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Ancient Greek Dress

• 
  Statuette of Nike (personification of victory), late 5th century B.C.; Classical
  Greek
  Terracotta; H. 7 in. (17.8 cm)
  Rogers Fund, 1907 (07.286.23)
  
• 
  Grave stele of a little girl, ca. 450–440 B.C.
  Greek
  Parian marble; H. 31 1/2 in. (80 cm)
  Fletcher Fund, 1927 (27.45)
  
• 
  Statue of a young woman and a girl from a grave monument, ca. 320 B.C.
  Greek, Attic
  Marble; H. of woman 56 7/8 in. (144.5 cm), H. of girl 40 1/2 in. (102.9 cm)
  Rogers Fund, 1944 (44.11.2,3)
  
• 
  Lekythos, ca. 550–530 B.C.; Archaic, black-figure
  Attributed to the Amasis Painter
  Greek, Attic
  Terracotta; H. 6 3/4 in. (17.15 cm)
  Fletcher Fund, 1931 (31.11.10)
  
• 
  Statuette of a kore, last quarter of the 6th century B.C.
  Etruscan
  Bronze; H. 11 9/16 in. (29.4 cm)
  Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917 (17.190.2066)
  
• 
  Statue of a priest, end of 6th century B.C.; Archaic
  Cypriot; Said to be from west of the temple at Golgoi
  Limestone; H. (with base) 85 1/2 in. (217.2 cm)
  The Cesnola Collection, Purchased by subscription, 1874-76 (74.51.2466)
  
• 
  Statue of a member of the imperial family shown in heroic semi-nudity, Early Imperial, Augustan or Julio-Claudian, 27 B.C.–68 A.D.
  Roman
  Marble, pigment, gilding; H. 46 in. (116.8 cm)
  Bequest of Bill Blass, 2002 (2003.407.9)
  
• 
  Grave stele with a family group, ca. 360 B.C.
  Greek, Attic
  Pentelic marble; H. 67 3/8 in. (171.1 cm)
  Rogers Fund, 1911 (11.100.2)
  
• 
  Statuette of a veiled and masked dancer, Hellenistic, 3rd–2nd century B.C.
  Greek
  Bronze; H. 8 1/16 in. (20.5 cm)
  Bequest of Walter C. Baker, 1971 (1972.118.95)
  
• 
  Statue of a wounded Amazon, 1st–2nd century A.D.
  Roman copy of a Greek bronze statue, ca. 450–425 B.C.
  Marble (Pentelic); H. 80 1/4 in. (203.84 cm)
  Gift of John D. Rockefeller, Jr., 1932 (32.11.4)
  
• 
  Bell-krater (bowl for mixing wine and water) , ca. 440 B.C.; Red-figure
  Attributed to the Persephone Painter
  Greek, Attic
  Terracotta; H. 16 1/8 in. (41 cm)
  Fletcher Fund, 1928 (28.57.23)
  
  Obverse: The return of Persephone
  Reverse: Libation scene
  
• 
  Statue of a woman, second half of 4th century B.C.
  Greek
  Marble; H. 68 1/8 in. (173.02 cm)
  Gift of Mrs. Frederick F. Thompson, 1903 (03.12.17)
  
• 

  Statue of a woman, 1st century B.C.
  Cypriot; said to be from the ruins of Golgoi
  Limestone; Overall 76 x 24 x 13 in. (193 x 61 x 33 cm)
  The Cesnola Collection, Purchased by subscription, 1874–76 (74.51.2456)

• 
  Fragments of the Great Eleusinian Relief, 27 B.C.–14 A.D.; Augustan
  Fragments of a Roman copy set in a plaster cast of the original Greek marble relief, ca. 450–425 B.C.
  Marble; H. 89 3/8 in. (227 cm)
  Rogers Fund, 1914 (14.130.9)
  
