Women -- Greece -- Biography; Women -- Greece -- History
emeralds alternating with fine pearls and attached by little chains.
Bracelets owe their Greek name to the form they were generally
given--that of a serpent. They were usually worn on the wrist, sometimes
on the upper arm, and sometimes even about the ankle. At times,
bracelets were merely circlets of gold. Sometimes they were adorned with
medallions at intervals, sometimes they were set with emeralds, garnets,
or pearls. The ear-rings were of graceful form, sometimes representing a
swan in black enamel, with bill, wings, feet, and tail of gold,
sometimes a dove on a delicate pedestal, a bunch of grapes with a golden
stem, or a sphinx, or a panther's head. The clasps or buckles which
bound the tunic or the peplus, usually shaped in the form of an arc,
exhibited rare beauty. Rings, set with carnelian, agate, sardonyx,
amethyst, and other gems, and brooches of every variety, completed the
ornaments in the jewel cases of the Athenian women.
In disclosing the secrets of the Athenian toilet, love of truth compels
us to state that these fair dames had recourse to the use of cosmetics,
perhaps to overcome the paleness of complexion incident to lack of
outdoor life. Cheeks and lips were given a ruddy hue by the use of
_minium_, or the root of the alkanet; eyebrows were darkened by applying
pulverized antimony; and dark hair could be changed to blonde by the use
of a certain powder, which gave a golden tint, much sung of by poets.
When one reads of the great attention paid by the Athenian women to the
cultivation of grace of form, of taste in dress, and of beauty of
feature, it is hard to realize that such charms were confined to the
women's apartments, and merely revealed themselves to the outside world
on festive occasions.
Though the gallantry of modern times was not a part of the habitual
equipment of an Athenian gentleman, yet he was very careful as to his
behavior in the presence of ladies. There was strict observance of the
etiquette which controlled the relations of the sexes. No gentleman
would enter an abode of women in the absence of the master, and
unbecoming language in the presence of women was a gross offence. The
husband carefully abstained in his wife's presence from doing anything
that might lower her estimation of his dignity. A certain distance was
apparently maintained between married persons, and cordial familiarity
was sometimes sacrificed to love of social forms. No doubt, too, fine
breeding and true courtesy were generally shown the wife and ruler of
his home by the Athenian husband who, like Agathon in the _Symposium_ of
Plato, exhibited the most delicate tact and sentiment in his treatment
of men.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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