Dictionary |
|
PILLEUS
|
100.00% |
A round felt cap with little or no brim lying close to the temples. It was the mark of fishermen, sailors, and artisans; hence Castor and Pollux, Odysseus, Charon, Hephaestus, and Daedalus are representedwith it. The upper classes wore it only in the country or when travelling; but it was worn in Rome by the whole people at the Saturnalia, and by freedmen as a sign of their new position. It was placed on the head of slaves when sold, as a sign that the vender undertook no responsibility. (See cuts, and cp.ODYSSEUS, fig. 1, and coin under BRUTUS.) |
|
LIBERTAS
|
89.55% |
Deprecated: Function split() is deprecated in /www/www-ccat/data/classics/myth/php/tools/dictionary.php on line 64
Among the Romans, the personification of Liberty; she had a temple on the Aventine. Her name was also given to the Atrium Libertatis, a place of public business which served, amongst other purposes, as an office of the censors. After it had been burnt down under Augustus, it was rebuilt by Asinine Pollio, and the first public library in Rome was established within its walls. On coins Libertas is represented as a beautiful and richly adorned matron. At the end of the Republic, after the assassination of Caesar, she appears with a dagger and a cap of Liberty (see PILLEUS and coin under BRUTUS). |
|
CLOTHING
|
15.42% |
Deprecated: Function split() is deprecated in /www/www-ccat/data/classics/myth/php/tools/dictionary.php on line 64
Deprecated: Function split() is deprecated in /www/www-ccat/data/classics/myth/php/tools/dictionary.php on line 64
Deprecated: Function split() is deprecated in /www/www-ccat/data/classics/myth/php/tools/dictionary.php on line 64
Deprecated: Function split() is deprecated in /www/www-ccat/data/classics/myth/php/tools/dictionary.php on line 64
Deprecated: Function split() is deprecated in /www/www-ccat/data/classics/myth/php/tools/dictionary.php on line 64
The dresses of the Greeks and Romans consisted of under garments or shirts, and upper garments or mantles. The Greek chiton and the Latin tunica, common to both men and women, belong to the first class; so does the stola of the Roman matron, worn over the tunica. The himation was an upper garment, worn in Greece both by men and women. The Greek chlamys and tribon and peplos were upper garments, the chlamys and tribon confined to men, and the peplos to women. The upper dress worn in public life by a Roman citizen was the toga; the palla was peculiar to married ladies. There were other dresses of the same kind commonly in use among the Romans, for instance the lacerna, loena, poenula, and synthesis: the sagum and paludamentum were confined to military service. (See, for further details, the articles on the words in question.) Trousers (Latin bracae, Greek anaxyrides ) were only known as worn by the Orientals and by the barbarians of the North. Among the Romans no one wore them but the soldiers stationed in the northern districts. In works of art, accordingly, trousers and the long-sleeved chiton are an indication of barbarian costume. The custom of wrapping up the calf and thigh as a protection against the cold was deemed excusable in sickly and elderly people, but was thought effeminate in others. The wool of the sheep was at all times the staple material for cloth stuffs. Linen, though known to the Greeks of the Homeric age, was worn chiefly by the Ionians, and less so by the inhabitants of Greece Proper. Among the Romans, the use of linen was mostly confined to the girdle, though common among the Italian tribes. Both sexes wore a linen girdle (subligaculum) and women a linen breastband. Women were the first to exchange wool for linen, and this during the republican age. Linen garments for men do not appear until later, when the fine Egyptian and Spanish linen-stuffs became a special article of luxury. The toga was always made of wool. Cotton-stuffs, too, were known to the ancients, as well as the serica, a material made wholly or partly of silk; but these were not commonly used until the imperial times (see WEAVING). Country folk in Greece, and especially shepherds, clothe themselve in the skins of animals. Pelisses, apparently, did not come into fashion until the Empire. The colour of dresses among the Greeks and Romans was mostly, but by no means exclusively, white. For practical reasons the working classes used to wear stuffs of dark colour, either natural or artificial. Dark clothes were worn among the upper classes in Rome only in time of mourning, or by a person accused before the courts of law. Coloured dresses were put on by men in Greece mainly on festal occasions, and by the Romans not at all. Gay-coloured materials were at all times worn by Greek ladies, and often, too, by Roman ladies as, arly as the 1st century