• 
  Relief with a dancing maenad, ca. 27 B.C.–14 A.D.; Augustan
  Roman copy of a Greek relief attributed to Kallimachos, ca. 425–400 B.C.
  Pentelic marble; H. 56 5/16 in. (143.03 cm)
  Fletcher Fund, 1935 (35.11.3)
  
• 
  Amphora, ca. 490 B.C.; Classical; red-figure
  Attributed to the Berlin Painter
  Greek, Attic
  Terracotta; H. 16 5/16 in. (41.5 cm)
  Fletcher Fund, 1956 (56.171.38)
  
• 
  Lekythos, ca. 480 B.C.; red-figure
  Attributed to the Brygos Painter
  Greek, Attic
  Terracotta; H. 11 1/8 in. (28.4 cm)
  Fletcher Fund, 1924 (24.97.28)
  
• 
  Lekythos (oil flask) depicting Poseidon pursuing Amymone, ca. 440 B.C.; Red-figure
  Attributed to the Phiale Painter
  Greek, Attic
  Terracotta; H. 17 7/16 in. (44.30 cm)
  Rogers Fund, 1917 (17.230.35)
  
• 
  Oinochoe-chous (jug) depicting women perfuming clothes, ca. 420–410 B.C.; Red-figure
  Attributed to the Meidias Painter
  Greek, Attic
  Terracotta; H. 8 7/16 in. (21.41 cm)
  Gift of Samuel G. Ward, 1875 (75.2.11)
  
• 
  Statue of Eirene (personification of peace), ca. 14–68 A.D.; Julio-Claudian
  Roman copy of a Greek bronze statue by Kephisodotos, ca. 375/374–360/359 B.C.
  Marble; H. without plinth 69 3/4 in. (177.17 cm)
  Rogers Fund, 1906 (06.311)
  

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In antiquity, clothing was usually homemade and the same piece of homespun fabric could serve as a garment, shroud, or blanket. Greek vase painting and traces of paint on ancient sculptures indicate that fabrics were brightly colored and generally decorated with elaborate designs. Clothing for both women and men consisted of two main garments—a tunic (either a peplos or chiton) and a cloak (himation). The peplos was simply a large rectangle of heavy fabric, usually wool, folded over along the upper edge so that the overfold (apoptygma) would reach to the waist. It was placed around the body and fastened at the shoulders with a pin or brooch. Openings for armholes were left on each side, and the open side of the garment was either left that way, or pinned or sewn to form a seam. The peplos might not be secured at the waist with a belt or girdle. The chiton was made of a much lighter material, usually imported linen. It was a very long and very wide rectangle of fabric sewn up at the sides, pinned or sewn at the shoulders, and usually girded around the waist. Often the chiton was wide enough to allow for sleeves that were fastened along the upper arms with pins or buttons. Both the peplos and chiton were floor-length garments that were usually long enough to be pulled over the belt, creating a pouch known as a kolpos. Under either garment, a woman might have worn a soft band, known as a strophion, around the mid-section of the body.

Greek vase painting and traces of paint on ancient sculptures indicate that fabrics were brightly colored and generally decorated with elaborate designs.

Related

Timelines (2)

• Ancient Greece, 1000 b.c.–1 a.d.
• Italian Peninsula, 1000 b.c.–1 a.d.

Primary Thematic Essays (3)

• Contemporary Deconstructions of Classical Dress
• Scenes of Everyday Life in Ancient Greece
• Women in Classical Greece

Other Thematic Essays (29)

