Fashion in Ephesus

Ephesus, as one of the most significant port cities of antiquity, held a leading position not only in trade and culture but also in fashion. Clothing was an essential part of daily life, transcending mere practicality to become a powerful symbol reflecting social identity and status. Ancient sources suggest that Ephesus women were quite fond of fashion and the Ephesus marketplace (agora) was overflowing with colorful silk fabrics. Below, the clothing styles of women and men in ancient Ephesus, the types of fabrics used, textile production, and the relationship between clothing and social status are examined under specific headings.

Women's and Men's Fashion in Ancient Ephesus

In ancient Ephesus, both women and men wore garments in line with Greek and Roman fashion of the era. The chiton (khiton), a long, rectangular shirt/tunic, was the basic attire for both genders. Forming a cylindrical garment shape by pinning or buttoning two pieces of fabric over the shoulders, the chiton was a staple. In the Archaic period, everyone generally wore long chitons, while only travelers, soldiers, and artisans preferred knee-length short chitons for practicality. By the Classical period, Ephesus began to exert its influence in fashion; integrating Ionian and Doric elements into clothing, it became fashionable to wear chitons more loosely, spaciously, and draped. During the Hellenistic period, Ephesus remained a trendsetting city. At this time, it became common for women to tie their chiton belts higher, under their busts (high-waisted style) and to wear sleeveless chitons. Especially from the 5th century BC, Ephesus emerged as a fashion leader in Anatolia, influencing other cities in Ionia to follow Ephesian fashion preferences. During the Hellenistic period, the fashion of plain white garments from previous centuries returned to colorful and patterned fabrics, and even transparent textured thin silk garments began to be preferred over wool and linen.

As the main garment, a large cloak called a himation was worn over the chiton, used by both women and men. The himation was a rectangular shawl wrapped diagonally around the body; its ends would drape freely over the shoulders, hanging loosely in the front and back. The peplos was a type of wool garment used primarily by women in the Archaic period, which was folded over at the top to create a fold (before the chiton became more widespread in the Ionian region). Young men, travelers, and soldiers wore a lighter cloak called a chlamys (khlamys); this cloak was rectangular during the Classical period but cut oval in the Hellenistic period, pinned at one shoulder with a fibula. Additionally, a practical garment for workers, slaves, and soldiers was the exomis, a sleeveless, knee-length tunic pinned at the shoulder, leaving one shoulder bare. These garments were the basic clothing of the Greek world and continued to be worn by Ephesians during the Roman period.

During the Roman Empire period, fashion styles in Ephesus were enriched with some new garments. Men in everyday life often wore a tunica (tunic), an undergarment; the tunic was a wool or cotton fabric shirt with short or no sleeves, belted at the waist. Men's tunics should be above the knee, while women's tunics extended to the ankles; a man's tunic reaching the feet was considered inappropriate. Freeborn Ephesian women wore a long dress called a stola over their inner tunics (tunica interior); it was traditional for married women's stolas to have buttons on the sleeve edges. While Hellenistic garments like the chiton and himation were still used in Roman Ephesus, the Roman-specific toga gained importance as the formal and upper-class attire. Young men began wearing a white toga during ceremonies as they entered adolescence, symbolizing their transition to adult status. Common people (especially Greek-origin Ephesians) preferred the simpler pallium over the toga, but for Roman citizens, the toga was a marker of identity.

Fabrics, Weaving, and Dyeing Techniques Used

The main types of fabric used for clothing production in ancient Ephesus were primarily wool, linen, cotton, and silk. The most commonly used material for making garments was fabric woven from sheep's wool. Quality wool, especially exported from the city of Miletos (Milet), was renowned throughout the Mediterranean world. Linen was also a frequently used fabric; fine weaves obtained from flax plants in the Aegean and Mediterranean regions were preferred for their coolness in summer. The highest quality linen fabrics were distributed across the Mediterranean from centers like Laodicea, Tarsus, Damascus, and Alexandria. As a port city, Ephesus had access to the best linen and wool through this commercial network. Cotton, especially during the Roman Empire period, was used mixed with wool to produce tunics as another raw material. Cotton fabrics came from the East (likely India); in Roman textile production, cotton was favored for its soft and light texture.

Silk fabrics, however, were the most luxurious and expensive textile products. Raw silk, originating from China, the homeland of sericulture, was brought to the West over Anatolia, processed here, and sold to Ephesus and the Greek world. Ancient sources note that silk at that time was an exceedingly valuable commodity, akin to the