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Greek socks - Printable Version

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Greek socks - Fhyn - 12-14-2016

Greetings everyone

With living up here in the north, going barefoot sandaled isnt always a good idea. I know I have read in some places, that the greeks did use socks, but was curious, if anyone has any ideas on color and designs?

My wife is actually interested in making me some nice felted wool socks, but wanted to know designs and colors, if I could find any ideas for her.

Thanks in advance.


RE: Greek socks - Crispianus - 12-14-2016

(12-14-2016, 06:19 PM)Fhyn Wrote: Greetings everyone

With living up here in the north, going barefoot sandaled isnt always a good idea. I know I have read in some places, that the greeks did use socks, but was curious, if anyone has any ideas on color and designs?

My wife is actually interested in making me some nice felted wool socks, but wanted to know designs and colors, if I could find any ideas for her.

Thanks in advance.

Why not wear shoes? foot wrappings are pretty universal... these can be a broad strip or oblong piece of cloth or skin/fur wrapped round the foot...

Edit: Have been looking at Sculture where foot coverings are visible there appears to be two types:

A complete covering for the Foot possibly a woven "Sock" in the modern sense and may also include a seperate big toe like the surviving socks from Egypt which are shaped cloth or naalbinding, this could be purpose made or simply a piece of material shaped to the foot, see the childs "sock" from Vindolanda...

A wrapping for the foot with usually the first two toes left exposed, associated with shoes/sandals that have a thong bettween the first and second toe but not always, made from a piece of material wrapped round or shaped to the foot.

The material may be either Cloth, Skin/fur or possibly felt...


RE: Greek socks - Giannis K. Hoplite - 01-16-2017

Both socks and wrappings existed, as has been said, and there are numerous representations of the former, and fewer clear representations of the latter, but there are vases who even show the man in the act of wrapping his legs.

In my opinion at least one of the types of socks was a soft felt boot. Actually one of the types of sandals often worn by soldiers is almost always worn with these socks.
As for colours, the Alexander Sarcophagus shows red (but that was Alexander himself). In vases some times white is used, indicating natural wool colour, and some times black, but this merely indicates a dark colour, not necessarily black.

This Macedonian fresco shows both light and dark colour socksĀ 

[Image: main-qimg-bd855ec96c21158ecf3bb92c76b1bd..._webp=true]
Khaire
Giannis