A himation ( grc, ἱμάτιον ) was a type of clothing, a mantle or wrap worn by ancient Greek men and women from the Archaic through the Hellenistic periods (c. 750–30 BC). It was usually worn over a

chiton Chitons () are marine molluscs of varying size in the class Polyplacophora (), formerly known as Amphineura. About 940 extant and 430 fossil species are recognized. They are also sometimes known as gumboots or sea cradles or coat-of-mail sh ...

and/or peplos, but was made of heavier drape and played the role of a

cloak A cloak is a type of loose garment worn over clothing, mostly but not always as outerwear for outdoor wear, serving the same purpose as an overcoat, protecting the wearer from the weather. It may form part of a uniform. Cloaks have been and ...

or shawl. When the himation was used alone, without a chiton, and served both as a chiton and as a cloak, it was called an ''achiton''. The himation was markedly less voluminous than the Roman

toga The toga (, ), a distinctive garment of ancient Rome, was a roughly semicircular cloth, between in length, draped over the shoulders and around the body. It was usually woven from white wool, and was worn over a tunic. In Roman historical tr ...

. It was usually a large rectangular piece of woollen cloth. Many vase paintings depict women wearing a himation as a veil covering their faces. The himation continued into the Byzantine era as "iconographic dress" used in art and by the lower classes, worn by Christ, the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jews, Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Jose ...

, and biblical figures.

Wearing styles

Sitting_Achilles_wrapped_in_a_himation,_depicted_on_a_greek_kylix_from_ca_500_BC

Himation is not kept in place using pins, unlike other types of Ancient Greek overgarments. When worn by men, the himation is draped over the left shoulder and wrapped around the rest of their body, except for their right arms. For women, the himation allows for either the right or the left arm to be freed from the garment. Vases depicting life during the start of Archaic Greece showed that men of all ages and social classes wore the himation over the

. But by the 6th century, only certain groups of men continued to wear both (e.g., priests, father of the bride, mythological figures); unmarried men and married men alike only wore the himation. Women also started wearing both the chiton and himation during the same period and continued the practice into the Hellenistic period. Older boys, who are above the age of

ephebos ''Ephebos'' (ἔφηβος) (often in the plural ''epheboi''), also anglicised as ''ephebe'' (plural: ''ephebes'') or archaically ''ephebus'' (plural: ''ephebi''), is a Greek term for a male adolescent, or for a social status reserved for tha ...

, when not wearing the style followed by adult men, covered their entire body with the himation. Though there is no exact rule to follow in wearing himation – except during worship in Greek sanctuaries – the style which a person adopts can provide a different meaning and society judges a person's character from how they chose to wear their himation. Which body parts they chose to reveal also led others to perceive them differently. Ancient Greek philosophers at the time mention this perspective in their works. One of them, Theophrastus, described Boorishness in his work Characters, as a person who sits while allowing his himation to be draped above his knees. For women, himation can also be worn as veils, as depicted in several vases from the Archaic era. Despite this, women rarely wore himation without a chiton, especially those of the elite class.

References

External links

* {{Historical clothing, state=expanded Byzantine clothing Greek clothing Robes and cloaks

Wearing styles

See also

References

External links