The clothing of the gods as a vehicle of political and social propaganda. Some reflections from Arkadia

Abstract

The clothing of the gods, widely treated from different points of view in the ancient studies, can be analyzed in terms of its ideological, social or political connotations. Such connotations are often propagandistic and have been consciously reflected in the real attire itself or in garments represented on artistic works and elaborate narratives. In this paper I am proposing to approach the issue from a "political" and ideological perspective, discussing two cases of dresses of arkadian goddesses: the garment of the goddess Despoina, as it can be seen in a fragment of the acrolithic cultic group of her sanctuary at Lycosoura, on the one hand, and the peplos offered to Athena Alea at Tegea by Laodice, a woman resident in Cyprus, on the other. Bearing in mind the extraordinary religious background of Arkadia, together with its ability to bring together innovative elements of worship, but also its religious versatility in changing political and social contexts, as well as the leading role of this region in the Peloponnese during the Hellenistic period (especially as part of the Achaean League), the two cases chosen serve to the present study as a platform to deepen what is the message that garments, by their characteristics, intend to convey. The analysis leads us to glimpse the possible triumphalist and propagandistic exaltation of some reality not strictly religious, perhaps a military victory of the Achaean League, in the case of Lycosoura and an act possibly to place in an international diplomacy context, aimed at creating networks of kinship between Cyprus and Tegea, in an attempt to enhance relations between the parties for mutual benefit.