• Athenian Vase Painting: Black- and Red-Figure Techniques
• Augustan Rule (27 B.C.–14 A.D.)
• Classical Antiquity in the Middle Ages
• Classical Art and Modern Dress
• Classicism in Modern Dress
• Death, Burial, and the Afterlife in Ancient Greece
• Etruscan Art
• Geometric and Archaic Cyprus
• Greek Art in the Archaic Period
• Greek Terracotta Figurines with Articulated Limbs
• List of Rulers of the Ancient Greek World
• List of Rulers of the Roman Empire
• Mystery Cults in the Greek and Roman World
• Neoclassicism
• Nudity and Classical Themes in Byzantine Art
• Polychromy of Roman Marble Sculpture
• Roman Copies of Greek Statues
• Shoes in The Costume Institute
• Southern Italian Vase Painting
• Tanagra Figurines
• The Art of Classical Greece (ca. 480–323 B.C.)
• The Chiton, Peplos, and Himation in Modern Dress
• The Five Wares of South Italian Vase Painting
• The Greek Key and Divine Attributes in Modern Dress
• The Julio-Claudian Dynasty (27 B.C.–68 A.D.)
• The Rediscovery of Classical Antiquity
• The Symposium in Ancient Greece
• The Technique of Bronze Statuary in Ancient Greece
• Theater in Ancient Greece

Maps (2)

• Europe, 1000 B.C.-1 A.D.
• World, 1000 B.C.-1 A.D.

Index Terms (19)

Art Movement/Style

• Red–figure Style in Greek Art

Artist

• Berlin Painter (Greek, ca. 500–475 b.c.)
• Brygos Painter (Greek, active ca. 490–470 b.c.)
• Kallimachos (Greek, active 2nd half of 5th century b.c.)
• Persephone Painter

Geography/Place

• The Balkan Peninsula

Material and Technique

• Plaster
• Linen Textile
• Woolen Textile

Object

• Accessories for Clothing
• Children's Clothing
• Men's Clothing
• Women's Clothing from Europe

Subject Matter/Theme

• Religious Figures from Greece and the Balkan Peninsula
• Ruler from Ancient Rome
• Musician
• Funerary Art
• Funerary Art from Europe
• Mourning

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Men in ancient Greece customarily wore a chiton similar to the one worn by women, but knee-length or shorter. An exomis, a short chiton fastened on the left shoulder, was worn for exercise, horse riding, or hard labor. The cloak (himation) worn by both women and men was essentially a rectangular piece of heavy fabric, either woolen or linen. It was draped diagonally over one shoulder or symmetrically over both shoulders, like a stole. Women sometimes wore an epiblema (shawl) over the peplos or chiton. Young men often wore a short cloak (chlamys) for riding. Greek men occasionally wore a broad-brimmed hat (petasos), and on rare occasions, Greek women donned a flat-brimmed one with a high peaked crown. Both women and men wore sandals, slippers, soft shoes, or boots, although at home they usually went barefoot.



Department of Greek and Roman Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Citation Department of Greek and Roman Art. "Ancient Greek Dress". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/grdr/hd_grdr.htm (October 2003) Further Reading Grant, Michael, and John Hazel Who's Who in Classical Mythology. London: Dent, 1993. Hornblower, Simon, and Antony Spawforth, eds. The Oxford Classical Dictionary. 3d ed., rev.. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003. Pedley, John Griffiths Greek Art and Archaeology. 2d ed.. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1998. Ridgway, Brunilde Sismondo Fourth-Century Styles in Greek Sculpture. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1997. Ridgway, Brunilde Sismondo Roman Copies of Greek Sculpture: The Problem of the Originals. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1984. Ridgway, Brunilde Sismondo The Archaic Style in Greek Sculpture. 2d ed.. Chicago: Ares, 1993. Robertson, Martin A History of Greek Art. 2 vols.. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1975. Stewart, Andrew Greek Sculpture: An Exploration. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1990. Related exhibitions and online features Special Exhibitions (including upcoming, current, and past exhibitions)

These related Museum Bulletin or Journal articles may or may not represent the most current scholarship. Richter, Gisela Marie Augusta "The Department of Greek and Roman art: Triumphs and Tribulations." Metropolitan Museum Journal, Vol. 3 (1970). JSTOR | PDF Von Bothmer, Dietrich "Greek Vases from the Hearst Collection." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New ser., v. 15, no. 7 (March, 1957). JSTOR | PDF