Deciphering Gender in Minoan Dress

Reading the Body Representations and Remains in the Archaeological Record Edited by Alison E. Rautman PENN University of Pennsylvania Press Philadelphia Copyright © 2000 University of Pennsylvania Press All righ ts reserved Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 Published by University of Pennsylvania Press Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104-4011 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Reading the body: representations and remains in the archaeological record / edited by Alison E. Rautman. p. cm. - (Regendering the past) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-8122-3521-5 (acid-free paper). ISBN 0-8122-1709-8 (pbk. : acid-free paper) 1. Social archaeology. 2. Women, Prehistoric. 3. Sex roleHistory. 4. Sex differences- History. 5. Human remains (Archaeology) . 6. Body, Human-Symbolic aspects. I. Rautm an, Alison E. II. Series. CC72.4.R444 1999 930.1'028'5-dc21 99-33513 CIP Chapter 9 Deciphering Gender in Minoan Dress Mireille M. Lee The famous Minoan "Snake Goddess" figurine (Fig. 9.1) and her "priestess" or "votary" (Fig. 9.2), both from the Temple Repositories of the palace at Knossos on Crete, have been central to many hypotheses about women's status and roles in late Bronze Age society (c. 1700 to 1450 B.C.E.). These remarkable figures of bare-breasted women, one with snakes twining over her arms, shoulders, hips, and head, the other holding wriggling snakes in the air, have aroused interest not only for their apparently powerful postures and curious (possibly cultic) occupation as snake-handlers, but also for their dress. Soon after their discovery around the turn of the twentieth century, Lady Evans, sister of the excavator, Sir. Arthur Evans, noted that the Goddess's proportions "are those considered ideal by the modern corset maker rather than those of the sculptor" (Evans 1902-3:81), prompting Evans himself to suggest that the overall effect of the figure was that of a depiction of "a fashionable Court lady" (Evans 1921:503). HaIfa century later, in an age of glamorous movie stars and "nudie" pinups, Charles Seltman observed that in the "priestess" figurine: "Emphasis is almost entirely on sex-appeal, and one is aware that the artist, in making this enchanting little figure, was representing a typical fashionable young woman of his day who was out to captivate by means of such allure as she was fortunate to possess. The firm, wellformed breasts, the long, stray lock of hair caressing the armpit, the waspwaist and wide hips ... all these calculated details were meant to entice the male" (Seltman 1956:51). Whereas Evans' interpretation implies a Victorian ideal of femininity, Seltman's commentary construes the image as a 1950s icon representing a safe sexuality. Both interpretations trivialize the figurines. In contrast, in the late 1960s, at the advent of the modern women's movement,Jacquetta Hawkes interpreted the figurines in feminist terms. According to her, such "provocative" dress would have been "appropri- Figure 9.l. "Snake Goddess" faience figurine from the Temple Repositories of the palace at Knossos, Crete (line drawing by the author). Figure 9.2. "Priestess" or "votary" faience figurine from the Temple Repositories of the palace at Knossos, Crete (line drawing by the author). 114 Mireille M. Lee ate to the high status of women in Minoan society, to their uninhibited liveliness in public and the freedom with which they mingled with men" (Hawkes 1968:110). The notion that women enjoyed high status in Minoan society has had a strong appeal for many, and the idea that Minoan Crete might have been a matriarchy, although now discredited by archaeologists, remains pervasive in the popular literature. Clearly, each of these interpretations reflects the cultural milieu in which it was written, as well as certain personal and intellectual agendas of the author. More important for this study, these interpretations betray an assumed relationship between dress and gender, and the authors have extrapolated sexual and social roles, including social status, from the artistic imagery. In the past quarter-century there has been little scholarly interest in developing new interpretations of the Snake Goddess and votary figurines and their dress, and many of the old ideas about the figurines continue to be cited. A few scholars have considered the meanings associated with the iconography of Minoan dress, particularly in relation to issues of rank and status in Minoan society.l But the relationship between Minoan dress and gender systems has not been examined by archaeologists, despite the fact that dress has long been recognized in other disciplines (such as anthropology, art history, sociology, and social psychology) as a reflection of, and means of maintaining, social constructions of gender. In this chapter I argue that there is a need for the systematic study of masculine and feminine dress as a means of deciphering gender constructions in Minoan society. The Functions of Dress A basic premise of dress theory is that dress functions as a primary means of nonverbal communication or "signaling."2 The essential components of dress, including clothing as well as jewelry and other accessories, hairstyles, cosmetics, body painting, and body piercing (Roach-Higgins and Eicher 1992: 1), emit constant, complex social messages that would have been intended by the wearer and understandable by the viewer. The primary messages of dress are social membership and social event (Enninger 1984:79; Kaiser 1983-4:2; McCracken 1987:105). Through dress, then, both the identity and the situation of an individual