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

Naoko Yamagata
The Open University

Silent Witness: Clothing and Identity of Homeric Bodies (dead or alive)

The importance of clothing in revealing or disguising persons' identities has rarely been more extensively exploited in literature than in Homer's Odyssey, especially in the portrayal of Odysseus. As is already well documented, his progress from a hero of the Trojan War to a 'Nobody', from goddesses' lover to a shipwrecked stranger in Phaeacia, and finally from a stranger in his own home to the rightful master of the house, is closely charted by his changing clothes. In her seminal article 'Clothing makes the man' (1985), Elizabeth Block identifies a prevailing pattern in the ways Odysseus is clothed by the women whom he encounters which reflect what they wish him to be. I will argue that the same pattern, though less obvious, can be more widely seen within the Odyssey as well as in the Iliad, for example in the case of Thetis providing clothes for Achilles, and of Andromache's and Helen's webs.

Disguise plays a significant role in the Iliad, too, especially in the case of Achilles' armour worn by Patroclus and then by Hector, as is often pointed out. I will argue that the manipulation of identity by clothing applies also to funerary clothing, most notably in the case of Hector in the Iliad and of Laertes in the Odyssey. The latter case, however, is particularly complex, as Penelope does not intend to finish the shroud for her father-in-law. What are the implications of her trick in defining the identities of the men around her? Does this fit the general pattern of clothing and identity of Homeric bodies?