In these cases the χλαῖνα was obviously folded over double, though in what way is not expressly stated; if the garment consisted of a wide rectangular piece of material, it might be doubled along its length horizontally and fastened with a brooch on one shoulder, like Apollo’s himation in the Thasos relief.[40] This method, however, is not found on the earliest vases, which, though not contemporary with Homer, are yet the nearest monumental evidence obtainable; moreover, the additional expression, ἐκταδίην, seems to be against this interpretation; the meaning of ἐκταδίην seems to be “stretched out straight,” and the word could hardly be applied to a garment draped in such a way as to fall in many folds; it is reasonable, therefore, to suppose that the χλαῖνα διπλῆ consisted of a large square[41] of woollen material folded along the diagonal, so that two opposite corners lay on each other; it would be laid on the shoulders so that these two corners hung down in the middle of the back, no folds being formed (ἐκταδίην), and the other two points hung down one on each side of the front; a brooch would prevent the cloak from slipping off the shoulders; this shawl-like method of wearing the mantle is frequently represented on the black figured vases.[42] The δίπτυχον λώπην, “double cloak,” which Athena wears, ἀμφ᾽ ὤμοισι, when disguised as a shepherd,[43] is probably a garment worn in this same fashion, and the δίπλακες which Helen and Andromache are described as weaving in the _Iliad_[44] are perhaps intended for cloaks to be so worn. [40] E. A. Gardner, _Handbook of Greek Sculpture_, p. 128. [41] Unless the garment were square, the diagonally opposite corners would not coincide when folded corner to corner; they are invariably represented on the vases as coinciding. [42] Fig. 7 (_b_) is taken from the “François” vase. [43] _Odyssey_, xiii., 223. [44] iii., 126; xxii., 440. [Illustration: FIG. 7.—(_a_) Vase—British Museum. (_b_ and _c_) Vase-paintings by Klitias and Ergotimos, Florence. Furtwängler and Reichhold, _Griechische Vasenmalerei_, I and II. _Face page_ 26.]