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Chlamys: The cultural biography of a garment in Hellenistic Egypt

Objective

Hellenistic Egyptian history has been described as a 'tale of two cultures'. This duality is manifest in the differences between the textile cultures of the two ethic groups that came into contact during the time of the Ptolemies. The fundamental differences concern: a/ the traditional fibre used (linen in Egypt–wool in Greece); b/ the colour preference for garments (white for Egypt-a variety of vivid colours in Greece; c/ the loom used for weaving (horizontal in Egypt-vertical in Greece). When Alexander the Great first came to Egypt, he decided to leave his mark on the territory, and founded the first city that would bear his name: Alexandria. Descriptions of the city detailed by such later ancient authors as Diodorus Siculus, Strabo, Pliny the Elder and Plutarch report that the city had the shape of a chlamys, the typical woollen cloak of Alexander and his cavalry. The first chlamys-shaped wold map was also produced in Alexandria by Eratosthenes, head librarian at the famous library under the third Ptolemy. The founding of Alexandria inaugurates systematic cross-cultural interactions between Greeks and Egyptians, two ethnic groups with distinct languages, cultures, ways of life, and, naturally, dress. The garment chlamys becomes the garment of Ptolemaic royals, while it continues to be the garment of the army. The make-up of this largely mercenary army, though, had since become ethnically diverse, and included local Egyptians. A host of sources (e.g. papyri, iconography on temples, tombs, ostraca, coinage) testify to the fact that the chlamys becomes widespread in both Alexandria and the rest of the Egyptian territory. This project investigates the garment chlamys both as a material object and as a cultural symbol, thus capturing multiple glimpses of everyday life in Hellenistic Egypt, while providing a reassessment of the ongoing discource on dress, ethnicity and identity in cross-cultural cont

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MSCA-IF-EF-CAR - CAR – Career Restart panel

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Call for proposal

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(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2014

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Coordinator

KOBENHAVNS UNIVERSITET
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 212 194,80
Address
NORREGADE 10
1165 KOBENHAVN
Denmark

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Region
Danmark Hovedstaden Byen København
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
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Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 212 194,80
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