[Illustration: IN ANCIENT GREECE.] The Greek female dress consisted of the pallium, a cloak-like garment very long and ample, worn plain, or bearing a fringed border, and under this was a chlamys, bearing close kinship in form to the Roman toga, and fastened to the shoulder by a brooch. The Grecian women cut their hair close to their heads, and the married were distinguished from the unmarried by a parting in front, but no Grecian woman ever went without a veil, covering the face. The head-dress and ribbons of matrons differed from those of the virgins, and there was a change in the shape of the tunic before and after marriage. Ribbons in the hair were preferred as decorations by the modest women, while the courtesans covered their heads with a mitre, and carried oval hand-mirrors, which distinguished them, as it were significantly, from their more virtuous sisters, who made use of fans of leaves or feathers. The art of beauty, it seems, was studied with much interest. The use of cosmetics was greatly favoured. White lead was employed to whiten the skin, and vermilion to produce the rosy bloom of youth; and we have most of us been impressed by the fact that Nero's wife discovered a pomade for the preservation of her complexion--no doubt her urgent needs led to this heroic effort! Much time and attention were bestowed on the hair, and the use of false tresses was very general, slaves being employed to curl the hair, while experts supervised the process. The structures were adorned with pearls and other precious stones, crowns of gold and flowers, ribbons and fillets, while the embroidered net, known as the caul, also had a full share of patronage. The Roman women would paint their hair a gorgeous yellow. [Illustration: A ROMAN HEAD.] Men and women alike wore the cothurnus, which reached to the knee, where it was fastened, purple being the favourite colour for this. It could not have been possible to obtain a great variety in a costume, and, save in the decoration of the tunic, which was ornamented with spots or scrolls, and in the arrangement of the girdle, of two varying widths, the one placed above the other so that the folds of the gown could pouch between, every one must have appeared very like his brother and his sister. One of the divergences in the fashion of the tunic worn by the women and that worn by the men was in the former always reaching to the feet and covering the arms. [Illustration: A GREEK HEAD.] The actual shape of the garments varied but little, and between the tunic and the stola there would have been some difficulty in seeing any difference, but the stola was worn over the tunic, and it came as low as the ankles, and was fastened round the body by a girdle, broad folds being above the breast: the essential distinction between the two in cut being that the stola always possessed an instita or flounce. [Illustration: A ROMAN LADY.]