Tours: Dyeing and Fashion

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Learn how ancient Greeks made the dyes that colored their clothes and accessories.

Opening RemarksDyeing and FashionFishing the MurexOpening the MurexMaceration and SaltingDyeing

• Markos: Hello, my friend! Welcome to Kythera, where clothes are dyed and noses are assaulted by disgusting smells.

("Who are you?")

• Markos: Why, I'm Markos, of course! One of the most successful merchants in all of Greece. You really haven heart of me? My name is known from Kephallonia to Kos! If you've ever paid money for something, I probably received a percentage. But enough about me. Let's go back to what you're doing here.

("What do you think of this place?")

• Markos: I think it smells terrible and I can't wait to get out of here. The colors are pretty, though.

("Let's begin the tour.")

• Markos: This little island was where dyers brought all the color to Greek fashion—through an intensely stinky procedure. This tour will reveal the steps in took for workers to brew the dye. Try not to step in any mollusk guts as you enjoy your visit. I promise I'll meet you at the end of your tour. See you soon, my friend!

Terracotta figurine of draped standing woman, from Boeotia / 3rd cent. BCE (Hellenistic Greece)

In Greece, fabric and clothing were colored using natural dyes from shellfish, insects, and plants.

Skilled craftsmen across the Greek world extracted dyes from these sources and combined them with other substances to create a variety of colors.

The dyeing process supposedly produced incredibly pungent smells, and ancient writers would often comment on the stink in their works.

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The craft of leatherworking became very common in the Classical period.

While the Greeks had plenty of cattle to provide skins for leather, they preferred to import hides from trading centers Like Thrace, Kyrene, and Sicily. Most tanneries operated on the outskirts of populated areas due to the strong smell.

Tanning began with cleaning and softening the hides by soaking them in water, then pounding them to remove flesh and fat. Afterwards, the skins were soaked in water mixed with urine or covered with an alkaline lime to loosen the hair, which was then scraped off with a knife. Following this, they were softened in a vat of water mixed with animal dung, then beaten and kneaded. Finally, the hides were stretched on frames and immersed in a mixture of water and crushed tree bark, which made them softer, water-proof, and resistant to bacteria.

Murex shell on the obverse of an obol from Lycia / 380-370 BCE (Classical Greece)

Murex is the generic name for three species of mollusks that reside in the Mediterranean.

The substance they secrete was used by craftsmen to create the most expensive dyes in the ancient world, the most famous of which was "Tyrian Purple".

Fishing techniques varied depending on the type of mollusk.

In shallow waters, fishermen could simply dive and catch the mollusks, but they set traps if the water was too deep.

Being carnivorous, murex were often lured using dead animal flesh as bait.

It was imperative that the mollusks be captured alive, as they only secreted the precious purple liquid needed for dyes upon death.

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The craft and trade of dyeing was believed to have originated in Krete before becoming widespread in Classical Greece. Due to the need for marine mollusks, most dyeing-related activities took place in coastal areas.

During the Classical period, there were large-scale dyeing workshops in Athens and Olynthos. The towns of Meliboea in Thessaly and Hermione in Argolis were also renowned for their dyes.

The Greek writer Pausanias estimated that half the population of Boulis - a town in Phokis - dedicated themselves to fishing for purple-producing mollusks. He also praised the Lakonian coast for having the best seashells for producing purple dye. The island of Kythera off the Lakonian coast even became known as the "purple island".

Scarabold in jasper engraved with a murex shell / 400 BCE (Classical Greece)

The purple liquid that made up most dyes came from a gland in the murex.

To collect it, workers would either crack open the mollusk's shell with a knife, or if it was smaller, crush it with a stone.

Each mollusk only produced a small amount of liquid, and thousands of them were needed to produce even a gram of the substance.

Because of this, captured mollusks were usually kept alive in seawater-immersed baskets until enough had accumulated to produce a satisfactory amount of dye.

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Some archaeological sites have revealed the existence of small single-household workshops filled with equipment for processing purple dye and dyeing fabrics. Other sites, meanwhile, have revealed multiple neighboring houses that contained similar dyeing equipment, suggesting a community of dyers.

Large-scale dyeing was carried out by highly-skilled slaves and free workers. While the process was run by wealthy people, members of these families were not involved in production.

Terracotta loom weight with geometric decoration / 575-525 BCE (Archaic Greece)

The mollusk glands were mixed with salt and left to decompose for three days.

Afterwards, the resulting mash was placed in a vat, where it boiled until it was thickened and reduced to one-sixteenth of its original volume.

The dyers stirred this mixture and removed any impurities.

This process produced the foul odor so reviled by ancient writers.

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Dyeing installations can be reimagined and reconstructed from archaeological evidence and testimonies from ancient writers.

One of the key archaeological sites for understanding the ancient dyeing process is at Rachi Hill, near the sanctuary of Isthmia. It features a complex installation of vats and tanks, as well as a large water cistern and a well. Purple shells and loom-weights were also found at the site, indicating that it was once a center for dyeing and weaving.

