The silver-shining φᾶρος which Calypso puts on[61] takes the place of the peplos, and was probably worn in the same way,[62] with the overfold and girdle, over which the superfluous length was drawn, forming the κόλπος, or pouch, which varied in depth according to the wearer’s fancy. That it was sometimes fairly roomy is proved by the fact that the nurse of Eumæus was able to hide three cups ὑπὸ κόλπῳ[63] “under the folds of her dress.”
The material of which the girdle (ζώνη) was made is uncertain. We hear of golden girdles of Calypso and Circe, and of a fringed girdle of Hera with a hundred tassels, but these are exceptional. The ordinary girdle may have been of metal, or cord, or leather; this last material is suggested by the magic κεστὸς ἱμᾶς of Aphrodite, which may have been a girdle; or, since we are told that the goddess took it ἀπὸ στήθησφιν,[64] “from her bosom,” and that Hera received it and ἑῷ ἐγκάτθετο κόλπῳ, “put it on her own bosom,” perhaps it was something of the nature of Athena’s ægis, which also possessed magic power. On a vase in the British Museum[65] a goddess is represented wearing an ægis, and would naturally be interpreted as Athena, were it not that the vase-painter has clearly written her name, “Aphrodite,” by her side. It has been suggested that he has made a slip, and meant to write “Athena”; but in all probability he knew what he was doing, and it was his intention to represent Aphrodite wearing her κεστὸς ἱμᾶς.
The second garment which was essential to the completion of a woman’s dress, at least when she appeared in public, was the κρήδεμνον or καλύπτρη,[66] which served both as cloak and veil. It was probably put on over the shoulders like a shawl, without being folded, in such a way that it could be drawn over the head without difficulty, and across the face, serving as a veil.[67] Sometimes it may have been doubled corner to corner diagonally and laid on the shoulder. That it was worn over the head is clear from Odyssey, v., 232, where Calypso puts on her φᾶρος; κεφαλῇ δ᾽ ἐρύπερθε καλύπτρην, “and over her head a veil.” From the description of Penelope, when she appears among the suitors “holding her shining veil before her cheeks,” we may gather that it was customary for women to veil themselves before men.[68] No woman would think of leaving the house without her κρήδεμνον. Helen, though she quits her house in haste, first veils herself with shining linen,[69] ἀργεννῇσι καλυψαμένη ὀθόνῃσιν, and it is only when they are far from the town and enjoying the quietude of the river bank, that Nausicaa and her attendant maidens throw off their veils for the ballplay.[70]
From the constant use of the epithets λιπαρός and λαμπρός, “shining” or “bright,” we may infer that the κρήδεμνον was usually made of linen, and, in summer at least, it was probably a fine, light garment, possibly even semi-transparent. In no case are any pins or brooches mentioned in connection with it; and from the ease with which it can be slipped off,[71] it is reasonable to infer that it was worn without fastening of any kind, like a shawl or scarf. In the passage where Andromache casts off her head-dress in her anguish at the death of Hector,[72] Studniczka supposes that because the κρήδεμνον is mentioned as falling off last, the other δέσματα must have been worn over it and held it in place; this seems to be putting a too literal and even prosaic interpretation upon the lines. There is no occasion to suppose that the poet enumerated the various parts of the head-dress in the order in which they fell; and if we read in that spirit, we shall frequently find that the Homeric heroes put on their cloaks before their undergarments; for more than once the φᾶρος or χλαῖνα is mentioned before the χιτών.[73]
The various parts which composed this head-dress have given rise to much discussion. The passage runs:
τῆλε δ᾽ ἀπὸ κρατὸς βάλε δέσματα σιγαλόεντα,
ἄμπυκα κεκρύφαλόν τε ἰδὲ πλεκτὴν ἀναδέσμην
κρήδεμνόν θ᾽.
[Iliad, xxii., 468.]
“And far from her head she flung the shining bonds, diadem and kerchief, and meshy net and veil.”