Ancient Greek Clothing: More than Meets the Eye

Hello! Today I want to start the ruble of stories about ancient civilizations. I've been studying the history of antiquity for several years, I want to share with you the most interesting information in my opinion :)

So, the mysterious and romantic Ancient Greece

Contrary to popular belief, ancient Greek clothing is not merely a sheet wrapped around your body. Many depictions of traditional Greek garb have been preserved, and they are definitely more than sheets wrapped around your body.

 Modern Greek actresses reenact ancient Greek Olympic ceremonies. 

Unfortunately, there is a roadblock in researching Greek clothing, because no actual clothes have survived the centuries since the twilight of ancient Greece.

Some depictions of Greek clothing can be found of the Minoans and Mycenaeans. The Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations are both Greek civilizations that were found on the island Crete. Minoan civilization flourished from 2700 to 1450 BC. Then, Mycenaean civilization began to overpower the influence of the Minoans. Mycenae kept its power from 1600 to 1100 BC.

Ancient Minoan Clothing

 One problem with the depictions of these two civilizations is that Minoan art heavily influenced Mycenaean art. So, the depiction of Mycenaean clothing might actually be Minoan clothing. 

After the Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations, we don't see examples of Greek clothing until 800 BC, after the Greek Dark Ages. The clothing after 800 BC tended to be much less elaborate than that of the Minoans and Mycenaeans.

Ancient Crit Clothes

This post-Dark Age clothing tended to be plain, occasionally having decorative borders. One example is the chiton. Minoan and Mycenaean clothing, on the other hand, appeared colorful and decorative. You could compare it to America. Colonial Americans definitely wore bigger, puffier, and more intricate clothes than we do today, with our jeans and t-shirts.

Ancient Greek chiton

Colonial Dress Codes 

Just like we have many different hairstyles, from mohawks to dreadlocks to buzzcuts, the ancient Greeks had an assortment of hairstyles.

 Ancient greek hairstyles for men and woomen 

Wool and linen were the materials most often used for clothes. Cotton was not common until after the rule of Alexander the Great. Silk eventually made its way west to Greece as well.

Again, we don't have any actual clothes left over from ancient Greece, but it seems likely that those were the materials used for clothes. One thing that we absolutely know is that ancient Greek clothing was not made Spandex. If it was, my guess is our entire knowledge of history is bogus.