Fig. 7.—(a) Vase—British Museum. (b and c) Vase-paintings by Klitias and Ergotimos, Florence.
[Furtwängler and Reichhold, Griechische Vasenmalerei, I and II.]
[Face page 26.
The place of the χλαῖνα is frequently taken by the φᾶρος, constant epithets of which are καλὸν and μέγα, “fine” and “large,” so that we may conclude that the φᾶρος was an ample and somewhat luxurious garment. The word is used not only for an article of wearing apparel, but also for the shroud of Laertes,[45] and for the sails of a ship,[46] so that Studniczka’s conjecture that it was made of linen is probably right, and the difference of material probably constitutes the chief distinction between the φᾶρος and the χλαῖνα. The φᾶρος is several times described as “white” and “well-washed,” and the epithets ἀργυφεόν, λέπτον, χαρίεν, “silvery,” “fine,” and “graceful,” which are used of the φᾶρος of Calypso, are more applicable to a linen than to a woollen garment. Φᾶρος is the only word used in Homer for the dress of both men and women. When worn by men, the φᾶρος was in all probability draped in the same fashion as the χλαῖνα, but the woman’s φᾶρος would be draped differently, as will be shown later.
The χλαῖνα and the φᾶρος were not worn in battle, since they would encumber the wearer too much; armour was put on over the chiton, or in some cases warriors wore the skin of some wild beast slain in combat; we hear, for example, of Agamemnon wearing a lion’s skin,[47] and of Menelaus and Paris wearing leopards’ skins.[48] A man’s costume was completed by sandals, πέδιλα, which we are told were made of leather;[49] no mention is made of any head-covering worn in the pursuit of peaceful occupations; if any protection were needed, a fold of the mantle might easily be drawn up over the head; in battle, of course, some kind of helmet was worn, which was made usually of bronze, or sometimes of hide,[50] covered with boars’ tusks, such as have been found at Mycenæ.
The women’s dress in Homer consists of two garments, the πέπλος and the κρήδεμνον or καλύπτρη, called also in one case the κάλυμμα;[51] the word ἑανός which is used sometimes as a substantive instead of πέπλος, sometimes as an adjective, simply means “something to be worn.”
The principal garment of the women was the πέπλος. The derivation of the word is uncertain; it is probably connected with some root meaning to cover or wrap; the word is used in the Iliad to signify things other than dress; for the covering of a chariot[52] and for the wrappings of the vessel which held the ashes of Hector;[53] the πέπλος, therefore, like the χλαῖνα and φᾶρος consisted of a square or rectangular piece of material which could be used for various purposes. When worn as a garment, it was held in place by means of brooches or pins (περόναι, ἐνεταί) and a girdle. A passage in the Iliad[54] gives a description of an elaborate toilette made by Hera when she is setting out to beguile Zeus:
ἀμφὶ δ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ἀμβρόσιον ἑανὸν ἕσαθ᾽ ὅν οἱ Ἀθήνη
ἔξυσ᾽ ἀσκήσασα, τίθει δ᾽ ἐνὶ δαίδαλα πολλά·
χρυσείῃς δ᾽ ἐνετῇσι κατὰ στῆθος περονᾶτο,