Friday, 1 November 2019

Sinopean Clothing

The Golden Slave, XV.

Now treated as guests, Eodan, Tjorr and Phryne must be clad appropriately.

Eodan has:

a white linen tunic;
a blue chlamys;
a leather belt;
leather sandals;
his sword polished;
shaven face;
hair undyed.

(No longer needing a disguise, it will be better if he looks foreign.)

Tjorr is dressed like Eodan but remains unshaved.

Phryne has a white dress and a palla whose hood hides the hair that she had cut short to look like a boy.

Tjorr thinks that his hammer has brought them luck. They have:

captured a ship;
freed themselves;
escaped from their enemies;
been rescued from drowning;
been given a good passage to Sinope.

This overlooks the fact that Eodan's wife, Hwicca, was killed. Eodan is unsure what luck is. We must read the novel to its end.

1 comment:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

Many Greeks and Romans favored being clean shaven, esp. if they could afford the regular services of a barber, but Tjorr wouldn't stand out that much from being bearded, because of how common that was.

And I think it was either Gaius Marius or his nephew by marriage, Julius Caesar, who thought of adding HEELS to sandals, turning them into true shoes. Because heels on the shoes of Roman soldiers made marching easier for them.

Ad astra! Sean