. Ancient Greek female costume : illustrated by one hundred and twelve plates and numerous smaller illustrations ; with descriptive letterpress and descriptive passages from the works of Homer, Hesiod, Herodotus, Aeschylus, Euripides, Aristophanes, Theocritus, Xenophon, Lucian, and other Greek authors . and the particular appli-cation of it which we have now to consider will beunderstood from the fact that the shields of the ancientGreeks were in part supported by a belt or strap passing-over the right shoulder,and when not elevatedwith the shield, descend-ing transversely to theleft hip. In o
. Ancient Greek female costume : illustrated by one hundred and twelve plates and numerous smaller illustrations ; with descriptive letterpress and descriptive passages from the works of Homer, Hesiod, Herodotus, Aeschylus, Euripides, Aristophanes, Theocritus, Xenophon, Lucian, and other Greek authors . and the particular appli-cation of it which we have now to consider will beunderstood from the fact that the shields of the ancientGreeks were in part supported by a belt or strap passing-over the right shoulder,and when not elevatedwith the shield, descend-ing transversely to theleft hip. In order that agoat^s skin might servethis purpose, two of itslegs would probably betied over the right shoul-der of the wearer, theother extremity beingfastened to the inside ofthe shield. In combat,the left arm would bepassed under the hide,and would raise it, toge-ther with the shield, asis shown in a marble statue of Minerva (Athene), pre-served in the museum at Naples, which, from its styleof art, may be reckoned among the most ancient in exist-ence (fig. 28. See also plate QQ). Other statues of Minerva, also of great antiquity, andderived, no doubt, from some still more ancient type,represent her in a state of repose, with the goats skinfalling obliquely from its loose fastening over the right. Fig. 23. THE ^GIS OF ATHENE. Go shoulder^ so as to pass round the body under the leftarm/—Anthons Notes to Homer (see plate 70). By a figure of speech, Homer uses the term gegis todenote not only the goats skin, which it properly signified,but, together with it, the shield to which it thus understanding the word, it is easy to comprehendwhy Athene is said to throw her fathers aegis around hershoulders (II. v. 738; xviii. 204); and why, on one occa-sion, Apollo is said to hold it in his hand, and to shake itso as to tennfy and confound the Greeks (II. xv. 229, 307);and on another occasion to cover with it the dead bodyof Hector, in order to protect it from insult. By thela
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, bookidancientgreek, bookyear1882
