Thracian clothing refers to types of clothing worn mainly by

Thracians The Thracians (; grc, Θρᾷκες ''Thrāikes''; la, Thraci) were an Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Eastern and Southeastern Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied t ...

, DaciansThe Thracians 700 BC-AD 46 (Men-at-Arms) by Christopher Webber and Angus McBride, 2001, , page 18 but also by some

Greeks The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, oth ...

. Its best literal descriptions are given by

Herodotus Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society ...

and

Xenophon Xenophon of Athens (; grc, Ξενοφῶν ; – probably 355 or 354 BC) was a Greek military leader, philosopher, and historian, born in Athens. At the age of 30, Xenophon was elected commander of one of the biggest Greek mercenary armies o ...

in his

Anabasis Anabasis (from Greek ''ana'' = "upward", ''bainein'' = "to step or march") is an expedition from a coastline into the interior of a country. Anabase and Anabasis may also refer to: History * ''Anabasis Alexandri'' (''Anabasis of Alexander''), a ...

. Depictions are found in a great number of Greek vases and there are a few

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

n representations as well. In contrast to shapes and patterns we have very little evidence on the colours used.

History and types

The Thracians wore a

tunic A tunic is a garment for the body, usually simple in style, reaching from the shoulders to a length somewhere between the hips and the knees. The name derives from the Latin ''tunica'', the basic garment worn by both men and women in Ancient Rome ...

, a cloak called ''zeira'' (

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...

: ζείρα), a cap called ''alopekis'' (

: αλωπεκίς) made from the scalp of a fox with the ears visible, other Phrygian cap styles, and fawnskin boots called ''embades'' (

: εμβάδες). Thracian clothing was sometimes decorated with intricate patterns. While

pattern A pattern is a regularity in the world, in human-made design, or in abstract ideas. As such, the elements of a pattern repeat in a predictable manner. A geometric pattern is a kind of pattern formed of geometric shapes and typically repeated li ...

ed clothing was not unique to Thracians, the ''zeira'', ''embades'' and the ''alopekis'' probably originated from them. Clothing was made from hemp, flax or wool. The Dacians and the Getae wore pantaloons called bracae (

: ἀναξυρίδες or θύλακοι).These loose pants were described in Euripides work as “variegated bags” (

: τοὺς θυλάκους τοὺς ποικίλους) and may have appeared highly ridiculous to the Greeks, although

Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...

mentions the adoption of them by the descendants of some of the Greek colonists on the Euxine.These trousers were common in many nations.

Classical era

In the north only noble Thracians, the " Zibythides" and noble Dacians, the " Pileati", would wear caps. Despite this

writes that all Thracians in the

Persian army The military history of Iran has been relatively well-documented, with thousands of years' worth of recorded history. Largely credited to its historically unchanged geographical and geopolitical condition, the modern-day Islamic Republic of I ...

wore foxskin caps and multicoloured mantles. Northern tribes in general, both Thracians and Daco-Getians, wore clothes similar to

Scythians The Scythians or Scyths, and sometimes also referred to as the Classical Scythians and the Pontic Scythians, were an ancient Eastern * : "In modern scholarship the name 'Sakas' is reserved for the ancient tribes of northern and eastern Centra ...

Hellenistic era

The Thracians at

Pydna Pydna (in Greek: Πύδνα, older transliteration: Pýdna) was a Greek city in ancient Macedon, the most important in Pieria. Modern Pydna is a small town and a former municipality in the northeastern part of Pieria regional unit, Greece. Sin ...

in 168 BC wore black tunics. The

Kausia The kausia ( grc, καυσία) was an ancient Macedonian flat hat. Background It was worn during the Hellenistic period but perhaps even before the time of Alexander the Great and was later used as a protection against the sun by the poorer cl ...

(

: Καυσία) was adopted from the

Macedon Macedonia (; grc-gre, Μακεδονία), also called Macedon (), was an Classical antiquity, ancient monarchy, kingdom on the periphery of Archaic Greece, Archaic and Classical Greece, and later the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. Th ...

ians. Although many Thracian tribes began to incorporate Greek garbs to their fashion, they still largely retained their own styles of clothing.The Thracians 700 BC-AD 46 (Men-at-Arms) by Christopher Webber and Angus McBride, 2001, , page 19

References

External links

Thracian manWarrior in Thracian costumeYouths getting dressed in Thracian garbs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thracian Clothing

Clothing Clothing (also known as clothes, apparel, and attire) are items worn on the body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin sheets of materials and natural ...

Clothing by ethnicity History of clothing Greek clothing Dacia Dacian culture

History and types

Classical era

Hellenistic era

See also

References

External links