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Attire Worn By the People of the City -
States of Greece
Often we have to look to
our past to understand our future. Considered
one of the first great civilizations, Greek
culture is studied in depth. This brings
us to the subject of the practical attire
of the people.
Attire Worn By the People of the City-States
of Greece.
The culture of the city-states of the early
Greek civilizations has been easily researched
from carvings, tombs, ruins, |
sculptures and art depicting
scenes of their every day life. Greek clothing
was very simple and light, even for the mythical
religious figures. A comprehensible fact to keep
in mind is the hot climate of Hellas, the historical
name of Greece.
Greeks wore loose clothing generally white or
otherwise dyed in bright color or bleached. Typical
attire consisted of several pieces with the chiton
confectioned in linen for summer and wool during
winter. The chiton was a long square garment attached
along the arms with pins to make sleeves and a
belt round the waist. It is quite similar to the
tunics we wear today. Chitons were unisex pieces
made by mothers, daughters, and female slaves
using long pieces of fabric. Chitons generally
were decorated with embroidery on the bottom representing
the city-state in which the individual lived.
Historians and archaeologists have found that
the clothing, like art, was influenced by the
different Greek periods. They found particular
Doric clothing existed from the beginning of the
archaic period, and other versions from the Ionic
that was a later adoption of the original. Research
found that women wore peplos, a sort of shorter
embroidered tunic, placed over chitons.
Depending on the weather, some Greeks wore cloaks
or loincloths, sometimes used as a blanket if
needed. Greeks used to walk barefoot, particularly
in the house. Outdoors they sometimes wore light
leather sandals or boots in rocky terrain. Babies
usually wore nothing, except linen diapers, while
children's clothing consisted of cloth wrapped
around their middles. Older men wore draped mantles
either alone or over their chitons. An item typically
only worn by travelers was the Chalmys, a smaller
rectangle placed over one of their shoulder.
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