Body, Dress, and Identity in Ancient Greece

This is the first general monograph on ancient Greek dress in English to be published in more than a century. By applying modern dress theory to the ancient evidence, this book reconstructs the social meanings attached to the dressed body in ancient Greece. Whereas many scholars have focused on individual aspects of ancient Greek dress, from the perspectives of literary, visual, and archaeological sources, this volume synthesizes the diverse evidence and offers fresh insights into this essential aspect of ancient society. Intended to be accessible to nonspecialists as well as classicists, and students as well as academic professionals, this book will find a wide audience.

1. Greek dress and dress theory; 2. Bodies in ancient Greece; 3. Body modification; 4. Garments; 5. Accessories; 6. The body as dress; 7. Social contexts of dress.

Mireille M. Lee is Professor of History of Art and Classical Studies at Vanderbilt University, Tennessee. She has published widely on various aspects of ancient Greek dress. She has held fellowships from the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts, the American Council of Learned Societies, the Center for Hellenic Studies, the Packard Foundation for the Humanities, and the Whiting Foundation. Her research and teaching focus on gender issues in antiquity and the modern world. She is currently at work on her next book, on the relationship between ancient Greek mirrors and the goddess Aphrodite.