The Ideological Dimensions of the Confined Character of a Woman’s Attire

This article deals with the phenomenon of covering a woman’s head in the Mediterranean world throughout the ages, especially in ancient Greece and Byzantium. From the study of the literary and epigraphical sources arises that both social practice and religion have dictated the covering of a woman’s head and body as well as the minimalization of luxury in a woman’s attire. This confinement was exercised in the framework of social control in societies ruled by the counterpoint notions of “honor” and “dishonor”, such as the Mediterranean societies, at least until recently.