are communicated without any verbal exchange (Kaiser 1983-4:2). If dress is understood as "a collection of material 'systems of difference' which encode a set of parallel conceptual 'systems of difference' " (McCracken 1987:105), it follows that a universal function of dress is signification of gender (Vicary 1988:299). Dress may be considered a particularly appropriate medium for communicating social constructions of gender because the social messages constru (ct) ed in dress are often of the type that would be Deciphering Gender in Minoan Dress 11 5 inappropriate, or cannot be articulated, in verbal language; for example, social inequities (Kaiser 1990:413), including those of gender. How does dress signal social information to the viewer? It has been noted by sociologist Fred Davis that dress codes are of "low semanticity," so that, as with music, it is often not obvious how dress evokes meanings (Davis 1992:5-6). As is true for all material culture, dress does not carry any inherent meaning, but is ascribed social meaning in a particular cultural context. These meanings are arbitrary and socially specific, complicating the task of the archaeologist who is removed temporally and spatially from the original ancient "coding community." Although as modern viewers we lack direct access to ancient dress codes, it is possible to reconstruct them from the artistic iconography by analyzing their constituent parts and patterns of use and by considering certain fundamental principles that are applicable to all types of dress systems. The iconography of Minoan dress is known from the remains of wall paintings that decorated the palatial centers of Crete, from the iconography of carved seals and finger rings, from various small-scale figurines, and from other objects in bronze, faience, ivory, stone, and other materials. These various images have been found all over the island but primarily in palatial and sanctuary contexts. 3 The wall paintings are our best source of evidence for dress, not least because they preserve the colors and decoration of the garments. The paintings also are in larger scale than the small-scale figurines or the representations shown on seals and, therefore, show greater detail. Few of the wall paintings are well preserved, however; almost all are quite fragmentary, and most were restored early in the century, many quite fancifully. The seals are also problematic because the pictorial images are at such a small scale that it is often difficult to read those details of the iconography that are crucial for a study of dress. The figurines, especially the large corpus of bronze votives, are particularly useful because they illustrate fairly consistent patterns of masculine and feminine dress that might serve as a reference for the pictorial representations. Among the figurines too, however, there are problems of questionable restoration. 4 For example, the socalled "priestess" or "votary" faience figurine (see Fig. 9.2) has been reconstructed with a cat on her head, even though it was not found attached. Minoan Figurative Art Virtually all the human figurative art from Crete is believed to be religious art, or at least to have "ritual, ceremonial, or symbolic significance" (Dickinson 1994:164), because almost all paintings, seals, and figurines were found in sanctuaries or in palatial complexes that seem to have 116 Mireille M. Lee served a religious function. Certain images apparently illustrate performances of rituals. The so-called "Sacred Grove fresco " from Knossos depicts a group of women wearing elaborate skirts who make gestures of worship toward an outdoor shrine (Davis 1987:1fi8) 5 while crowds of spectators look on. Another Knossos fresco, the so-called "Grandstand Fresco," has been interpreted similarly as representing a crowd ofspectators gathered to witness a ritual event, perhaps bull-leaping, an activity also depicted in Minoan iconography. Images on seals and finger rings depict more intimate scenes of worship, such as a small group of devotees gesturing toward a goddess or priestess, or individual suppliants performing rites in the presence of a goddess or priestess. Individual worshippers also seem to be represented by a large number of bronze votive figurines displaying gestures of prayer or adoration. These votive figurines were left at sanctuaries by the faithful in order that they might be in the perpetual presence of the deity. Finally, ritual objects, such as rhyta for pouring libations, are decorated with apparently ritual scenes, including ritual athletic events or a procession in celebration of the harvest. Within the broad and varied corpus of Minoan art, the iconography for males and females is highly conventional and distinctive for each sex. In polychrome images such as wall paintings and the faience figurines, males are represented with dark skin and females with light skin. This distinction is also characteristic of contemporary Egyptian art, which is probably the source of this Minoan convention. The dichotomy of dress for males and females is equally explicit. 6 Male figures in Minoan art are in most cases relatively sparsely clad (Fig. 9.3). Males are typically represented wearing a phallic sheath or codpiece, either alone or in combination with a loincloth or breechcloth. There is much variation in the length and shape of the loin- or breechcloths, but two primary types are discernible. The first type is open at the sides, leaving the buttocks uncovered; the second type is closed at the sides, fastening at the front somewhat like a kilt. These garments are sometimes decorated with an allover woven or embroidered design, but more often in this period they are plain or simply decorated with a border (Barber 1991:315).7 Males frequently wear a tight-fitting belt that appears to cinch the waist. Some male figures, perhaps only those of high status, also wear a dagger and / or "sacred knot" tucked into the belt. A few figures wear pointy-toed, laced shoes. 