Baring the Female Shoulder in Ancient Greece
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Baring the Female Shoulder in Ancient Greece Duchess Andromeda Lykaina∗ ∗[email protected], https://andromedaofsparta.wordpress.com/ 1 1 Introduction A version of a garment in which the wearer bares one shoulder existed in Ancient Greece without doubt, but it appears to be constructed quite differently than its modern interpretations. Further, it seems to have been used sparingly and in very specific circumstances for women. We are using the broad period of Ancient Greece here as our examples are drawn from the Archaic (800 BCE - 480 BCE), Classical (480 BCE - 323 BCE), and Hellenistic (323 BCE - 146 BCE) periods. While garments differed in subtle ways across these periods, there is enough cohesion to allow us to recognize the same garment in different centuries. We will argue that the appearance of the one-shouldered chiton indicated a sharp departure from standard female behavior in proper Greek society, and we have constructed an example that closely resembles a particular instance of the garment in period. Note that the nature of the garment in most of the scenarios in which it appears lends itself to being simple and functional. Our goal in constructing an example is to show an authentic construction rather than to create a fancy garment. The rest of this work is organized as follows: x2 will present an overview of common garments in Ancient Greece so that we might put the one-shouldered chiton in context; x3 presents what evidence we have found of its appearance on women in the literary and archeological record; and x4 will present an argument as to its construction and an explanation of the example we have constructed. 2 Common Garments The purpose of this work is not to give an in-depth description of all Ancient Greek clothing; however, to discuss a specific garment variation, we need to be able to set it apart from others, and for that reason, we must provide an overview of the basic garments worn in this general region in this period. The most commonly mentioned and depicted garment types are chlamys, himation, peplos, and chiton [1]. The chlamys is a short cloak, worn primarily by men and used particularly for military purposes and for traveling [2]. It is frequently shown draped over the left shoulder and clasped on the right, but it is sometimes shown clasped in front of the clavicles or even left open draped over the back and both arms [3]. There may have been two versions of the chlamys, one that is rectangular and one that is shaped more like an almond, coming in at the ends [4]. The difference in these two shapes is indicated by how many points you can see; a rectangle has four while an almond has two [5][6]. The himation is an outer garment or wrap, typically longer than the chlamys, worn by men and women [7]. There are a variety of ways to wrap the himation. One common style shows the himation coming over the left shoulder, wrapping around the body mostly covering the lower half, and the excess fabric collected over the left arm [8]. A similar version is wrapped around the lower body first, brought around the back, and draped over the left shoulder to the front. As with Greek garments in normal circumstances, the right side is left free. For more modesty, or to create mystic, the entire upper body and even the head can be wrapped [9]. For men, the himation carries an air of higher status and possibly intellect, as it is shown on orators and symposium attendants. It seems likely that most himations were made of wool, but it is possible that another fabric could have been used in some scenarios. Like the chlamys, there are depictions of plain, striped, and patterned himations. The difference between chlamys and himation seems to be one of cut and arrangement for specific purposes. A peplos is a one-piece rectangular garment worn by women, wrapped around the body and characterized by an overfold (apoptygma) formed by folding the upper portion over the top, creating a flap [10]. Straight pins (s. perone, pl. peronai) attach the garment front to back at both shoulders with the back coming up and over the front in the Archaic style. When the peplos resurfaces in the Early Classical period, it may have been sewn or fastened with buttons [11]. The open side is most often positioned on the right and can be left open or pinned closed. Belting can keep the garment in place, both over and under the apoptygma. The voluminous fabric can also be brought up over the belt adding emphasis to the hips (kolpos) [12]. A peplos can be worn by itself, as frequently appears in the Archaic, or it can be worn over a chiton as an outer garment [13]. The length of the apoptygma varies, possibly due to the height of the wearer, and it may have been the case that this allowed the garment to clothe a child as the child grew, the apoptygma getting shorter as the child got taller. As the peplos is frequently discussed as being a heavier, outer garment, it was most frequently made of wool. As with the other garments, a variety of decoration styles have been depicted [14]. 2 A chiton is a lighter garment worn closest to the skin by men and women, made of two rectangles sewn together at the sides and the top, leaving holes for arms and neck [15]. The term \Doric chiton" is often applied to a full-length garment that does not have sleeves of any kind; it has a sort of tank top or sundress look to it [16]. The Doric chiton may have been fastened with pins (peronai) in a similar fashion to the peplos with the back coming over the front, and later in the period may have been fastened with buttons or sewn. \Ionian chiton" describes a typically full-length garment made of enough fabric that the top edge attachment is not just along the shoulders but can extend along the arm, creating sleeves; however, on a mixing vessel in the Getty Villa, Artemis is depicted in an Ionian chiton that stops at the knee, providing at least one counter example to the full-length norm [17][18]. Often, a strap forming a figure eight (s. himas, pl. himantes) is used over the shoulders and across the back to form the sleeves along the body [19] [20]. The sleeves may be sewn straight, pleated and sewn, or attached with buttons, often again with pleating [21][22][23]. The chiton is sometimes depicted with an apoptygma, but it is not a defining feature, as it is with the peplos. The chiton is most often described as being made of linen and can also be decorated in a plethora of styles. When the Doric-style chiton stops at the knees or thigh, it is called a chitoniskos or \short chiton" [24]. When one shoulder, usually the right, is left unfastened, it is called an exomis, a \tunic with one sleeve", contrasted with the amthimasxalos, \having two arm-holes" [25][26]. It is described as being \fastened over the left shoulder only... leaving the right shoulder and part of the breast free" and \especially characteristic of workmen and slaves, Laconizers and Cynics." The description says nothing of length, so it seems reasonable to discuss an exomis that comes to the knee and an exomis that comes to the ankle; however, the use may dictate the length. As the exomis is described as being worn by those performing physical activities (or else as a demonstration of being removed from prosperity as seems the case with Cynics) and described elsewhere as providing freedom of movement to the right arm, it seems likely that in most cases the short version is the default. The exomis is the garment we are interested in here. 3 Female Uses Given the nature of the exomis, it is not surprising that it seems to have been worn by women only for very specific and somewhat unusual circumstances, and surely not by the typical Greek woman going about her daily activities. The only appearances of the exomis on women that we have found include women running, depictions of female warriors, and supposed maenads. It should be noted that many images depicting warriors and maenads do not bare a shoulder. We are not arguing that they always appear in this garment; rather, we are arguing that this garment does not appear outside these, or similar, occasions. 3.1 Athletic Competition In some areas of Greece, such as Sparta and Elis, women were allowed to compete in foot races. In \The Polity of the Lacedamonians" 1(5), Xenophon writes \the rest of the Hellenes, are content that our girls should sit quietly and work wools," while stating that Lycurgus, the lawgiver of Sparta, believed that weaving clothing could be left to slaves, but \insisted on the training of the body as incumbent no less on the female than the male; and in pursuit of the same idea instituted rival contests in running and feats of strength for women as for men" [27]. In these cases, the exomis appears to be the garment of choice. The bronze figure of a running girl (figure 1) has been attributed as originating in Laconia. The garment stops above the knee and is unfastened at the right shoulder, leaving the right breast exposed. Similarly, in Pausanias' \Description of Greece" (Elis1.16.2-3), Pausanias writes of the Heraea games, held every four years in the Olympic stadium, consisting of \foot-races for maidens" [28].