Theependytes[1] (Greek:ἐπενδύτης), also romanized asependytis,[2] was an ancient tunic-like overgarment ofPersian or "Eastern" origin that became known inClassical Greece. It is described as a broad woolen or linen coat worn over thechiton (basic tunic) or trousers (anaxyrides).[2][3] The name derives from the Greek verbependuo (to put on over), indicating its function as an outer wrapper.[3] Originally part ofMedian/Persian men's dress, theependytes passed into Greek fashion by the late 5th century BC, where it was valued as an exotic luxury item and was worn by Greek women and children.[2][3]
Theependytes entered Greek culture through contact with the PersianAchaemenid world. In the lateClassical period (4th century BC), Greek artists often depicted Persians and other "foreigners" wearing theependytes beneath theirmantles. A marble funerary statue discovered in theKerameikos cemetery ofAthens shows a seated Persian dignitary clad in a long-sleevedchiton under akandys cloak.[2] In Athens, the garment became a signifier of wealth and foreign fashion. As the Greek National museum study notes, "the ependytis and the kandys were adopted in classical Athens, as a sign of outlandish luxury and a means of social visibility".[2] Despite its originally being men's clothing, by the late 5th-4th centuries BC theependytes was worn mostly by high-status Athenian women and children at festivals, whereas it was seldom worn by native Athenian men because, in Greek perception, men from the East were associated with femininity.[2]
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Theependytes was a tunic-like coat reaching roughly to the waist, thighs, or knees.[2] It was typically made of wool or linen, and was often brightly colored. The garment could be sleeveless or have short sleeves; it was fastened or belted at the waist in some depictions.[4][2] A prominent decorative feature was a broad embroidered or woven border,[2] frequently of theparakymatios (sea-wave) pattern.[3] InAttic vase-painting,ependytai are drawn as richly ornamented garments, sometimes with geometric or floral registers across the fabric.[3] In one comic theater costume inscription, Athenian actresses wearing a short, beltedependytes over their chitons are described, confirming that the coat was worn as a distinctive outer layer.[4] According to a detailed dress lexicon, its "primary purpose was to add decorative luxuriousness to dress", signifying the wearer's wealth.[3]
In its original context among Persians and other Iranians, theependytes was part of standard attire. Greek authors (Herodotus,Xenophon, etc.) describeMedes and Persians wearing layered tunics and cloaks, and the term ἐπενδύτης appears to translate a Persian garment equivalent to a short coat or sous-tunic.[2][3] Despite no surviving ancient garments, theependytes is attested in art, inscriptions, and literature. In Athenian funerary sculpture (4th c. BC), figures of Persians and their attendants frequently wear short coats identified asependytai under their cloaks.[2] Red-figure vase paintings from Attica and Southern Italy show Eastern figures, including Dionysus and Amazons, wearing amulti-colored ependytes, signaling their non-Greek origin.[5] On a 5th-centurykrater fromKerch, Dionysus is painted as bearded and returning from Asia, wearing a multi-coloredependytes over his chiton, along with boots, to mark his Eastern provenance.[5] Comic and tragic plays also allude to the garment. A fragment ofSophocles (5th c. BC) mentions weaving "linenependytai".[3]Lexicographers and later writers reflect theependytes' meaning. The 2nd-century AD lexicon ofJulius Pollux lists ἐπενδύτης as an "upper garment", and elsewhere ancient commentaries equate it with the Persianchitoniskos (a short tunic) mentioned byHerodotus.[2][3] In Greek art,Amazons are often shown in "pseudo-Persian" costume including patternedependytai over their chitons.[2][3] In Athens, after contact with Persia, especially following the Persian Wars, theependytes took on new social meanings. Aristocratic women and children adopted it as a luxurious fashion piece: it became a popular festive overcoat worn above the ordinary Greek tunic.[2] Elite Athenian girls might wear a decorativeependytes as part of theirBrauronic festival attire.[2][3] Choruses of musicians and dancers, also used theependytes as a costume to suggest exoticism on stage.[3] Scholars have identified theependytes in theephebic oath and armament ceremonies of Athens. In theephebia (the military training of Athenian youths), new soldiers are depicted receiving spears and shields while clad in a richly patterned tunic believed to be theependytes.[6][1] One red-figurepelike (circa 430 BC, Kleophon Painter) shows a boy about to depart for military service wearing a thick, belted tunic with geometric designs, an outfit noted by the MFA Boston as "very close to the ceremonial tunic called theependytes".[1] Theependytes could mark a ritual transition, like the handing over of arms, in classical Athens.[6][1]
