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Modern Greek Sports"The most significant thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part. Just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well." Baron Pierre de Coubertin
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AHEPA Olympic tribute mural created by the international artist Euripides 'Rip' Kastaris.2004
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One of the most enduring legacies of ancient Greece is the Olympic Games. These Games, which had not been held since antiquity, were revived in 1896 largely due to the persistence of Baron Pierre de Coubertin. Fittingly Greece was the first country to hold the modern Games. In contrast to their ancient equivalent these Games now became a more international affair. This fact itself attests to the strong influence the ancient Greeks had on a global scale. In Greece and throughout the world images and souvenirs emerged lauding the revived Olympic Games.68
Section of Greek Lebes Gamikos (replica) showing a woman wearing a peplos.Date not available
Museum of Antiquities, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK., Canada
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Ancient Greek ClothingThe most basic garment worn by Greek women in antiquity was the Doric peplos. It was worn universally up until the beginning of the sixth century BC. The peplos was made out of wool and about a quarter of its length was folded over the shoulders and held in place by two long dress pins. The pins used for fastening the shoulders of the peplos were originally open pins with decorated heads, but they were later replaced by fibulae or brooches.
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Charioteer of Delphi (replica). Original from 474 BC in the Museum of Antiquities, Delphi.Date not available
Museum of Antiquities, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK., Canada
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By the middle of the 6th century BC the peplos was largely replaced by the lighter and finer chiton. This was a more revealing garment and may reflect a change in the morals of the society. The chiton had no overfold, but rather sleeves held together by several short pins for each arm. It was made of imported linen, suggesting increased wealth in the society. Chitons were worn by men and women alike.In his Histories (5.87) Herodotus tells us of a battle which the Athenians waged against the Aeginetans. The Athenians were badly defeated, he recounts, and one single man escaped. When the sole survivor reported this defeat to the Athenian widows, they stabbed him to death with their eighteen-inch bronze dress pins from their peploi. The Athenian men were horrified by this behavior and, according to Herodotus, promptly made their women change from the peplos to the chiton to punish them and also to safeguard themselves.
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Nike (Victory) panel (replica), left, and Maiden Alabastron (replica), right.Date not available
Museum of Antiquities, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK., Canada
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Himations were worn by both men and women either over chitons or on their own. The style of this garment is very similar to that of the toga which in Etruscan times was also worn by both men and women. However, unlike a toga a himation was a rectangular piece of cloth. It was usually worn over the left shoulder and around the right side of the body, with any excess material draped over the left forearm. Himations were often coloured and patterned. In the visual evidence which we have, such as statues and vase paintings, they appear to have been worn predominantly by women and older men.74
Folkfest Saskatoon.19 August 1988
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
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Modern Greek ClothingGreeks today generally dress in a similar manner as other western Europeans. Traditional costumes, though, continue to be worn in some rural areas and on special occasions or for folk dancing. There is a wide array of different traditional costumes known in modern Greece, varying in design by region.
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Amalia and Tsolia Costume Ouzo Bottles1950
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Two of the most recognizable traditional Greek outfits are the Foustella and Amalia costumes. These outfits were established as the formal court dress of Greece by the first King and Queen of the nation, Otto and Amalia, after the War of Independence which ended in 1829.The male outfit consists of a white shirt, fully pleated short white skirt (or foustella), white underpants, knitted white leggings, an elaborately embroidered gold coat, a cap (or fez), and shoes with pompons. The skirt has 400 pleats to symbolize the years which Greece spent under Ottoman rule. The outfit was worn in various regions of Greece including the Peloponnese, Attica and Central Greece. Today the Evzones, the honorary Presidential Guard of Greece, continue to wear the costume while guarding the tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
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Greek Evzone and Amalia CostumesOctober, 2003
Museum of Antiquities, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK., Canada
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