.