#ancient greek fashion

[gemsofgreece]

Hi!

I saw this amphora for the first time today when I was researching things about Helen of Sparta as a reference for drawing her. From what I saw, the woman is Helen and this art is dated 550 BC. I thought what she was wearing was really beautiful, so I looked up the name of this outfit so I could draw it better.

I got the impression that it's a peplos from the images I saw (in particular, these Kore statues are kind of similar because of the patterns: 1, 2, 3. And the shape reminds me of that) and because of the year of the amphora (I read that apparently peplos was popular around the same time), but I'm not sure. Also, is that veil that Helen wears a specific piece of clothing? The only similar thing I've seen referring to clothing in Greek visual arts is himation, but I also don't know if it's one because I haven't found a himation being used specifically in that way (the ones I saw seemed more involved around the body/head).

Do you (or anyone in the comments) know if it's a peplos? If it isn't a peplos, do you/anyone know what it is? And what is this veil, it's a himation?

Hi, I am pretty sure Helen’s outfit is indeed a peplos. You can also tell from how the fabric bulges on the torso.

As for the veil, yeah, I don’t think it’s a himation (it still might be though). It’s little known that occasionally Ancient Greek women did wear a veil, which was called καλύπτρα (kalyptra). A kalyptra was usually used by a matron, a dignified older married woman, likely an aristocrat, and in general the lady of the household. It was associated with propriety and the avoidance of unwanted advances.

Helen, as a married queen in the presence of several men as we see in this amphora, is totally eligible as a woman who would have a kalyptra on. It might also be the artist’s attempt to redeem Helen and in this way abdicate her of any responsibility when she was forced to leave Menelaus for Paris.

A kalyptra was a thing, though not as obligatory or paramount a garment as a veil was in Rome or in the Eastern cultures. The reason we probably don’t see it often in statuary is that Greek sculpture depicted mostly youth and the human body. Young unmarried girls wouldn’t wear such garments.

Here you can see the differences with himation. Himation was a thicker fabric, used for warmth. When cold, it could double as both a himation and a kalyptra. The thin fabric the woman with the chiton in the middle is holding could be a kalyptra.

Not an expert though, so if anyone else has more info about this, please share.

[local-queer-classicist]

Humanity really peaked with the chiton. Fashion has been all downhill since we moved away from drapey tube clothes

[antiqueartist]

Overcome by the need to sew an ancient Greek Ionic chiton.... I know very little about ancient dress history but it's so fascinating and a chiton would be ideal for summer.....

[yasminanoradraw]

Ancient Greek Mermaid for #historicalmermaid on instagram

[annachum]

Some attires I can defo see Cleopatra VII wear 🤩🤩🤩🥺🥺🥺🥺

[mmkin]

Underworld doodles.

I drew both of these today (about 15 min each?) without thinking. I just doodle whatever pops in my head. It's not till just now posting that I realize that Persephone and Charlie both live in the underworld. Persephone might actually be lovely friends with Charlie and help her if somehow the two of them were to meet, because why not.

Persephone from my Seeds (a retelling of H and P) books. I looked at a few pictures of Minoan/Mycenaean women and their clothing. I know this isn't 100 percent accurate but hey it's a 15 min doodle and personally I love the smug look on her face.

Charlie and Angel Dust. First time doodling these two... the anatomy of Hazbin Hotel really throws me off sometimes ;_;

[toyastales]

A bracelet clasp with a Medusa on an emerald cameo. Gold is treated with diamond and enamel. 18th century. Made in England.

[aaronofithaca05]

Cast your votes here

[pythiaswine]

so soft and detailed, so colorful, so lovely

Julia, 1914 John William Godward

[namedvesta]

Snake Headpieces, by Harumi Klossowska de Rola, for Valentino Couture Show | Spring 2016.

[gemsofgreece]

Hello.

I come from @alatismeni-theitsa 's blog from a question.

Is it true that you have an ancient greece clothing masterpost?

Because I wanted to make a design for a character based on the clothing from any of these eras.

But since in this case I realized that I wanted to take a couple of creative liberties (is almost like ancient greece meets steampunk lol) I wanted to have a proper idea of what to do before I even attempt to wing it and end up with a cringeworthy and even insulting piece.

Soooo... Do you think you could help me?

