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Statues at the "House of Cleopatra" in Delos, Greece. Man and woman wearing the himation
Caryatid from the Erechtheion wearing a peplos. The blousing, or kolpos, is atop zone

Clothing in ancient Greece primarily consisted of the chiton, peplos, himation, and chlamys. Ancient Greek men and women typically wore two pieces of clothing draped about the body: an undergarment (chiton or peplos) and a cloak (himation or chlamys).[1] Ancient Greek clothing was mainly based on necessity, function, materials, and protection rather than identity. Thus, clothes were quite simple, draped, loose-fitting and free flowing. Customarily, clothing was homemade and cut to various lengths of rectangular linen or wool fabric with minimal cutting or sewing, and secured with ornamental clasps or pins, and a belt, or girdle (zone). Pieces were generally interchangeable between men and women.[2] However, women usually wore their robes to their ankles while men generally wore theirs to their knees depending on the occasion and circumstance.

While no clothes have survived from this period, descriptions exist in contemporary accounts and artistic depictions. Clothes were mainly homemade or locally made. Additionally, clothing often served many purposes (such as bedding).[3] All ancient Greek clothing was made out of natural fibers. Linen was the most common fabric due to the hot climate which lasted most of the year. On the rare occasion of colder weather, ancient Greeks wore wool. Common clothing of the time was plain white, or neutral coloured, sometimes incorporating decorative borders.[2] There is evidence of elaborate design and bright colours, but these were less common among lower class citizens.[2] However, noble citizens wore bright colours to express their wealth as dyed clothing was more expensive. The clothing for both men and women generally consisted of two main parts: a tunic and a cloak.

The Greeks had a great appreciation for the human body, and it was shown in their fashion. The fabric was expertly draped around the body, and the cloth could be slightly transparent. Males had no problem with nudity, while women could only be naked in the public bath.


History and typesEdit


Greek travelling costume, incorporating a chiton, a chlamys, sandals, and a petasos hat hanging in the back.

The chiton was a simple tunic garment of lighter linen and usually pleated that was worn by both sexes and all ages. It consisted of a wide, rectangular tube of material secured along the shoulders and lower arms by a series of fasteners.[4] Chitons typically fell to the ankles of the wearer, but shorter chitons were sometimes worn during vigorous activities by athletes, warriors or slaves.[5]


There are two types of chitons – Doric and Ionic, named for their similarities to the Doric and Ionic columns. The Doric chiton is "sleeveless", as sleeve technology had not really been created yet. Much like that on the caryatid to the right, the Doric chiton has a fold over at the top or apoptygma, is attached with fibulae at the shoulders, and is belted at the waist. Unlike the Doric Chiton, the Ionic chiton doesn't have an apoptygma, and is a long enough rectangle of fabric that when folded in half can complete a wingspan. Before shaped sleeve patterns existed the Greeks attached fibulae (ancient Greek safety pins) all the way up both arms to join the front and back top edges of the fabric. The Ionic chiton was also belted at the waist. The Doric chiton was usually made of linen and the Ionic chiton was usually made of wool.


A predecessor to the himation, the peplos was a square piece of cloth that was originally worn over the chiton by women.[4] The top third of the cloth was folded over and pinned at both shoulders, leaving the cloth open down one side.[3] This upper part of the peplos which is folded down to the waist, forms an apotygma. Sometimes the peplos was worn alone as an alternative form of chiton.[2] As with the chiton, often a girdle or belt would be used to fasten the folds at the waist.[1]








Detail of a mosaic from the Villa Romana del Casale, Sicily, featuring a woman in a strophion.

Women often wore a strophion, the bra of the time, under their garments and around the mid-portion of their body. The strophion was a wide band of wool or linen wrapped across the breasts and tied between the shoulder blades.[1] Women could also wear a shawl called an epiblema.


Fasteners and buttonsEdit


Large pins, called peronai or fibulae, were worn at the shoulders, facing down, to hold the chiton or peplos in place.[1]

Belts, sashes, or girdles were also worn at the waist sometimes replacing fasteners/buttons.


Women and men typically wore slippers, sandals, soft shoes, or boots.[3] At home they usually went barefoot.[3]


Ornamentation in the form of jewellery, elaborate hairstyles and make-up was common for women. Small gold ornaments would be sewn onto their clothing and would glitter as they moved.[1] The Greeks had rings, wreaths, diadems, bracelets, armbands, pins, pendants, necklaces, and earrings. Popular earring designs included: flying gods and goddesses, like Eros, Nike, and Ganymede. Patterns such as the meander symbolizing eternity was also commonly engraved into jewellery. Gold and silver were the most common mediums for jewellery, however jewellery from this time could also have pearls, gems, and semiprecious stones used as decoration. Jewellery was commonly passed down from generation to generation or made as an offering to the gods.


Ancient Greek clothing was made with silk, linen and wool. However, linen was the most common fiber due to the hot climate. The production of fabric was a long and tedious process; making ready-made clothing was expensive. It was socially accepted that textile making was primarily women's responsibility, and the production of high quality textiles was regarded as an accomplishment for women of high status. The most expensive textile was finely woven linen and very soft wool. The linen was almost transparent, as the Greeks had no problem showing off their body. Less expensive and more commonly used was the linen cloth woven from the flax plant soaked in olive oil. Peasants wore coarse wool. Once made, the cloth was rarely cut. The seamless rectangles of fabric were draped on the body in various ways with little sewing involved. The fabric could be crinkled or pleated to give the garment more fullness, as the more fabric one wore, the wealthier they appeared. Another way of showing wealth was to dye their fabrics. People used to think the Greeks wore only white because the recovered statues from this time showed white drapery. However, they later discovered that the artwork had probably been painted and that the garments the Greeks wore were actually quite colourful. Wealthy aristocrats had purple clothes as purple dye was the most difficult to get. Yellow was a common dye for the average citizen, and warriors wore red- so as not to see blood when wounded. Peasants usually dyed their clothes greens, browns, and grays as it was cheaper but mostly stuck to whites and natural colours.

See alsoEdit


  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Alden, Maureen (January 2003), "Ancient Greek Dress", Costume, 37.1: 1–16

External linksEdit