A type of dress very commonly found on vases is that which has full sleeves to the elbow and an overfold covering the chest and back, and passing under the arms without covering the sleeves, as was the case in the chiton described above. The Mænads on the famous Hieron vase are represented wearing this kind of dress, and numerous examples could be quoted from other vase-paintings.[117] Some such effect might be produced with the ordinary cylindrical-shaped chiton with overfold, if shoulder-bands were worn such as those worn by the Delphi Charioteer and by one of the so-called Fates of the east pediment of the Parthenon; but in actual practice such an arrangement would produce a somewhat clumsy mass of folds under the arm, and could not be managed at all unless the overfold were considerably deeper than that usually represented on the vases. We must look, therefore, for some other explanation; and it will not be far to seek, if we allow the Ionian women and their Athenian imitators a freer use of scissors and needle than their Doric sisters were accustomed to make. A close examination of the monuments will show that although the sleeve of the Ionic chiton was frequently formed in the manner described above, yet in a very large number of cases, in almost all of which the overfold is present, the sleeve is more like our modern notion of a sleeve—that is to say, it fits closer to the arm, as though shaped to some extent, while the rest of the garment fits closer to the figure. The vase-painter Brygos is fond of depicting women in this kind of dress: the accompanying illustration[118] is taken from his representation of Hera and Iris pursued by Silenoi. This dress is obviously not composed simply of a cylindrical piece of material folded over at the top and fastened on the arms, for the rather deep overfold leaves the sleeves quite free, and covers only the body of the wearer. This effect could be produced in two ways, in both of which, however, the sleeve-pieces must be sewn in separately. In the first method, we may suppose that two rectangular pieces of material are taken, equal in size and shape, represented in the diagram as abcd.
Fig. 30.
These are sewn together along the sides up to the points e and f at a distance of about 5 feet from the lower edge; when the dress is worn, these points will come immediately under the arms. We may next suppose that two rectangular pieces of material measuring about 18 by 20 inches are taken for the sleeves; these are folded double, so that the longer sides lie upon each other, and then sewn on to the body of the chiton at the points f, h, g, and e, so that the fold lies in the position indicated by the lines fl and el′ in the diagram; the openings kl and k′l′ will form the arm-holes; that part of the chiton abgh which still extends above the sleeve-pieces is then folded over, so that it hangs down in the position gha′b′. The line kk′ now represents the upper edges of the garment, which are fastened together (leaving the space mn for the neck) either by sewing and gathering or by groups of folds held in place by a series of brooches. The front and back part of the overfold would then hang down separately, but they could be joined together under the arms, provided that the space round the shoulder were left free for the arm to pass through into the sleeve.
The second method of making this dress is nothing but a modification of the first. It consists of taking two smaller rectangles in the first place, ghcd, to form the body of the chiton; two pieces abgh are sewn on back and front, after the sleeve-pieces, to form a sort of false overfold, which will have exactly the same effect as if it were in one piece with the rest of the chiton.
It is possible to conceive of the sleeve-pieces being originally in one piece with the rest of the chiton, which would then be a dress composed of two cross-shaped pieces of material sewn together along the edges dfl and cel′; it is more reasonable to suppose, however, that the sleeve-pieces were sewn on separately. That such sleeve-pieces were attached to the ordinary Ionic chiton without overfold seems likely from many vase-paintings. The addition of sleeves was certainly not unfamiliar to the Greeks, for we find slaves wearing a narrow, ungirt chiton, with tight sleeves reaching to the wrists. A familiar example of this is to be found in Hegeso’s attendant on the well-known grave relief in Athens. In an inscription, dating from the middle of the fourth century,[119] and recording a large number of garments dedicated to Artemis Brauronia, the expression χειριδωτός occurs, which can only mean “sleeved.” In the same inscription special mention is frequently made of the fact that the chiton, or χιτωνίσκος, is ἐμπλαισίῳ, “oblong,” from which we may infer that it was not always so. Now, the ordinary simple Ionic chiton would be oblong in shape when not worn, so that we may take the others, which are not described as oblong, to be chitons with separate sleeve-pieces attached.
The false overfold was sometimes attached also to the simple cylindrical Ionic chiton. In these cases it covered the chest only, leaving the arms covered only by the sleeves; it was probably simply sewn on at the neck in front only. Kalkmann has collected and stated the evidence for this false overfold to the chiton in an article in the Jahrbuch, vol. xi., where he shows that it was sometimes applied to the over-garment also. Very clear examples of it are to be seen in some of the archaic female statues on the Acropolis at Athens, especially in those cases where the himation is worn like a shawl over both shoulders.[120]
That the long Ionic chiton with sleeves was worn by men as well as women, is abundantly evident from the monuments. On the vases, Zeus and Dionysus and other gods are almost invariably represented wearing it; and in sculpture also, kings, priests, and others are represented so dressed. Together with the himation, it probably constituted a sort of state dress for priests and other officials, even after it had been discarded for daily use, as being too luxurious.
A short chiton, with or without sleeves, and made of some fine material, is to be found on the vases worn by men engaged in active pursuits. It sometimes has an overfold; although, with the long chiton, this feature is usually confined to women. A good example of the men’s short chiton with overfold is to be seen on the vase of Brygos representing the exploits of Theseus.
The cross-bands and shoulder-cords already mentioned are, strictly speaking, an element of the Ionic chiton, though they are sometimes represented in art over the Doric peplos. Their object is to hold the ample folds of the full chiton close to the figure, and to prevent the sleeves from slipping or flapping about with every movement of the wearer. The cross-bands are usually attached to the girdle and can be of one piece with it; their place is sometimes taken by a second girdle, worn rather high over the kolpos, as is the case with the Artemis of Gabii reproduced below ([Fig. 37]).