How to dress the ancient Greeks. Clothing of ancient Greeks

One of the characteristic features of ancient Greek society is the complete absence of large slavery. This is what influenced the development of democracy in this state. The greatest ancient Greek culture is the culture of a free citizen. The costume of the ancient Greeks could not not inherit this trait. In addition, the freedom of citizens is reflected not only in their clothes, but also in their hair and decorations. Below, we will briefly outline the history of the clothing of ancient Greece.

Costume of Ancient Greece

The cultivated craving for simplicity has led to the fact that clothing in the ancient state was, perhaps, one of the few ways to show oneself against the background of other people and to stand out from the crowd. It should be noted that the ancient Greek dress only seems natural and simple. Although, at first glance, what can be simpler - fold in two and wrap around the body a couple of pieces of cloth? However, in fact, the fashion of ancient Greece consisted in all manner of chipping, draping and various manner of wearing the same thing. This was considered a real art, which from a small age was brought up in the family. In addition, this skill was part of a good tone and etiquette.

Color and fabric

The ancient Greeks, whose clothing previously consisted only of pieces of cloth, began to sew costumes relatively to the standards relatively early. Ionian linen soon replaced woolen threads, introduced by the Dorians. They were painted in blue, purple, red and yellow colors. A complex multicolored ornament could be achieved with the help of textile thread of a different color or embroidering on the main background. As a rule, the Greek tunic along the rim was expanded by geometric ornamentation, and on the field could be embroidered leaves, stars or flowers. In addition, there were various figures of gods and animals, scenes of battles and hunting.

Especially popular in ancient Greece were clothes of pink or white flowers, which were edged with a contrasting red or black border.

The history of clothing tells us that in the early period the Greeks preferred a large pattern. However, starting from the turn of the 5th-4th century BC, a monophonic fabric began to predominate in the wardrobe of the Greeks. Often, the costume of ancient Greece was either brown or white, decorated with a blue or yellow border, as well as an ornament that was a broken line with curls. It was called a meander.

Chiton

The main clothing of the ancient Greeks, whose name - chiton, as already mentioned, was simple and convenient. Heaton is the main Greek garment. It was a piece of cloth, which has a hole for the hand on one side, and on the other it was attached to the shoulder with a buckle or fastener. Less often it was simply sewn. Before the war with the Persians in ancient Greece, it was decided to tighten the waist. The belt played a special role in the ancient Greek costume. It had two functions: first, pick up the tunic, and secondly, make it the necessary length. A short version - up to the knees - was more liked by the Dorians, and the Ionians preferred to wear a chiton to their heels. A little later the fashion changed, so even the Athenians began wearing a shortened Dorian version of this clothing.

Slaves in Greece were few, but for them there was a special version of the chiton: it differed in that the right shoulder of the slave was always open.

Gimation

Gimatia, or gimation - a spacious cloak, which was cast over the tunic by the ancient Greeks. The clothes were fixed on the chest just below the left shoulder, and then the fabric was simply thrown over the back.

Gimation was also worn by women when they left the house. The edge of this cloak, they could throw on the head. Terracotta figurines and plural drawings on vases show an endless variety of options for wearing a gimation. If the weather was hot outside, then it served as nothing more than a scarf that was thrown back through the arms bent in the elbows. But if desired, she could easily wrap herself in him in such a way that even a part of her face was hidden from her eyes.

Chlamyde

In addition to the long raincoat - gimation, the ancient Greeks also had a short cloak, which was called a mantle. It was fastened with the help of a fastener on the neck. The Chlamis were worn on the road, during wars or hunting by the ancient Greeks. Clothing in Athens relied only on young guys, and in Sparta the mantle could be worn only by adult townspeople.

Tunic

Women in ancient Greece knew hundreds of ways how to turn simple clothes - the same as for men - into an exquisite and original costume. One of the varieties of tunic is a tunic, it fell down to the heel and was made of soft, but at the same time heavy woolen fabric. In most cases, it was white with a color border. Draped with a multitude of ways of folding on the tunic, the belt tightening clothes held. With the help of irons and starches, folds were carefully fixed. It should be noted that the girls wore a belt at the waist, but the married women had to wear it under the chest.

Great scope for all sorts of women's tricks on the modeling of the figure was provided by a free style of clothes. Usually under the tunic they could sew special fabric inserts to make the breast magnificent, and the hips more rounded. Strips of linen canvas could be tightened with a bulging belly. Women who were tall, wore shoes on a very thin sole, while low girls, on the contrary, were fat.

Fans in the form of a lotus leaf enjoyed popularity among Greek women. Usually they were dyed blue.

