HEADDRESS FASHIONS AND THEIR SOCIAL SIGNIFICANCE IN ANCIENT WESTERN ANATOLIA: THE SEVENTH THROUGH FOURTH CENTURIES BCE

This study investigates the most popular headdress fashions in ancient Western Anatolia as detected in thearts of the region from seventh to fourth centuries BCE. The origins of each headdress, its possible meaning withinthe socio-cultural context, and its occurrence in Greek and Near Eastern iconography are also discussed. The exami-nation of the most popular headdresses is classified under five typological categories; polos, veil, bashlyk, griffon crown,and the Phrygian cap. Examples come from representations in different media, ranging from wall painting and archi-tectural sculpture to sculpture in the round and ivory statuettes. The study reveals that some of the headdresses suchas the polos and veil originate in Bronze Age Anatolia, while others like bashlyk was introduced to Anatolian costumefashion and imagery through the Achaemenid influence. Besides providing a typological classification of Anatolianheaddress imagery, the close examination of the “language of headdress” in ancient Anatolia hints at the socio-cultural and religious associations of the each fashion as well as the roles and status of the wearers. The polos and veil,for examples, could be related to the popularity of the fertility cults in Anatolia and matronly status, while the bashlykfashion among aristocratic men invokes the wearers’ association with the Persian nobility or courtly-military status.