Ancient Greek Fashion - The Classical Period

Acropolis of Athens

This post focuses on the Classical period of Ancient Greece. This is the main period that people think of when asked to think about the Ancient Greeks and is the period during which Athens and Sparta were at their heights. The Classical period is generally classed as beginning around 479BC, or the end of the Persian war, and ending in 323BC, the point at which Alexander the Great invaded mainland Greece. During this period Athens was initially the most powerful city state, but after the Peloponnesian War, Sparta became the dominant power. Yet the culture of Athens continued to flourish and it is from this polis that the majority of our information comes from.

A caryatid from the Erechtheion in Athens wearing a peplos

The end of the Persian war saw a shift in Greek culture that highlighted the similarities of the Greek peoples compared to the ‘barbarian’ Persians. This was echoed in fashion, where elaborate styles of dress were rejected in favour of the more simple Spartan influence, perhaps as a way of demonstrating the strength of the Greek compared to Persian softness. 

Odysseus wearing the pilos hat, an exomis and a chlamys

As a part of this, the peplos returned to favour, having remained popular in much of Western Greece, as it was seen as a more ‘Greek’ garment. However, it did undergo some changes, now being made of a lighter woollen fabric as well as having a longer overfold.  The chiton also remained popular, and the two garments were sometimes worn together. More variation in both garments also began to occur, such as having two overfolds or the girdle also being wrapped over the shoulders; but the fabric itself remained plain, only sometimes having any form of pattern. 

Roman copy of Eirene and Plutos , wearing a peplos

Example of chiton sleeve detailing

Women continued to wear cloaks, called himations, seemingly every time they left the house. These himations would traditionally be wrapped over the shoulders as a shawl, but in this period also started being worn pinned over one shoulder, with the upper edge folded down. Himation is a general term used for Ancient Greek cloaks, however there were many different varieties, such as the chlanis which was made from particularly fine wool, or the fine xystis which was used for special occasions. 

Illustration of women wearing peplos and himations

Male fashion was much more similar to women’s fashion in the Classical period. For the chiton, men worn either a knee, or ankle length version, the latter being for the older men or religious ceremonies and was known as the chiton orthostadios or syrma. The peplos was also worn, but without the overfold. It could also only be pinned at the left shoulder, known as the exomis, a style which was typically worn by them lower classes.  Men could also wear short sleeved sewn tunics, similar to those of medieval Europe. The zoma, or loincloth was still also worn, again primarily by the lower classes. In more rural parts of Greece, animal skins were used to make clothing, such as the dipthera, a goat skin jerkin, although this was seen as primitive by the residents as cities such as Athens. 

Illustration of a Spartan youth and a slave

Delphic Charioteer wearing an Ionic chiton

A statue of a man with a chiton

The fashion of the Classical period is similar to that of the Archaic period, fixing this style of dress in the minds of future generations. Whilst spheres such as art, architecture, philosophy and warfare underwent huge changes throughout this period, apart from some minor fluctuations, there was very little change in fashion.

Perseus, Medusa and Athena 460BC

 Eleanor

Pictures:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/39/Caryatid-Erechtheum-British_Museum-3.jpg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Eirene_Ploutos_Glyptothek_Munich_219_n1.jpg 

http://warhammer40kfanon.wikia.com/wiki/Sparta
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiton_%28costume%29#/media/File:Young_man_exomis_Musei_Capitolini_MC892.jpg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiton_%28costume%29#/media/File:AurigaDelfi.jpg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exomis#/media/File:Odysseus_Chiaramonti_Inv1901.jpg
http://www.fashion-era.com/ancient_costume/ancient-greek-fashion-hair.htm
www.vroma.org/images/mcmanus_images/sleeves.jpg

http://www.travelpage.gr/greece/Athens.htm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/ancient_greeks/gods_and_heroes/