FIG. 58. DIAGRAM OF DORIC CHITON
Greek dress, both for men and women, consisted of two portions, a garment for the house and a wrap to be worn over it. Men, from the time of the Homeric poems downwards, wore a “chiton,” rectangular in shape and somewhat wider than the body, closed on the sides and across the top except for openings left for the head and arms. A short woolen chiton was the usual dress for soldiers, workmen, and poor persons, while the nobles of the Homeric poems seem to have worn linen chitons reaching to the feet. Over this a wrap, either rectangular or curved on one side, was arranged in various ways. The earliest representations show men wearing a wrap with one curved edge, and apparently doubled like a shawl. This type of dress may be seen in vase paintings in the Third Room; for example, the figure of Dionysos on a stamnos (No. GR 564 in Case R), and the same god on a large amphora (No. 12.198.4) in that case.
FIG. 59. AMAZONS IN MEN’S IONIC CHITONS
The earliest garment for women which we know of was a chiton of wool without sewing. This was a large rectangular piece of cloth considerably wider and longer than the body. It was folded through the middle lengthwise, so that one side was closed and the other open. The top, again, was generally folded over, this hanging portion being called “apoptygma.” Long pins inserted with the points upwards, or fibulae (see [head-band, p. 47]), were used to fasten the double edge on the shoulders, and a girdle was usually worn to hold the edges of the open side in place ([fig. 58]). If the chiton were still too long, part of the cloth was drawn up through the girdle into a blouse called “kolpos.” The heavy woolen chiton may be seen in the drawing of three nymphs on an amphora (No. GR 549) in Case K in the Third Room. From these early representations in art, it seems that clothing for both men and women was at first rather narrow and was often covered with woven or embroidered patterns ([fig. 60]).
During the seventh and sixth centuries the rich and artistic Ionian cities had a great influence on the customs of Greece, and from them the ladies of Athens adopted the linen chiton, which was wider and was sewed on the sides. The additional width was sometimes used to form sleeves by catching the two pieces together at the top in three or four places, with sewing, buttons, or small pins. Long sleeves sewn in were occasionally worn, but were exceptional rather than customary, so that artists often represent barbarians with sleeves to distinguish them from Greeks. On a kotyle in Case C in the Fifth Room is a woman wearing a spotted chiton with long, close-fitting sleeves. At this period men as well as women at times wore the apoptygma and kolpos, but the man’s chiton was generally short ([fig. 59]). On two kylikes on the bottom of Case L in the Fourth Room (Nos. 12.231 and GR1120) women are represented in the linen chiton ([fig. 62]). After the Persian Wars, as the result of the strong reaction against Eastern fashions, men and women both adopted the woolen Doric chiton again, and for men it remained the universal dress, being now short and without apoptygma and kolpos. Still, the adoption of the Doric chiton did not imply a violent change, for working people had worn it continuously and it was the usual dress for young girls. Old men, priests, charioteers, and officials on public occasions continued to wear the long Ionic chiton, and both were in use by ladies at the same period. It should be added that at this time the two types were often worn together, the Ionic forming an undergarment with short sleeves, and the Doric, a sleeveless gown. This costume is frequently seen on grave-reliefs, but our only example is an engraving of a Maenad on a bronze mirror in Case C in the Sixth Room.
FIG. 60. EARLY CHITONS
