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Unknown garments

There are literary sources who mention the names of garments we don't know or can't identify from iconography. Some times we even have descriptions of them, or we are informed of who wore them and what they signified. In this page we will say a few words about some of them. Even hypothetical reconsructions would contribute much in the diversity and immersion of Greek reenactment. Their world was more complex and diverse than we will ever manage to reconstruct, but it is worthwhile to enrich our knowlege and imagination as much as possible.

Katonake (κατωνάκη) was a coarse garment worn by workmen and slaves. It was made by unknown fabric, probably coarse wool, and on the bottom part it had all around a sewn piece of sheepskin or goatskin with the hair on. Its name means literally down+skin.

It is unclear if the skin was just a narrow hem or if the whole bottom half was made of it. The fact that it was worn by people associated with work probably means that it did not reach below the knee.

It is mentioned twice by Aristophanes and Hesychius as well as the Suda lexicon, which lists it as "servile and unfree chiton"

Theopompus calls the slaves of Sykion as κατωνακοφόροι, which means katonake-wearers.

Phormos (φορμός) was a word with multiple meanings. It mainly meant a straw basket, also a woven sleeping mat, a measure if wheat, but also a sailor's garment made of thick fabric. 

Diphthera (διφθέρα/διφθερίς) was called anything made of processed leather. Usually it referred to a form of parchment used for writing, but in other sources it means "a leathern himation worn by farmers, usually goat". 

In tragedies it was the garment of slaves and in comedies the garment of farmers. (This is a very useful clue because there are vases that specifically show scenes from theater. Further research could perhaps reveal a possible candidate for the form of this garment)

In plural form it meant leathers used as tents.

Lasion (λάσιον) meant shaggy but Sappho [89] uses its plural (λάσια) to denote a female garment. Although based on the etymological meaning of the word we would guess that it was a kind of furry or shaggy garment, Julius Pollux explains that in that verse it means a thinly woven linen garment. 

Again it is uncertain if it referred to a type of clothing or the material for it, for instance a transparent linen chiton.

Esthes (εσθής) was a common term seemingly generic for garments/clothing/uniform. "Χρηστηρία εσθής" for instance is a prophetess's garment [Aesch. Agam.1270], but it could even be used metaphorically for a city's walls [Demades Oratores Attici 99D]. It was used to denote the clothing fashion of different cities, Arghive esthes (Αργολική εσθής), for instance. In plural it was synonymous with himatia, which was also used for clothing in general. 

It is unclear if the esthes meant a specific type of garment to the ancients, like the himation which was a specific garment but in plural it could also be a generic for clothing. 

Stole (στολή)/Spola (σπολά) was another generic term for "uniform" of any kind. It is used with many epithets in front of it, and it could mean anything from womens's peplos to weapons or even a lion skin. We have put the stole in this section because it symbolises all the range of unknown garments and uniforms that some times even the ancients didn't have a specific name for.

Tribon (τρίβων) meant a man proficient in something, experienced through practice, and consequently it meant the used, old or harsh garment. It is not specified in our sources whether it referred to a specific worn garment, the chiton or the himation for instance, or if it had its own characteristics apart from being worn/harsh. It was worn probably by soldiers or poor men, and the Spartans are supposed to have worn it, according to Demosthenes. Later it was favoured by philosophers, as a symbol of their contempt for the material wealth.

The tribon also has diminutives, "tribonion" or "tribonarion". This indicates that it could vary in size. Unfortunately this doesn't help in its identification. A worn himation, chiton, exomis or chlaina or chlamys are all candidates for the tribon, however the typical depiction of philosophers in ancient art is invariably with a himation.

Chlanis (χλανίς) was a light himation. It was the finest of the three, the himation and chlaina following it. It was worn by both men and women, but not considered the most manly of garments. It was worn by old men, but if worn by young men in their every-day life it was considered effeminate.  Milesian chlanides were famous for being woven by very fine yarn. Virgin girls wore very soft and chlanides. The chlanis thus may have been worn also over the head and shoulders.

The chlanis was used as a decorative garment, and often in festivals, like in marriages and when it was white is was probably considered a festive uniform. As the story of Darius and Sylosson indicates, a chlanis could be a very luxurious and expensive garment. However, it could serve as a cover for sleep as well, presumably in warm weather. 

The diminutives of chlanis, "chlaniskos" and "chlanidion" mean that the chlanis as well came in varying sizes.

Sisyra (σισύρα)/ sisyrna (σίσυρνα) was a coat of animal skin with the fur on. It has even been used to refer to a lion skin, but probably it was usually made of goat or sheep skin. The use of the word sisyra for an animal's fur worn around or over the body is an argument against the word "spolas" meaning the same.  

Spolas (σπολάς) is the Aeolian version of stolas, but in the classical times it was not used only in Aeolia. This indicates that the garment which was originally called a spolas probably came from Aeolia. According to Hesychius it meant two things, a "thick" (βαθύς) leather chitoniskos (short chiton), and the leathern cuirass. The identification of the latter will be analysed in another section. The leather chitoniskos though which is described as "thick" probably meant that it was made from a thick fur (βαθύμαλλος) although the words "βαθύς" had a multitude of meanings, none of which go with the material of the garment and the context in which it is used in the sources.

We can assume then that the sisyra was the animal hide wrapped and secured around the body, whereas the spolas was a garment in the shape of a short chiton sewn together by animal furs. Hesychius mentions the word "prvatochiton (προβατοχίτων)=a man who is wearing a chiton of sheepskin (a spolas?), so even though the garment is not known to us from iconography, it certainly existed.  A Libyan spolas was a spolas made of leopard skin. 

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