8 The males frequently wear jewelry, examples of which have been preserved in the archaeological record. Masculine hairstyles are. varied and are often quite elaborate, with long serpentine locks descending from the top of the head and sometimes knotted at the back. In contrast to the male figures, female figures are covered from neck to the feet, with only the forearms and the breasts exposed (see Figs. 9.1 and 9.2). The short-sleeved bodice is a form-fitting garment laced across the Figure 9.3. Depiction of the "priest king" from a fresco (reconstruction) from the palace at Knossos, Crete (line drawing by the author). 118 Mireille M. Lee front. 9 The fabric of the bodice is often woven with a decorative pattern, sometimes also with a band extending along the tops of the sleeves, across the shoulders and behind the neck. Three types of fabric skirts can be distinguished, all of which are held in place with a rather bulky belt that rests on the hips. A few females wear a tight-fitting belt that cinches the waist, similar to those worn by males. The faience votary wears this belt in combination with a sort of double apron over the skirt, with one panel in the front and one in the back, analogous to the loin- or breechcloth worn by some of the male figures. The feet are usually hidden by the skirts, but when they are visible they are always bare. In contrast to the males, most females are represented wearing relatively little jewelry, and those pieces that are depicted are restricted to a few simple necklaces and bracelets similar to those worn by males. Only a few of the frescoes depict females wearing elaborate jewelry. Feminine hairstyles do not generally differ from masculine hairstyles, and they might have been considered indicators of age and/ or ethnicity rather than gender. IO Dress in Minoan Society The iconography of male and female dress indicates quite different conventions of dress for each sex. Most items of dress are worn by one sex or the other; very few are shared by males and females. I I Male dress covers very little of the body compared to female dress, which extends from neck to feet. The fact that so much of the body is left uncovered by Minoan male dress gives the costume the effect of a kind of "uniform" that is represented by the male anatomy and emphasized by the differential skin color. In contrast, female garments exhibit more variety and more elaborate decoration. This variation in form and decoration of female garments in comparison to the relative uniformity of male garments suggests that Minoan dress functioned to mark females as differing from a male norm. A similar construction exists in our own culture, in which there exist multiple categories for women and not for men. For example, the titles "Mrs." and "Miss" categorize women in terms of their marital status, and the title "Ms." intended to confound the other two categories, nonetheless implies an adult female. Men are not defined according to age or marital status but are referred to by the generic "Mr." In our own culture the norm is masculine, and the feminine is constructed as differing from that norm; the multiplicity of constructed categories for females is not indicative of high status for women. In the Minoan artistic idiom the uniformity of masculine dress and the variety of feminine dress would suggest a parallel construction of male-as-norm and female-as-other.12 Deciphering Gender in Minoan Dress 119 The differentiation of gender in Minoan dress is emphasized further by the fact that both masculine and feminine dress draw attention to external sexual characteristics. The phallic sheath or codpiece covers and protects the male sexual organ, yet calls attention to it, while the feminine bodice emphasizes the breasts by exposing them. The ambiguity of both concealment and exposure as means of emphasizing the external sexual characteristics does not indicate that social constructions of gender were ill defined, but rather the opposite; the categories of masculine and feminine were strict social constructions that were perpetuated on an everyday, individual level through dress. It is also not legitimate to assume that emphasis of the penis and breasts necessarily connoted specifically sexual meanings in Minoan culture as they do in our own. Although these organs function biologically in procreation and lactation, many cultures ascribe them other meanings as well, such as virility and nurturing. But while the specific meanings attached to these aspects of male and female dress elude us, the structure of the Minoan dress system suggests that male and female were primary social categories that were maintained through dress. A high degree of social control was exercised in the Minoan dress system . Because both masculine and feminine garments were constructed and not draped, potential variation was limited except through the addition or removal of accessories. 13 Another level of behavior codification may be adduced from the apparent physical restrictiveness of Minoan garments. In Minoan artistic iconography, males and some females are represented wearing the tight-fitting belt that appears to cinch the waist. But whereas males are unencumbered by garments on their lower legs, arms, or torso, females wear tight-fitting bodices and full skirts that might have restricted their physical activities. Minoan dress would have had a psychological effect on the wearer, serving to enforce social and gender constructions. The decoration of Minoan garments also seems to follow gendered constructions. Elizabeth Barber has noted that in this period of Minoan art females are represented wearing much more elaborate fabrics than those worn by males. 