In ancient Greek costume, a tainia (Ancient Greek: ταινία; pl.: ταινίαι or Latin: taenia; pl.: taeniae) was a headband, ribbon, or fillet.
The tainia headband was worn with the traditional ancient Greek costume. The headbands were worn at Greek festivals. The gods also bound their heads with tainiai. Furthermore, cult images, trees, urns, monuments, animal sacrifices and the deceased had tainiai wound around them. They were later adopted by the Romans. A similar type of headband was the diadema, used as a symbol for kings.
See also
References
- Pl. Symp. 212d.e, 213d; Xen. Symp. 5,9
- Paus. 1,8,4
- Paus. 8,31,8; 10,35,10
- Theocr. 18,44
- Lucian, Dial. mort. 13,4
- "Tainia." Brill's New Pauly. Brill Online, 2013. Reference. 28 June 2013
External links
- Image of a woman wearing a chiton and a broad taenia at Perseus Project