[Face page 55.
Fig. 23.—The Chlamys and Petasos.
[Face page 55.
Another variety of over-garment worn by men is the χλάμυς, a cloak used for riding or travelling. It is considered to be of Macedonian origin,[100] another form of it being the ζειρά, a rough Thracian riding-cloak sometimes depicted on Greek vases.[101] It was probably brought into Greece from the north by the Dorian invaders when they came down, and in its origin may have been no different from the Homeric χλαῖνα. In classical times it was always worn over the short chiton by travellers and riders, and was the characteristic dress of Ephebi.[102] The Parthenon frieze affords abundant illustration of the way in which it was worn. Like the himation, it consisted of a rectangular piece of material, but was of a slightly different shape, being rather more oblong; in fact, when doubled it would form almost a perfect square. Its normal dimensions would be about 6 to 7 feet long by 3½ feet wide. In putting it on, the wearer would double it round him and stand inside it, so that the middle line came along the back of the left arm and shoulder; he would then fasten the two sides together with a brooch on the right shoulder, close to the neck, at the points e and f in the accompanying diagram; the corners d and b would hang down in front and behind respectively at a distance of about 1 foot from the ground, and the corners a and c would hang down together along the right side; the left arm which held the reins in riding would thus be covered, while the right would be free to hold spear or whip. The left could easily be freed also by swinging the cloak round so that the brooch came under the chin instead of on the shoulder; the two corners a and c could then be thrown back over the arms. The χλάμυς is frequently represented in art worn in this way, especially in cases where the wearer is occupied in vigorous action.
Fig. 24.
IV
IONIC
We must now turn to a consideration of the Ionic dress, which Herodotus tells us was adopted by the Athenian women in the sixth century B.C. According to his account, it was Carian in its origin; our knowledge of the Carians is somewhat vague and indefinite. We learn from Thucydides[103] that they originally inhabited the Cyclades, but were driven out by Minos of Crete; and a little later on[104] he speaks of them, together with the Phœnicians, as islanders who practised piracy. Herodotus[105] gives a slightly different account, saying that the Carian inhabitants of the islands were subjected by Minos and used by him to man his ships, and were not driven out until later by the Dorian and Ionian immigrants. He also mentions the belief of the Carians themselves that they were autochthonous in Caria, and attributes to them various inventions afterwards adopted by the Greeks. According to Thucydides, their method of burying the dead seems to have differed from that of the Greeks; and from the various accounts of the two historians, we may gather that their race was different, although possibly they were soon hellenized by their Ionian neighbours. If, as Herodotus tells us, the Greeks adopted some Carian inventions, it is not unlikely that they may also have adopted the Carian dress, or at least may have modified their own by assuming some Carian elements.[106]