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THE CLOTHED BODY IN THE ANCIENT WORLD
17-19 January 2002

Mireille M. Lee
Ithaca USA

Constru(ct)ing Gender in the Feminine Greek Peplos

The Greek peplos has traditionally served as a stylistic and chronological index for sculpture and vase-painting, with little consideration as to the meaning of the garment itself. The disappearance of the peplos in art of the early Archaic period is conventionally thought to reflect women's rejection of the garment in the sixth century BCE (Herod. 5. 87-88), and its re-adoption in the fifth century has been interpreted as a gesture of Hellenic pride following the defeat of the Persians in 480 BCE. Examination of the artistic, archaeological and literary evidence suggests that the peplos was not in fact worn as everyday dress by Greek women in the fifth century BCE. This paper argues that the appearance of the peplos in Greek art does not replicate the fashions of the times but represents an iconographic construct of an idealized feminine Hellenic identity. Consideration of the peplos beyond the traditional categories of style and chronology allows the reading of gender constructs that were negotiated by means of this antiquated garment. The dialectical relationship between the enveloping, girded garment and the female body suggests a negation of feminine sexuality. In addition, the fact that the garment is merely pinned and not sewn suggests a certain vulnerability. On the other hand, the ease with which a woman wearing a peplos might breast-feed an infant suggests a celebration of women's nurturing, maternal role, as has been suggested for the traditional Bedouin women's dress which is identical in structure to the peplos. Likewise, the fact that the peplos is created from an uncut, untailored piece of fabric exactly as it came off the loom suggests a particular respect for this product of women's labor. Hence the peplos communicated complex idea(l)s about feminine gender, both positive and negative, that perhaps otherwise could not be articulated.