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Tours: Dyeing and Fashion
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Learn how ancient Greeks made the dyes that colored their clothes and accessories.
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 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".
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.
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.
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.
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.
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