Did Roman women wear underwear? How did it look?
Upvote:7
This shows Roman woman exercising in a form of "bikini". Whether they wore these under everyday clothes I don't know.
Upvote:31
The commonest form of underwear was the subligaculum, a basic loincloth worn by men and women.
Most people wore the subligaculum under other garments. For example, men wore the garment under the tunica (shirt) or the toga, and women wore it under the stola, a long gown. But others wore the subligaculum alone. Common workers often labored wearing only a subligaculum, and Roman gladiators, warriors who fought for entertainment in Rome, usually fought wearing just a subligaculum.
Source: S. & T. Pendergast and S. Hermsen, Fashion, Costume and Culture, vol. 1: The Ancient World
As shown in the picture in your question,
Women also wear loincloths (and sometimes breast bands) and tunics. Two-piece garments resembling a bikini are popular when taking exercise at the baths.
Source: N. Bancroft Hunt (ed), Living in Ancient Rome
Underpants were not worn (these were a much later invention) and there is literary evidence (e.g. the poet Martial d.102/4 AD) that sometimes women didn't wear anything under a toga around the loins. Also,
There is no literary evidence stating or even implying that a Roman woman wore underdrawers.
Source: Kelly Olson, 'Roman Underwear Revisited' (The Classical World, Vol. 96, No. 2 (Winter, 2003)
"Mosaic from a bedroom at the Villa Romana del Casale, outside Piazza Armerina, Sicily (4th c. CE)." Image & text source: History From Below
A band of soft leather, called a mamillare, was sometimes used to provide support under or over the breasts.
Source: http://www.forumromanum.org/life/johnston_7.html
Wikipedia notes that,
Since the Romans regarded large breasts as comical, or characteristic of aging or unattractive women, young girls wore breast bands (fascia) secured tightly in the belief that doing so would prevent overly large, sagging breasts.
One should also include the tunica interior as an undergarment as this was often worn under the stola (tunica exterior) by married women. The tunica interior
was sometimes supplied with sleeves, and as it reached only to the knee did not require a belt to keep it from interfering with the free use of the limbs. A soft sash-like band of leather (strophium), however, was sometimes worn over it, close under the breasts, but merely to support them
Tunica interior with strophium. Source: http://www.forumromanum.org/life/johnston_7.html
Clothes, including underwear, were usually made of either wool or linen, but the elite would have been able to afford cotton (imported from India) and silk (from the Far East). Evidence for leather lower undergarments has also been found. Lots of sewing in garments was rare as it was difficult to do (needles were made of bone and hard to use).
One final point: what was underwear for a wealthy Roman was often all that a slave wore (subligaculum) while a poor Roman (or a young girl) would probably wear subligaculum and a simple tunic with no stola.
Other source
Aquincum Museum (Budapest) (Description of Gravestone of Pattevilla and his family)
More post
- π What psychology would have been taught at the 19th century Lyceum?
- π How could Poles from Kresy be enough to repopulate entire regions of Poland?
- π How did people dress at the Jesuit missions to the Hurons?
- π What is the truth behind this speech by (Lord Macaulay)?
- π Which of the Roman wars was the most important and riskiest for Rome?
- π When did hunting from trains stop?
- π Does anyone have a concrete example of the British Empire using revolution to gain control over foreign resources, governments?
- π Spanish-American war from Spain's perspective?
- π Will we ever be able to understand history with 100% accuracy
- π What % of slave owners in the antebellum south committed rape?
- π How to research controversial history?
- π Were Roman marching songs still bawdy during principate/dominate?
- π What is the name of this song about taking Cherokee land?
- π Border crossings between USSR and Afghanistan in the 1960s
- π Was there a Cold War era Russian safe haven city for politicians and scientists?
- π How heavily were the British taxing their American colonies?
- π What led to election violence in Kenya in 2007?
- π Are there historical texts in England querying where Roman structures came from?
- π Was "Aku Soku Zan" (ζͺε³ζ¬) a real Shinsengumi motto?
- π What role did War elephants play in the battle of Thermopylae?
- π Why did the Allies let Hitler break the Treaty of Versailles?
- π How did they cook on ancient ships?
- π What are the known facts about the Great Pyramid of Cheops (Giza)?
- π What were the 20th century historical disputes?
- π Did the British and the French build the Suez Canal?
- π Why did Jodrell Bank assist the Soviet Union to collect data from their spacecraft in the mid 1960's?
- π Was there a "secret" recording of the American founding fathers' deliberations?
- π Were aerial dogfights during WW2 and WW1 typically very one-sided?
- π What is the secret behind the economic success of Republic of China (Taiwan)?
- π Why are former SS Engineers and Scientists who worked for NASA still honored?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- π Did Roman women wear underwear? How did it look?
- π How did the Roman state verify citizenship?
- π How much did it cost to attend events at the ancient Roman colosseum?
- π Why did Roman women have no praenomen?
- π What did an ancient Roman certificate of land ownership look like; or, what did it consist of?
- π How did Roman armies survive in the desert?
- π How quickly could the Roman legions march? How did it compare to their cavalry?
- π How did Christianity replace Roman Paganism and other ancient religions?
- π How much of an impact did the Roman emperors' civil wars have on their decision to debase the coinage?
- π Did the Roman legions wear this type of boots?
- π How did ancient Roman family names survive to current day use?
- π How did the Roman army go from constantly losing battles in the middle of the 3rd century to winning almost everything?
- π Roman Taxes: how did taxes collected in the provinces get to Rome?
- π How did agricultural productivity change in Italy with the fall of the Roman Empire and through the early Middle Ages?
- π What did the battle order of a deployed Roman legion look like?
- π How did member states of the Holy Roman Empire justify only including part of their land inside it?
- π In Battle of Zama, how did Hannibal's use of war elephants lead to a Roman Victory?
- π How did militia barracks look in the 19th century?
- π Did Roman prostitutes wear purple dresses?
- π How did criminal law work in the Roman Empire?
- π Did women in ancient Rome wear corsets, and if so, what were they made of?
- π How did a travelling Roman army decide where to temporarily camp for the night?
- π How did Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor come to control part of Spain?
- π What did women wear during the Rashidun era?
- π How did production of grain change with Hellenistic Egypt coming under Roman rule?
- π How did one look for missing people in the 19th century?
- π How did women give birth in middle ages?
- π How far did the Roman Empire ever try to extend its reach (but fail)?
- π How did people distinguish slaves from free people in Ancient Rome?
- π When did bombs actually look like this?