ANCIENT TEXTILES SERIES 28

GODS &

GARMENTS
GODS &
GARMENTS
TEXTILES IN GREEK SANCTUARIES IN
THE 7TH TO THE 1ST CENTURIES BC

C EC IL IE BR N S
Textiles comprise a vast and wide category of material culture and constitute a crucial part of the ancient
economy. Yet, studies of classical antiquity still often leave out this important category of material culture,
partly due to the textiles themselves being only rarely preserved in the archaeological record. This neglect
is also prevalent in scholarship on ancient Greek religion and ritual, although it is one of the most vibrant
and rapidly developing branches of classical scholarship. The aim of the present enquiry is, therefore, to
introduce textiles into the study of ancient Greek religion and thereby illuminate the roles textiles played in
the performance of Greek ritual and their wider consequences.
Among the questions posed are how and where we can detect the use of textiles in the sanctuaries, and how
CECILIE
they were used in rituals including their impact on the performance of these rituals and the people involved.
Chapters centre on three themes: first, the dedication of textiles and clothing accessories in Greek sanctuaries
BR NS
is investigated through a thorough examination of the temple inventories. Second, the use of textiles to dress
ancient cult images is explored, using Hellenistic and Roman copies of ancient cult images from Asia Minor,
as well as depictions of cult images in vase-painting, together with written sources. Third, the existence of
dress codes in the Greek sanctuaries is addressed through an investigation of the existence of particular attire
for ritual personnel as well as visitors to the sanctuaries with the help of iconography and written sources.
By merging the study of Greek religion and the study of textiles, the current study illustrates how textiles
are, indeed, central materialisations of Greek cult, by reason of their capacity to accentuate and epitomize
aspects of identity, spirituality, position in the religious system, by their forms as links between the maker,
user, wearer, and also as key material agents in the performance of rituals and communication with the divine.

Cecilie Brns is a Postdoctoral scholar at Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek in Copenhagen specialising in textiles and
polychromy in the ancient Mediterranean. Together with Marie Louise Nosch she is editing a volume on
textiles and cult, to appear in 2017.

ISBN 978-1-78570-355-3

The Danish National Research Foundations

www.oxbowbooks.com CENTRE for TEXTILE RESEARCH
 ANCIENT TEXTILES SERIES 28

Gods and Garments

Textiles in Greek Sanctuaries in the 7th
to the 1stCenturies BC

by
Cecilie Brns

Oxford & Philadelphia

Published in the United Kingdom in 2017 by
OXBOW BOOKS
The Old Music Hall, 106108 Cowley Road, Oxford OX4 1JE

and in the United States by

OXBOW BOOKS
1950 Lawrence Road, Havertown, PA 19083, USA

Oxbow Books and the individual contributors 2017

Hardback edition: ISBN 978-1-78570-355-3

Digital Edition: ISBN 978-1-78570-356-0 (epub)

A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Brns, Cecilie, author.

Title: Gods and garments : textiles in Greek sanctuaries in the 7th to the 1st
centuries BC / by Cecilie Brns.
Other titles: Gods and garments (2017)
Description: Philadelphia : Oxbow Books, 2017. | Series: Ancient textiles
series ; 28 | Based on the authors thesis (University of Copenhagen). |
Includes bibliographical references.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016044906 (print) | LCCN 2016047159 (ebook) | ISBN
9781785703553 (hardback) | ISBN 9781785703560 (epub) | ISBN 9781785703577
(mobi) | ISBN 9781785703584 (pdf)
Subjects: LCSH: Textile fabrics, AncientGreeceReligious aspects. |
Clothing and dressGreeceReligious aspects. | GreeceReligion.
Classification: LCC BL65.C64 B76 2017 (print) | LCC BL65.C64 (ebook) | DDC
292.3dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016044906

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Front cover: Red-figure kylix by Makron. Staatliche Museen, Antikensammlung, inv. no. 2290. Photo: Johannes
Laurentius.
Back cover: Mosaic with Nilotic scene, 2nd century BC. Museo archaeologico Nazionale, Palestrina, inv. no.
149000907.
For my family
 Contents

Acknowledgements............................................................................................................... vii
Abbreviations.......................................................................................................................... ix
Abstract................................................................................................................................... xi

PART I: INTRODUCTION

Introductory framework.........................................................................................................3

PART II: DEDICATIONS OF TEXTILES AND ACCESSORIES INGREEKSANCTUARIES

1. Introduction: Textile dedications...............................................................................21

2. The temple inventories: Written evidence for the dedication of textiles

and accessories..............................................................................................................33