Hi! Actually I do not have an Ancient Greek clothing masterpost. I have an extensive post (wouldn't call it a masterpost though) about Byzantine Greek clothing, maybe that's what @alatismeni-theitsa remembered. Linking it here for good measure.

As for ancient clothing, I have sporadically answered a couple relevant asks.

Ancient clothing for winter

Large post mostly about the hem length of women's attires (but it's both for modern and ancient)

General ancient Greek beauty standards

A bit more about the attires of the Archaic and Classical period plus about the little known kalyptra veil

That's all I've got.

As for what could make it an insulting piece: Given that you are going for an entirely fantastical concept, steampunk meets Ancient Greece, I don't think it can be insulting as there is nothing dubious about combining two eras that are 2000 years apart (industrial revolution and ancient Greece), it's pure straightforward fantasy, nothing shady, I assume everyone will be able to figure this out. But maybe just combine Grecian fashion elements only with the goggles and the machinery and whatnot, as opposed to combining, say, Victorian corsets and laces and boots with Greek chitons, because then there would be questions as to why Greek historical fashion appears anglicized or vice versa. I guess. It could still work but it would need a solid backstory for the character and to what led them to this unlikely mix. As for potentially mixing different Greek era clothes (intentionally or accidentally), honestly I don't see an issue with this because I mean one garment is Greek and the other is also Greek, like, I don't see a problem there. It would be anachronistic but, well, it's fantasy, of course it's anachronistic. That's my reasoning, I don't guarantee everyone thinks like me but I don't think there would be anything controversial in your art. The fact alone that you are asking what to not do shows that you don't intend to do something offensive. Just don't bend or appropriate the ethnicity, that's all.

[artifacts-and-arthropods]

Ancient Necklace with Mosaic Glass Beads, from the Eastern Mediterranean, c.100 BCE-100 CE: this necklace is composed of 30 glass beads, most of which are decorated with stylized faces

From the John Paul Getty Museum:

The beads are made of multi-colored opaque glass and are decorated with heads and floral designs. The necklace is in good condition; some beads are chipped or cracked.

The exact origin of this piece is unknown, but it can be traced back to the Eastern Mediterranean, where it was likely made by a Greek or Roman artist.

Each bead has a width of about 1.2cm (roughly half an inch); they're decorated with remarkably intricate details, and each face is depicted in its own unique style.

Sources & More Info:

John Paul Getty Museum: Necklace with Mosaic Glass Beads

[artschoolglasses]

Gold hairnet, Ptolemaic, 225-175 BCE

From the Getty Villa Museum

[tamberrio]

Greek Miku?

Plus base color version so I can draw her later:

[persephonaae]

TERFs GO AWAY I’m nonbinary and as this is a look that is about exploring my own identity, gender is included in that. I’m not a woman, I am not your “divine feminine”. An edit I wish I didn’t have to make.

Here are some of the pictures of the Minoan/Mycenaean look I did yesterday! Mind you, it's all very generalized since I haven't made any clothing studies from these time periods yet, so I had just grabbed random clothes and jewelry from my closet that I could at least pass off as the ~vibe~ . I went for a pretty simple interpretation of makeup back then and ended up not really putting a whole lot on my face before the decorative elements, just a very thin amount of white foundation, but even so I figured my skin is pretty pale as it is that if this were historical I probably would have just been fairly bare faced anyway in a similar fashion. I tried to stay pretty close to how makeup might be applied back then and not go too anachronistic, and if I did it was for photographic or artistic purposes (namely, light contouring on my nose not for any sort of like, modern feature minimization, but to make sure my own Greek ethnic features weren't flattened by lighting levels or camera perspective)

Overall this was a really fun exploration of historic culture! Seeing the finished makeup on myself kind of brought over this cultural euphoria for me, even though many things have changed since ancient Mediterranean civilizations, there's almost a feeling of sameness in exploring the history of your heritage and seeing someone who looks or feels like you in ancient art. (But also a brief little disclaimer: the Mediterranean has been an extremely diverse region for thousands of years! I'm just one way of looking and that absolutely isn't representative of all people of Greece, neither then nor now!) I want to explore more historical fashions within this realm, and next time try a more extreme version of the makeup, something that feels more on the ceremonial side than casual like this one.

[woodlandkisses]

Medieval Hair Style