B.C. Strong colours do not appear to have been liked by the ancients. They were familiar with stripes, plaids, and other patterns, as well as with ornaments of needlework and all kinds of embroidery. With regard to the, fitting of dresses, it should be observed that it was mostly the custom to weave them according to measure, and there was therefore no necessity, as in modern times, for artistic cutting. The art of sewing was quite subordinate, and confined mostly to stitching leaves together for garlands; though sleeved garments, no doubt, required rather more care. Hence the fact that there, was no such thing in antiquity as a separate, tailoring trade. The necessary sewing was done by the ladies of the house, or by their slaves, and sometimes by the fullers, whose business it was to measure the pieces of cloth, to sell ready-made garments, and to clean clothes. (See FULLERS.) Shoes. The Greeks usually went barefoot, except when out of the house; but they did not think it necessary to wear shoes, even in the street. On entering a house, whether one's own or not, it was customary to uncover the feet. The simplest form of covering for the feet was a sole fastened by straps ( hypodema.) This is to be distinguished from the sandal sandalon, sandalion), which was worn originally by men and afterwards by women. This was a more complicated set of straps, reaching as far as over the ankle, where they were fastened. They sometimes had leather added at the sides and heel, so as to resemble a shoe. Close shoes of various kinds, fastened over the foot, were also worn by men and women. There were, besides, several kinds of boots, among which may be mentioned the endromis and cothurnus (see ENDROMIS, COTHURNUS). Among the Romans, men and women when at home, and generally in private life, wore a sandal (solea), which was only taken off at meals; but a respectable Roman would hardly show himself barefooted outof doors. With the toga went the shoe called calceus, of which there were differents kinds, varying according to rank (see CALCEUS). Ladies usually, when out of doors, wore shoes of white or coloured leather, which formed an important part of their toilette, especially under the Empire, when the sexes rivalled each other in the splendour of their shoes, the men appearing in white and red leather, the emperor and great personages wearing shoes adorned with gold and even with jewels. Among the Romans generally, a great variety of shoes was in use, many of them borrowed from other countries (see CREPIDA, SOCCUS). Wooden shoes (sculponeoe) were worn by slaves and peasants. For the military boot in use under the Empire, seeCALIGA. Coverings for the head. The upper classes in Greece and Italy generally went bareheaded. It was only when long in the open air, as on journeys, or while hunting, or in the theatre, that they used the caps and bats worn by artisans, country folk, and fishermen (see PETASUS, PILLEUS, CAUSIA). In Rome, for protection against sun and storm, they adopted from the northern countries the cucullus or cucullio , a hood fastened to the poenilla or lacerna. The head was often protected, in the case both of men and women, by drawing the top of the garment over the head. Besides kerchiefs and caps, women also wore veils, which in some cases, as at Thebes (and as now in the East), covered the face as far as the eyes. Roman ladies would seldom appear in the street uncovered. A common covering was the ricinium, which also served as a wrapper. This was, in later times, only worn at religious ceremonials. It was a square cloth fastened to the head which ladies folded round them, throwing it over the left arm and left shoulder. For protection against the sun ladies carried umbrellas (Gr. skiadeion, Lat. umbraculum, umbella ), or made their servants carry them. Fans (Gr. rhipos , Lat. flabellum) were likewise in common use. These were made of gaily-painted bits of wood, and the feathers of peacocks or other birds, and were generally in the shape of leaves. Ornaments. Rings were in fashion both among men and women. The only other metal ornaments which men would have any opportunity for wearing in ordinary life were the clasps or brooches (fibuloe) used for fastening dresses or girdles. These were of bronze, silver, or gold, and often adorned with costly jewels. Besides rings and clasps, women wore needles in their hair, and ear-rings, necklaces, and bracelets on their wrists and arms, sometimes even on their ankles. The trinkets that have been preserved from antiquity exhibit the greatest conceivable variety of form. One of the commonest forms for a bracelet is that of a snake, surrounding the arm once, or in several spirals. An equal variety is observable in the ornamentations of pearls, precious stones, and the like. |
|
|