3. Discussion: Textile dedications.................................................................................145

PART III: CULT IMAGES AND DRESS

4. Introduction: Cult statues in ancient Greece.........................................................169

5. Iconographic evidence for the dressingofcultstatues.......................................183

6. Written evidence for the dressing of cult statues.................................................239

7. Discussion: Dressing of cult statues.........................................................................251

PART IV: SACRED DRESS CODES

8. Introduction: Sources and methodologicaldiscussion.........................................269

9. Priestly garments........................................................................................................273

10. Iconographic evidence for the dress ofsanctuaryvisitors.................................305

vi Contents

11. Clothing regulations in sanctuaries: Thewrittensources...................................325

12. Discussion: Sacred dress-codes in sanctuaries.......................................................353

Conclusion.............................................................................................................................361

Appendix 1: The peplos of Athena at Athens...................................................................365

Appendix 2: Temple inventories. Greek texts and translations..................................393
Appendix 3: Clothing regulations. Greek texts and translations................................401
Appendix 4: Dress-fasteners in sanctuaries....................................................................421
Bibliography..........................................................................................................................431
 Acknowledgements

The current study has been carried out as a collaboration project between The Danish
National Research Foundations Centre for Textile Research (CTR) and the Department
of Ancient Cultures of Denmark and the Mediterranean in the National Museum of
Denmark. It was made possible by generous grants from these institutions as well as
The Danish Ministry of Culture, for which I am very grateful.
I am grateful to more people than I can possibly name here, but some deserve
special mention. First of all I am deeply grateful to Marie-Louise Bech Nosch, who
oversaw this project from its inception as a doctoral thesis to its final publication, for
all her invaluable guidance and support. This project has greatly benefited from her
insightful comments, suggestions, and intellectual generosity. My deepest gratitude is
also due to Bodil Bundgaard-Rasmussen and Lone Wriedt-Srensen for all their kind
support and advice. Furthermore, Mary Harlow, Tyler Jo Smith, and Jane Fejfer have
all given invaluable advice on my dissertation and its revision into this publication.
I have had the great privilege of being affiliated with CTR, a research centre
including the utmost experts in the field of textile research. I am grateful to the
TEMA-group (Textile Economies in the Mediterranean Area) in particular for being
so generous with their immense knowledge and for all our interesting discussions:
it is definitely an inspirational environment that makes you grow as an academic
scholar. I am especially indebted to Peder Flemestad for all his patient and generous
assistance and guidance in epigraphic and literary matters. Without him, I would
not have been able to perform this study. Warm thanks also to Giovanni Fanfani for
help in various matters.
It has been an equally great privilege to work at the department of ancient cultures
of Denmark and the Mediterranean at the National Museum of Denmark. Here I
have been blessed with wonderful colleagues, who have always been generous with
their immense knowledge and support and not least able to put a smile on my face.
I also wish to thank The Danish Institute at Athens, which provided me with the
perfect place to stay in order to perform my research. Special thanks are due to
Rune Frederiksen and Sren Handberg for kindly arranging my guest lecture at the
Institute, as well as the staff at the Nordic Library in Athens for their kind assistance.
My gratitude also goes out to the MacDonald Institute at the University of Cambridge
viii Acknowledgements

for granting my stay as a guest scholar, especially to Margarita Gleba for arranging
my visit as well as welcoming me and arranging my lecture at the university.
My warmest thanks are also due to Mark Nugent who did a wonderful job on editing
my book for publication. My work has indeed benefited greately from his expertise.
I am also very grateful for all the help and assistance I have gotten from my friend
and colleague Signe Skriver Hedegaard.
I would like to thank Jan Kindberg Jacobsen, Rune Frederiksen, Sren Handberg,
Bjrn Lovn, and Kalliopi Sarri for their assistance in obtaining images for the book
as well as Helle Horsns for providing excellent images from the Royal Collection of
Coins and Medals in the National Museum of Denmark. Furthermore, I am grateful for
the images of the artefacts in the Staatliche Museum zu Berlin, most kindly provided
by Johannes Laurentius.
Great thanks are also due to Morten Svendsen and Werkstette for the excellent
and professional work on the images for this book.
I am very grateful for the generous funding provided by Her Majesty Queen
Margrethe and Prince Henriks Foundation for the publication of this book.
I am also deeply indebted to my wonderful friends Luise rsted Brandt, Nora
Petersen, and Dea Forchhammer for their friendship, eternal support, and not
least their invaluable pep-talks. Finally, I wish to thank my family, especially my
parents and my beloved sister Rebecca, for all their love and unfailing support I
could not have done this without you.