Contribution to Book
Theorizing Religious Dress
What Shall I Say of Clothes? Theoretical and Methodological Approaches to the Study of Dress in Antiquity
(2017)
Abstract
To understand the role of dress in religious experience and belief more fully, theoretical approaches have begun to include phenomenology, performativity, and embodiment, though semantic differentiation remains the organizing principle behind many of these approaches. This article applies a number of theoretical approaches to the evidence for dress in ancient Greek religion in order to examine their suitability. As in Greek culture more generally, dress in the context of religious practice marks identity, communicates personal characteristics and community ideals, and negotiates hierarchy. Its close relationship to the body makes it suited to participate in the construction of gender as well as in the performance of authority and belief. Through an examination of the ramifications of the structural challenges of the ancient Greek religious system, a more inclusive view of the intersection of dress and religion can be posited that will be useful to a broader range of religions and periods.
Disciplines
Publication Date
January, 2017
Editor
Laura Gawlinski and Megan Cifarelli
Publisher
Archaeological Institute of America
Series
SPAAA
Citation Information
Laura Gawlinski. "Theorizing Religious Dress" BostonWhat Shall I Say of Clothes? Theoretical and Methodological Approaches to the Study of Dress in Antiquity Vol. 3 (2017) Available at: http://works.bepress.com/laura_gawlinski/18/