Figure 1.--Here is one artists conception of the Minoans and their clothing. We are not sure about the accuyracy of the depicrions.

Very little information is available on the clothing worn by the Minoans in general and even less about how children dressed. Unlike the later Greek civilization, there is no literature that included some information on clothing and fashion. The few Minonan scripts found have revealed any information about clothing. What is known about Minonan clothing is thus limited to what can be deduced from the depictions found by archeologists. This includes frescos as well as sculpture (statuary and relief work) and painted pottery. It is evident from the available information that the warm Mediterranean climate was a major factor in Minoan clothing, especially with men. The climate meant that clothing was not needed for much of the year to keep warm, however, more was required than in Egypt. Women from available images wore more clothes than the men. The available images suggest that Minoan clothing was much more fitted than the clothing of classical Greece which relied more on drapery. The basic garment worn by men and women was the skirt. Both father and son appear to have dressed similarly. Men wore shorter skirts than women. The most prevalent length was thigh-length skirts, but there were various lengths including some down to the ankles. They looked to be wrap around garments with a tassel in the front or back. Around the edges of this skirts there may have been embroidered designs. It seems to be wrapped around the waist and held in place by some type of fastening. It does not look to be held in place by being tucked in. The women wore more interesting and more elaborate clothes than men. Men and boys do not appear to have worn footwear. This probably would have been especially rare with boys. shoes. Womens skirts were even more varied. Even less information is available on what Minoan boys wore. Minoan boys until puberty probably did not wear a lot of clothes as it was a warm climate. As was true in the later Greek civilization, they engaged in sports without clothes which can be seen here in Minoan art. The boxers on the previous page are an example. Presumably boys wore scaled-down clothes similar to their fathers. At this time we know of no destinctive clothing wore by Minoan boys.

Sources

Note: William Fergusson has assisted with the reserach on this page.