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Homer speaks of the weaving of the peplos in the Odyssey. In Archaic Greece, the word referred to the rectangle of cloth commonly worn by women. The Parthenon frieze contained a relief of Athena carrying a sacred peplos. The peplos was woven at home out of wool; lengths were woven to suit the size of the wearer. The garment was created by draping or wrapping the rectangle of cloth around the body and fastening it with metal fibulae (left), or clasps. These were often worked with decorative designs or stones. Linen eventually became the fabric of choice for its flow and coolness, and could be woven to a gauze-like weight.The Greeks also imported silks from China. Preferring fabrics that would drape well, they unraveled silk threads from the Chinese goods and rewove them into softer textures. Vegetable dyes were used, and embroidered and woven designs decorated borders. Pleating was a popular treatment.
The Greeks had a range of garments which were used alone or layered for warmth. The basic element for both men and women was the chiton, originally a tunic-like garment sewn at the shoulders and under the arm, but later wrapped around the body and secured with pins at the shoulders. Variations in the placement of pins and belting developed into different styles of chiton that are closely related to the changing aesthetic in the development of Greek art and architecture.
The Doric Peplos (Archaic period, to 500 BCE): women wore the chiton fairly closely wrapped on the body, with a pin at each shoulder. This is pictured as a patterned garment, probably of wool, and is called the Doric Peplos.
The Ionic Chiton (550 - 480 BCE, less often from 480 - 300 BCE): both men and women wore this version. It was fuller, of a lighter weight wool or pleated linen, with a sleeve created by pinning the opening closed from shoulder to elbow. Women wore it long, and men both short and long. The Charioteer of Delphi wears a form of Ionic chiton, with the shoulder seams sewn shut.
The Doric Chiton ( 400 - 100 BCE): narrower than the Ionic, again fastened with one brooch at the shoulder, and without sleeves. This was worn by both sexes, and was of wool, linen or silk. A less ostentatious version than the Ionic, it suited the attitudes of restraint and moral rectitude prevalent in the late Classical Period. The chiton was belted by a braided girdle, that could be crossed under the breast to hold the chiton in place.In the High Classical period the Doric chiton was fashioned from a wider piece of fabric, the extra height folded down to cover the torso. This overfold, known as the apotygma, could then be belted and bloused, such as is seen in the Porch Maidens on the Erechtheion.
The Battle of Potidaea was, with the Battle of Sybota, one of the catalysts for the Peloponnesian War. It was fought near Potidaea in 432 BC between Athens and a combined army from Corinth and Potidaea, along with their various allies.
Potidaea was a colony of Corinth on the Chalcidice peninsula, but was a member of the Delian League and paid tribute to Athens. After Sybota, Athens demanded that Potidaea pull down part of its walls, expel Corinthian ambassadors, and send hostages to Athens. Athens was afraid that Potidaea would revolt due to Corinthian or Macedonian influence, as Perdiccas II of Macedon was encouraging revolts among Athens' other allies in Thrace.
Athens gathered a fleet of 30 ships and 1,000 hoplites under the overall command of Archestratus, which was originally meant to fight Perdiccas in Macedonia but was diverted to Potidaea. The Potidaeans sent ambassadors to Athens and Sparta, and when negotiations broke down in Athens, Sparta promised to help Potidaea revolt. The Athenian fleet sailed for Potidaea, but when it arrived, Archestratus attacked the Macedonians instead, as the Potidaeans had already revolted and allied with Perdiccas. Corinth sent 1,600 hoplites and 400 light troops to Potidaea as well, under the command of Aristeus. In response, Athens sent out another 2,000 hoplites and 40 more ships, under the command of Callias. After some fighting against Perdiccas, the combined Athenian forces sailed to Potidaea and landed there. Perdiccas and 200 of his cavalry joined with Aristeus, and their combined army marched to Potidaea as well.
In the ensuing battle, Aristeus' wing of Corinthian troops defeated a section of the Athenian line, but elsewhere the Athenians were victorious. Aristeus returned to Potidaea along the seacoast with some difficulty, hoping to avoid the main Athenian army. A reserve force of Potidaeans, located in nearby Olynthus, attempted to relieve Aristeus, but they were defeated as well. The Corinthians and Potidaeans lost about 300 men, and the Athenians about 150, including Callias. The Macedonian cavalry did not join the battle.
The Athenians remained outside Potidaea for some time, and were reinforced by another 1,600 hoplites under the command of Phormio. Both sides built walls and counter-walls, and the Athenians succeeded in cutting off Potidaea from the sea with a naval blockade. During the blockade, representatives from Athens and Sparta met in Sparta, resulting in a formal declaration of war.
However, this siege seriously depleted the Athenian treasury, dumping as much as 1,000 talents/year into this attack. This made the Athenian people unhappy, and in combination with the plague that swept through Athens in the early 420s BC, made the control of Pericles untenable. The Periclean strategy of hiding behind the Long Walls and relying on the low cash reserves of the Peloponnesians was starting to become unfavorable to the greater Athenian consciousness.
The new settlement took the name of Amphipolis (literally, "around the city"), a name which is the subject of much debates about lexicography. Thucydides claims the name comes from the fact that the Strymon flows "around the city" on two sides;[3] however a note in the Suda (also given in the lexicon of Photius) offers a different explanation apparently given by Marsyas, son of Periander: that a large proportion of the population lived "around the city". However, a more probable explanation is the one given by Julius Pollux: that the name indicates the vicinity of an isthmus. Furthermore, the Etymologicum Genuinum gives the following definition: a city of the Athenians or of Thrace, which was once called Nine Routes, (so named) because it is encircled and surrounded by the Strymon river. This description corresponds to the actual site of the city (see adjacent map), and to the description of Thucydides.
Amphipolis subsequently became the main power base of the Athenians in Thrace and, consequently, a target of choice for their Spartans adversaries. The Athenian population remained very much in the minority within the city.[4] An Athenian rescue expedition led by strategist (and later historian) Thucydides had to settle for securing Eion and could not retake Amphipolis, a failure for which Thucydides was sentenced to exile. A new Athenian force under the command of Cleon failed once more in 422 BC during a battle at which both Cleon and Brasidas lost their lives. Brasidas survived long enough to hear of the defeat of the Athenians and was buried at Amphipolis with impressive pomp. From then on he was regarded as the founder of the city[5] and honoured with yearly games and sacrifices. The city itself kept its independence until the reign of the king Philip II despite several other Athenian attacks, notably because of the government of Callistratus of Aphidnae.
In the first battle, called the Battle of Delium, the Athenians were defeated by the Boeotians in 424 BC. This was part of the Peloponnesian War.