14 Because feminine dress covers so much more of the body than does masculine dress, the potential for social marking through both the form and the decoration of Minoan garments is much greater for females than for males. 15 Barber suggests also that women were responsible for the production of these garments on the basis of textual evidence provided by Linear B tablets from the succeeding period on Crete (Barber 1991:283-84). Indeed, textile production constituted "women's work" in many early societies, as it could be done concurrently with child care (Barber 1991 :289). If Minoan women were responsible 120 Mireille M. Lee for textile production and garment fabrication, women may have been active participants in the (re)production of gender constructions for Minoan society.16 Additional evidence for the significance of dress in Minoan society may be derived from representations of garments that seem to have had a ritual function. Votive garments made of non-perishable luxury materials such as faience and ivory, as well as images on seals depicting rituals involving the dedication of garments, suggest that the dedication of real garments was part of Minoan religious practice, as is the case in traditional modern Greek culture (Gullberg and Astrom 1970:45). Entire ensembles, including a chemise, belt, and skirt specially decorated with crocuses (which probably had religious significance) were recreated in faience and deposited together with the Snake Goddess figurines at Knossos; two belts, made separately, were dedicated as well. "Sacred knots," apparently the same as those worn by some of the males in the artistic iconography, were also recreated in faience and ivory and dedicated as votives. Multiple images of persons bearing "sacred" garments are extant among the seals and sealings (Demargne 1949:283-85). It has been suggested that such garments were used in a rite in which a priestess was dressed to appear as an epiphany of a goddess (Niemeier 1987:166). Clearly these garments, particularly the flounced skirt, had a religious significance. Meanings associated with these garments may also have extended to those who made them and those who wore them. Textiles had religious significance in Minoan culture, but they were important for economic reasons as well. The widespread distribution of loom weights and spindle whorls in the archaeological record in the Neopalatial period suggests intensive production of textiles, probably exceeding the immediate needs of individual households. Linear B tablets from the subsequent period reveal that textiles were required as tribute to the palatial centers of Crete, a practice that was probably a continuation of earlier practices (Barber 1991 :284-85). Under the control of the palatial elite, these textiles became part of much larger trade networks that extended throughout the Eastern Mediterranean. Although actual textiles have not been recovered, evidence for their trade is found in Egyptian tombs from the same period. Images of Cretan tribute-bearers bringing textiles and other Minoan objects are found in Thebes in the Eighteenth Dynasty tomb of Menkheperresneb, and Minoan textile motifs appear to have inspired Egyptian ceiling decoration in several other contemporary tombs (Barber 1991:338-51). Clearly, the importance of Minoan textiles extended far beyond the island of Crete. Consideration of the economic and religious importance of Minoan textiles illuminates the significance attached to Minoan dress. Elaborate textiles were required by the palatial administrators for their participa- Deciphering Gender in Minoan Dress 121 tion in an elite trade network. That women were required to make and provide these textiles to Minoan palatial centers is suggested not only by the later Linear B tablets, but also by the ritualization of this practice, illustrated by the dedication of votive garments to a deity. The ritualization of the bestowal of textiles is important because it codified the need for these textiles and might have ascribed women a high degree of social worth, at least in this particular realm. Artistic representations offemales wearing elaborate garments reinforced the integral association between women and textiles. Whether Minoan women actually wore such elaborate dress on a regular basis is unknown, although it seems reasonable to suggest that such dress was worn on ritual occasions, perhaps only by the elite. What is clear from the artistic representations is that the differentiation of the appearance of males and females reflects a conceptual difference between masculine and feminine that was derived from the social roles ascribed to men and women, particularly the role of women in textile production. Summary The meanings ascribed to the Snake Goddess and her votary are clearly more complicated than earlier scholars assumed. To understand these objects we must resituate them in their cultural context. In the past quarter-century, we have greatly increased our understanding of many aspects of Minoan society, including political organization, social organization, production, economy, trade, and religion. Advances made in these areas can in turn help us to understand the more ideological aspects of Minoan culture that are depicted in wall paintings and figurines, including the construction of gender and its role in social differentiation. Notes 1. In her study of the bronze votive figurines from Crete, Colette Verlinden considers the iconography of dress as indicative of social status (1984). A recent survey of Aegean male costume by Paul Rehak (1996) associates different costume types with differences in age, status, and activity, and Robert Koehl (1986) has studied the relationship between hairstyles and rank and status. More has been written about dress and social rank and status in the frescoes from the site of Akrotiri on the Aegean island of Thera, which appear to have been influenced by Minoan art (e.g., Davis 1986; Morgan 1988). 