Ancient Greek Clothing

1. Complete the text with the words in the box:

expensive chitons price wool buttons plants decorated

Clothing in ancient Greece was ________________. It was made from ______________ or linen.
Lightweight material was used to produce the clothing and was dyed by natural
_______________. During the 5th century, wool was imported from India. These were
produced and sold at an expensive __________________ that the poor families made their
own clothing while the rich who could afford it, brought it. Female slaves were to make this
clothing or any female member in that family. All clothing was _________________ to tell the
different city states in where they lived. Tunics called _________________ were formed by
draping a piece of rectangle-shaped cloth around the body with belts, hooks,
______________, or brooches.

2. Read the following text and answer the questions:

Up until the sixth century the women wore a rectangle of woven wool. It was about six feet
wide and about 18 inches longer that the height of the person wearing the garment. The
fabric was wrapped around the wearer with the extra material folded over the top. It was
pinned on both shoulders with the extra material falling free looking like a cape. The pins
used for fastening the garment were open with a decorated head. During this time period
the men wore similar chitons that came to the ankles. During the fifth century the men
began wearing shorter chitons with one shoulder pinned. Until the fifth century garments
were white. Beginning with the sixth century the clothes were decorated with a wide range
of colours. Later the tunic was replaced by thin linen or occasionally silk. At this time the
fabric was much wider and could measure up to 10 feet wide. The length was measured
from the wearer’s shoulder to the ankle with no extra. The tunic was fastened on both sides
of the neck with two long pins or metal brooches called fibulae. The fabric was pulled in at
the waist with a belt. At this time the chiton sleeves were popular with the ladies. These
were made by fastening the ends of the two pieces fabric many times from the shoulder to
the wrist. The fabric pulled away from each clasp making oval shaped openings all along
the arm. The men’s tunics were worn at knee-length. The women wore their tunics to the
ankles. Both men and women wore cloaks called himation. These were also made from a
rectangular piece of fabric. The men’s were usually knee-length while the women’s were
long. Greeks wore shoes when they went outside. Everyone had strapped sandals. Boots
were made of leather. The women wore ankle length boots while the men wore heavy boots
with laces. The first real hat was invented by the Greeks. It was worn when travelling. The
hat had a chin strap to hold it on.

QUESTIONS:

1. What’s the difference between men and women’s chiton

until the sixth century?

2. When did they begin to decorate their clothes?

3. Define “fibulae” and “himation”:

4. What can you say about Greeks’ shoes?