Penelope unraveling her web, oil painting by Joseph Wright of Derby (1734-1797) / 1783-1784 (Modern period)

Dyers checked the hue of the purple liquid by dipping in raw wool.

The hue could be changed by adjusting the temperature of the liquid, and by soaking the wool for different periods of time, with longer soaking producing deeper shades.

The wool was dyed once before spinning, and again before weaving, to ensure it maintained its color.

While murex-purple dyed wool easily, it did not adhere as well to other fabrics, such as linen.

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According to a Phoenician legend, purple dye was discovered when the god Melqart and the nymph Tyros were walking along a beach with their dog. The dog bit into a large mollusk, and its snout was stained purple. Impressed, Tyros asked for a dress dyed with the same color.

Purple garments are also mentioned in works like "The Iliad" and "The Odyssey", usually worn by kings and heroes. For example, Helen of Troy weaved a large purple cloth depicting battle scenes between Trojans and Achaians, and Penelope provided her husband Odysseus with a woolen purple cloak upon his departure.

Greek poets of the Classical period generally considered purple clothing to be the garments of heroes and gods.

Colors and DecorationsDress and TextilesTextiles as Social MarkersClothing Variety, Garment Care, and ValueClosing Remarks

Red-figure pyxis with scene of woman showing a textile to a seated woman / 430 BCE (Classical Greece)

Most Greek garments were made from rectangular fabric that was rarely cut or sewn.

They were normally folded around the body with girdles, pins, and buttons.

Dyeing served to give the garments a more unique style.

Decorations were also widely used, and were either woven or painted on. They depicted things like animals, human figures, and mythological scenes.

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While shellfish were used for the extraction of purple dye, other colors could be produced from other sources. Yellow was obtained from saffron, red could be extracted from madder plants or insects of the Kermes genus, and blue was obtained from woad plants.

Shellfish dyes were brighter and richer than plant dyes, but they were also more costly. Cheaper shades of purple could be produced by mixing blue and red dyes in different quantities.

Terracotta onos (leg guard used in carding woold) / 510-500 BCE (Archaic Greece)

Textile manufacturing and trade was one of the most lucrative businesses in Classical Athens.

Textiles were made of either wool or linen, with wool being the most common.

Women produced the garments worn in domestic life, although some men ran professional workshops that fulfilled the same need.

Other textiles were made by slaves and laborers under the supervision of master weavers, fullers, and dyers.

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An epinetron, also called an onos, was a tool used to turn wool into rovings.

A few hundred ceramic epinetra have been discovered. They were produced in Athenian workshops during the Classical period. Some scholars suggest that earlier versions of the tool could have been made of wood or leather.

Epinetra were frequently associated with weddings, and could be decorated with scenes depicting spinning, weaving, and/or mythical weddings.

Ornamented buttons with head of Athena, found in Eretria / 300-250 BCE (Hellenistic Greece)

Clothes didn't just keep people warm. They were used as a way to communicate social identities like gender, status, and ethnicity.

These could be expressed through garments and accessories, but also jewelry, hair styles, perfumes, and cosmetics.

Wealthy Greeks usually had garments of the highest quality, and all their accessories were decorated with gold, silver, or gemstones.

Parasols and fans were also an important part of elite fashion, and were usually carried by accompanying slaves.

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During the Classical period, Greek jewelry-making became more sophisticated with the introduction of new techniques.

Typical jewelry included earrings, pins, bracelets, armbands, finger rings, diadems, and other hair ornaments. At the end of the Classical period, these items were occasionally inlaid with precious stones like emeralds, pearls, and amethysts. The clothing of wealthy women could also be sewn with jewels.

Jewels were often engraved with vegetal and animal motifs, or depictions of gods and heroes. Like clothes, jewelry was a symbol of status and wealth that was often passed from generation to generation. However, jewelry could also function as an offering to the gods or as a funerary deposit.

Terracotta chous with scene of women in festive dress, perfuming garments / 420-410 BCE (Classical Greece)

The most common Greek garments were the peplos, the chiton, and the himation.

The peplos - typically worn by women - was a body-length cloth.

It was folded back on itself and worn draped over the body and pinned over the shoulders.

The chiton was a long garment with sleeves.

Ankle-length chitones were normally worn by women, while men wore shorter versions of the garment.

A himation was a mantle that was worn over both the chiton and the peplos.

Outside of daily life, there were also specialized clothes worn only in exceptional situations like weddings and religious ceremonies.

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With the exception of slaves and young girls, many women in Classical Greece wore some type of hairband. Adult women often had their hair tied in a ponytail or something similar, while young girls wore their hair more loosely.

Most Greek men had their hair cut short. Beards and moustaches, meanwhile, were a matter of personal taste and fashion. Elite men preferred not to cover their heads, except occasionally with their mantle veil when they wanted to avoid attention.

Hats such as the pilos (conical) and the petasos (wide-brimmed) were used to protect their wearers against the sun or bad weather. They were typically worn by farmers, soldiers, and travelers.

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