Hairstyles in Ancient Greece

The hairstyles of the inhabitants of Greece, which are imprinted on vases and frescoes, amaze with their diversity. Assyrian fashion dominated the time of the archaic. Hair in this period also preferred not to cut, but carefully curled, and then weave together. According to the Cretan fashion, the young men preferred to wear hair that was divided into strands, reaching the length of the elbows.

Men of Greece wore long and thick beards. They walked from temples to cheeks and strongly protruded forward, leaving a strip around the mouth free. Often, the beard was cut out so that it ruffled downwards with a scallop, and curled. The thick beard of the Greeks was considered a sign of the masculinity of its bearer. However, after the Greco-Persian War, it began to be shortened somewhat, and from the period of Alexander the Great, the Greeks generally preferred to shave. However, the Hellenic razor was known since the Mycenaean period. Later, some Athenian dandies, even in the time of Pericles, plucked or shaved their hair, for which they were mocked by the townspeople.

For a long time, long hair was considered a sign of noble birth. However, by the 4th century BC, the male population began to cut hair relatively short so that they could lie around the head with natural curls. The curls were left only to the children, and while the young man was studying at the gymnasium, a short haircut was required. Later, when he became a citizen, it was his will to choose any length, and in most cases stop at the middle.

In Greece, there were many varieties of women's hairstyles. After the wars with the Persians, they lost the bulkiness, which was famous in the east. Spartan girls wore long hair, not braided, but on the wedding day they had to shave their heads. In other regions, the hair was knotted at the back of the head by a knot, combed up, strengthened with a wreath or several turns of ribbon, shortened from the back and hid in some kind of a net or bag.

With the help of herbal substances, the hair was dyed and clarified in golden color. White ringlets were rarely an achievable ideal. However, most Greek women of fashion had to be satisfied with this or that shade of red hair. For curling used forceps.

As the excavations show, in Athens there were many hairdressers. There, the hair was not only painted, sheared and curled, but also choked. In addition, they could order a wig or attach artificial strands to their hair. Other people's locks are one of the most popular goods in Greece, except for Sparta. There, women were famous for their thick hairstyles.

Hats

The ancient Greeks, whose clothes are simple, but unusual, did not cover their heads in the cities. But on the road or in the countryside from the sun defended a small felt cap, which had no fields. It was called a pylon. Could, on the contrary, wear a wide-brimmed hat made of straw and felt.

Ancient Greek Shoes

The inhabitants of Greece in most cases walked barefoot, so the ancient Greek sandals enjoyed great popularity. It is interesting that the woman was considered a real artisan, if she was able to lace up her shoes so that the leg seemed almost naked around. However, in this country there were shoes on thick leather soles, and leather boots, laced with straps in front, reaching the wearer to the middle of the shins. Similar rough shoes were used in most cases for riding a horse.

Cosmetics in Ancient Greece

In classical Greece, the art of perfumery was extremely developed. Vegetable white, rouge, wax - all this was part of the Greek cosmetics. Of all incense, the backgammon was most appreciated. Egyptian pencils were used for eyeliner, Greek women also knew lipstick and powder. Numerous "guise of husbands" have reached to our days. They were called to appear "in a decent and simple form."

Unconditional condemnation was subjected to such behavior, because it was believed that it leads to effeminacy, and, moreover, in the near future promised the fall of morality. Caskets with fashionable knick-knacks and blushes appeared like real Pandora's boxes, which are already full of troubles and troubles right before the eyes of strict husbands. The main of them - the imitation of the barbarians and the desire for luxury - was subjected to special censure. But the more and more the Greek world became, the more closely he intertwined with the cultures of other nations, the more difficult it was to resist the emergence of established there fashionable and domestic trends. Jewelry art - this is where such a manifestation was particularly bright.

Jewelry in ancient Greece

To produce elegant and at the same time sophisticated jewelry by the ancient Greeks allowed the developed jewelry art. As for local sales, and for export to the barbarous world, for example, Scythians, jewelers-craftsmen had to please the tastes of buyers.

Men of Greece were very reserved in the choice of jewelry. It was typical of them not to wear jewelry. A stone with an engraving in the simplest frame is the maximum of their imagination and imagination. The impression of such a carved print was perceived as the signature of its owner. In the shops of Athens it was impossible to find a single man's bracelet or necklace.

However, a completely opposite picture was revealed in the colonies, which came into contact with the barbaric world. There the rich townspeople, the natives of Olivia and Panticapaeum, under the influence of the local culture, could, without a twinge of conscience, succumb to the desire to look as imposing as visiting nomadic czars. In turn, the border guards were not averse to adopting the Greek culture, but at the same time not to give up the passion for jewelry.

As for the Greek women, they anywhere in the country, whether it was the capital or the province, differed in their irrepressible work by bathing in jewelry. They wore elegant earrings, bracelets, belts, chains, diadems and hairpins.