Ancient Greek Clothing

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Ancient Greek Clothing

Most of ancient Greek clothing was simply made, practical and functional enough to be worn in the very hot Greek weather.

The fabrics were spun from woollen material or for the more well off, made from an imported linen, cut into large squares or oblongs and loosely draped and pinned at the shoulder or seams if not folded over to hide the seams.

Some were belted, and many were plain coloured, but some were dyed bright colours, and perhaps decorated with patterns that may have been drawn or painted onto the fabric.

Ancient Greek Clothing

In later years, they also used ornate jewelery to show off their ancient Greek costume.

As today, I imagine that some were more imaginative with their style and appearance.

Derived from a basic tunic, ancient Greek clothing was worn by men and women alike, and the length varied, depending on what type of job they did.

If the person was younger then their tunics were worn shorter.

Ancient Greek Clothing – Sandals

Ancient Greek Sandals

A lot of ancient Greeks wore no shoes, but some wore leather sandal type shoes, obviously, hand made and from animal skin.

They usually had long straps that wrapped around the calf and then tied.

Greek Clothing, Minoan and Mycenaean Clothing

The Ancient Minoan Civilisation were around from 3000 BCE on the isle of Crete and were a culture that survived around several hundred years.

Their clothing was semi fitted and some remains show that they had knowledge of needlework. Their surviving art and remaining artifacts suggest that the Minoan society were quite wealthy.

The women wore long skirts, sometimes tiered and shortish tops, blouses that showed their bosoms.

The men wore loin cloths and ancient artifacts suggest they were fond of fitted belts or girdle type garments that tightened their waists which seems popular in that era.

Sadly the Minoan culture seems to have disintegrated or died around 1600BCE, no one knows exactly why. The Mycenaean Greek culture seems to have grown in the same era, first on the Greek mainland and later they invaded Crete.

Ancient Greek Minoan Costume

The Minoans seem to have greatly influenced the Mycenaean population who adopted their style.

There were a few differences, such as the Mycenaean women covered their breasts and the men wore short sleeved tunics.

Artifacts suggest that the Mycenaeans were warriors and wore distinguishing armour over protected clothing that guarded them from neck to waist. Over this they wore bronze breast plates and leg guards.

The Dorians

Around 1200 BCE, the Mycenaean culture seemed to die out through famine and other environmental problems, at which the ancient Greek Dorians seemed to prosper.

As the Dorian civilisation prospered, their artifacts show that from the 8th century BCE, they had a great admiration for the human form and men often went naked when exercising and bathing in public.

Their jewellery was more distinguished and the cloth they used for their ancient Greek clothing was a more finely woven fabric. History suggests that they still draped their clothing and rarely tailored their cloth.

Chiton

A Chiton was another type of tunic worn by the Greek men outdoors, as it was made of a lighter weave and was more comfortable when working outdoors in the hot sun.

A Chiton would be draped over the left shoulder or maybe over the two. If the person chose to drape over one shoulder, it was usually called an exomine, worn for horseback riding or exercise.

Peplos

Ancient Greek Costume

Ancient Greek clothing, called a Peplos would be worn by a woman made of a slightly heavier woollen material and would be draped and fastened with pins or brooches in different styles to reflect the weather, leisure, or the work to be done.

A Peplos was usually worn as a full length dress, as women who revealed too much were frowned upon by some ancient Greeks.

Himation

The women also wore long wool blankets called Himation and wore them as cloaks in the cold weather. This type of ancient Greek clothing was weighted at the corners, and would sometimes be pinned to their head, particularly if the woman was married.

Children’s Ancient Greek Clothing

Greek women didn’t put clothing on their babies, but some would put a cloth nappy or diaper on the child and on cold days the child would be wrapped in cloth around the waist and resembling shorts in the way it was wrapped.

It was only as the children got older that they would dress as their elders did.

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