2. Semiotician Werner Enninger (Enninger 1985: 85) argues that rather than communicating like spoken language, dress more accurately signifies, like a traffic light, for example. Sociologist Fred Davis also cites sociologist Herbert Blumer's observation that" 'while clothing may "speak," it seems rarely to engage in dialogue' " (Davis 1992: 8). Several scholars have taken issue with the correlation of dress and language (e.g., Davis 1992: 3; Gottdeiner 1986: 252-253; Kaiser 1990: 122 Mireille M. Lee 239; McCracken 1987: 110-123; Schevill1993: 6-7). Within any given community, however, individuals emulate the dress of others, which suggests two-way communication rather than one-way signaling. 3. The iconographic corpus under consideration here has been limited to the Neopalatial period (Middle Minoan III through Late Minoan IB, about 17001450 B.C.E.) and to objects found on the island of Crete. These are artificial spatial and temporal boundaries that serve to "fix" the iconographic system in time and place. Of course, all cultural systems, including iconographic, dress, and gender systems, are dynamic and are best studied both diachronically and across regional boundaries. The present study is intended only as a test for the applicability of certain principles of dress theory to a particular set of evidence. 4. Given the problems associated with specific objects in terms of state of preservation, quality of restoration, and amount of observable detail, this study is limited to general patterns discernible in the iconography of masculine and feminine dress. The use of artistic iconography as evidence for ideological construction does not necessarily imply that the dress system represented in the art reflects actual dress worn by Bronze Age men and women. It is assumed, however, that since the images must have been comprehensible to their ancient viewers, the iconography must have had some basis in reality. 5. The previous interpretation of this image as representing a group of dancing women has proved incorrect following the restoration of a white masonry structure in the left part of the painting. 6. The typology of Minoan dress is derived primarily from Verlinden's study (1984: 98-112). Males and females appear to share garment types in two examples of Minoan art, the Agia Triada sarcophagus and the Toreador fresco. Neither will be considered in this study because they postdate the period in question. 7. Elizabeth Barber (1991) distinguishes between the Classical Minoan period of dress and the succeeding Transitional/Ritual styles of dress dating to Late Minoan II-IlIA when Crete seems to have come under Mycenaean influence. In the latter period male dress becomes more elaborate, with more elaborate kilts and extensive surface decoration. Our best-preserved example of male dress from this period is the "cupbearer" from the procession fresco from Knossos. 8. Males are also represented wearing other garments, including robes, tunics, "shorts," cloaks and capes, much less frequently than the standard Minoan dress. 9. Barber describes the Minoan bodice as a constructed garment that was cut and sewn to fit the wearer (Barber 1991:318). Rehak contends that such "implausibly elaborate patterns of cutting and stitching" (1996b:39) are unlikely for Minoan dress, given the fact that later (Archaic and Classical ) Greeks wore simple draped garments. 10. Verlinden notes that the Minoans were known in the Mediterranean world for their long coiffures and were depicted with elaborate hairstyles in contemporary Egyptian tomb painting (1984:94). 11. Both the form-fitting belt and the double-paneled apron worn by some of the females, which resembles the masculine loin- or breechcloth, may in fact represent ritual garb that was not usual feminine attire. 12. Among the bronze votive figurines, patterns in dress of masculine uniformity and feminine multiplicity are also discernible in the types of gestures performed by the figurines (Lee 1994, 1996). 13. For an ethnographic example of the expressive capacities of a draped garment see Messing (1978). Deciphering Gender in Minoan Dress 123 14. There seems to be a reversal in the relative ornateness of female and male dress in the succeeding period of Minoan culture. See note 7. 15. In his study of folk dress in the former Yugoslavia, H. Martin Wobst found that all types of female dress carried messages reflecting women's social status within a group, whereas male dress included items (particularly the headdress) that specifically carried intergroup messages. Wobst suggests that "this is to be expected in a strongly patriarchal society where males determine most kin affiliations, where most public activities are in the hands of males, and where the movement of women is restricted to the context of the local group" (1977: 335). 16. Although gender constructions are reproduced in every act of dress, I wish to emphasize here the active social contribution made by women's production of the dress items themselves.