The peronai (Ancient Greek: περόνη, perónē), also known as perone or porpe, is a straight, long pin used to fasten the outerwear worn by women and men in

Ancient Greece Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cult ...

. Historically, peronei is also used as a weapon by women in

Greek literature Greek literature () dates back from the ancient Greek literature, beginning in 800 BC, to the modern Greek literature of today. Ancient Greek literature was written in an Ancient Greek dialect, literature ranges from the oldest surviving writte ...

.{{Cite book, last=Lee, first=Mireille M., url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dpvWBQAAQBAJ, title=Body, Dress, and Identity in Ancient Greece, date=2015-01-12, publisher=Cambridge University Press, isbn=978-1-107-05536-0, language=en

Usage

As accessories

The visual depiction of peronai shows that the pin is used mostly by women to fasten their

peplos A peplos ( el, ὁ πέπλος) is a body-length garment established as typical attire for women in ancient Greece by circa 500 BC, during the late Archaic and Classical period. It was a long, rectangular cloth with the top edge folded down a ...

. One of the only surviving vases depicting how peronai is used – the

François Vase François () is a French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis. People with the given name * Francis I of France, King of France (), known as "the Father and Restorer of Letters" * Francis II of France, King ...

– showed one of the women in the vase, using the peronai where the head of the pin is inserted in between parts of the fabric on her shoulder, with the unprotected part facing upwards. However, descriptions from Ancient Greek literature show that peronai is also used by men. One of these examples was found in the

Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; grc, Ὀδύσσεια, Odýsseia, ) is one of two major Ancient Greek literature, ancient Greek Epic poetry, epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by moder ...

, where a peronai is used to fasten

Odysseus Odysseus ( ; grc-gre, Ὀδυσσεύς, Ὀδυσεύς, OdysseúsOdyseús, ), also known by the Latin variant Ulysses ( , ; lat, UlyssesUlixes), is a legendary Greek king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's epic poem the ''Odyssey''. Odysse ...

’ mantle. The ''

Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odysse ...

'' also mentions gold peronai as gifts given by Athena Ergane to

Hera In ancient Greek religion, Hera (; grc-gre, Ἥρα, Hḗrā; grc, Ἥρη, Hḗrē, label=none in Ionic and Homeric Greek) is the goddess of marriage, women and family, and the protector of women during childbirth. In Greek mythology, she ...

. Peronai seems to have been used as an accessory until the

Classical era Classical antiquity (also the classical era, classical period or classical age) is the period of cultural history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD centred on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ...

when the use of buttons was more favored.

As weapons

Peronai is often used as a weapon by female mythological figures and characters from

Ancient Greek literature Ancient Greek literature is literature written in the Ancient Greek language from the earliest texts until the time of the Byzantine Empire. The earliest surviving works of ancient Greek literature, dating back to the early Archaic period, are ...

. For example, in the ''

'', Athena mentions the usage of peronai as a weapon used by an Achaian woman. Peronai is also mentioned several times for causing the blindness of figures in Greek legends such as

Oedipus Oedipus (, ; grc-gre, Οἰδίπους "swollen foot") was a mythical Greek king of Thebes. A tragic hero in Greek mythology, Oedipus accidentally fulfilled a prophecy that he would end up killing his father and marrying his mother, thereby ...

and

Polymestor In Greek mythology, Polymestor or Polymnestor ( grc, Πολυμ(ν)ήστωρ) was a king of the Bistonians in Thrace. Polymestor appears in Euripides' play ''Hecuba'' and in the Ovidian myth "Hecuba, Polyxena and Polydorus". Polymestor was also ...

, who were both injured by female characters.

Materials and size

Archeological discoveries of peronai from Ancient Greece showcased two different sizes of the pins, with the length of the first pin at 23 cm, and the other at 40 cm. Peronai tends to be made from metallic materials, such as bronze, silver, and gold.

In other cultures

Peronai bears similarity to a similar, unnamed pin used by the people of Hasanlu of ancient Iran, whose women also used the pin as weapons.

References