Marcus Aurelius wearing a toga

A toga

The toga picta may have had an Etruscan origin, as in this portrayal of a cloaked figure identified as Vel Saties (from the Francois Tomb, Vulci. Circa 350 BC).

The toga, a distinctive garment of Ancient Rome, was a cloth of perhaps 20 ft (6 m) in length which was wrapped around the body and was generally worn over a tunic. The toga was made of wool,^[1] and the tunic under it often was made of linen. After the 2nd century BC, the toga was a garment worn exclusively by men, and only Roman citizens were allowed to wear the toga. After this time, women were expected to wear the stola.

History[link]

The toga was based on a dress robe used by native people, the Etruscans. The toga was the dress clothing of the Romans, a thick woolen cloak worn over a loincloth or apron. It is believed to have been established around the time of Numa Pompilius, the second King of Rome. It was taken off indoors, or when hard at work in the fields, but it was considered the only decent attire out-of-doors. This is evident from the story of Cincinnatus: he was ploughing in his field when the messengers of the Senate came to tell him that he had been made dictator, and on seeing them he sent his wife to fetch his toga from the house so that they could be received appropriately.^[2] While the truth of the story may be doubtful, it nevertheless expresses the Roman sentiment on the subject. Free citizens were required to wear togas because slaves would wear tunics. They wore them because the tunic was a sign of poverty and would let them work with ease.

As time went on, dress styles changed. Romans adopted the shirt (tunica, or in Greek chiton) which the Greeks and Etruscans wore, made the toga more bulky, and wore it in a looser manner. The result was that it became useless for active pursuits, such as those of war. Thus, its place was taken by the handier sagum (woollen cloak) on all military occasions. In times of peace, too, the toga eventually was superseded by the laena but did remain the court dress of the Empire which began c. 31 BC.^[3]

Significance[link]

The same process that removed the toga from everyday life gave it an increased importance as a ceremonial garment, as is often the case with clothing. The toga also came to be used to signify different types of power. As early as the 2nd century BC, and probably even before, the toga (along with the calceus) was looked upon as the characteristic badge of Roman citizenship. It was denied to foreigners,^[4] and even to banished Romans,^[5] and it was worn by magistrates on all occasions as a badge of office. In fact, for a magistrate to appear in a Greek cloak (pallium) and sandals was considered by all as highly improper, if not criminal.^[6] Augustus, for instance, was so much incensed at seeing a meeting of citizens without the toga, that, quoting Virgil's lines, "Romanos, rerum dominos, gentemque togatam" ("Romans, lords of the world, the toga-wearing race"), he gave orders to the aediles that in the future no one was to appear in the Forum or Circus without it.^[7]

Because the toga was not worn by soldiers, it was regarded as a sign of peace. A civilian was sometimes called togatus, "toga-wearer", in contrast to sagum-wearing soldiers. Cicero's De Officiis contains the phrase cedant arma togae: literally, "let arms yield to the toga", meaning "may peace replace war", or "may military power yield to civilian power".

Folding[link]

A toga is made by holding a piece of cloth under the right arm, half behind, half in front. The back part is folded over the left shoulder, and the front part is then folded over the left shoulder too.^{[citation needed]}

Varieties[link]

There were many kinds of togae, each used differently.

• Toga virilis (toga alba or toga pura): A plain white toga worn on formal occasions by most Roman men of legal age, generally about 14 to 18 years, but it could be any stage in their teens.^[8] The first wearing of the toga virilis was part of the celebrations on reaching maturity.
• Toga candida: "Bright toga"; a toga bleached by chalk to a dazzling white (Isidorus Orig. xix. 24, 6), worn by candidates (from Latin candida, "pure white") for public office.^[9] Thus Persius speaks of a cretata ambitio, "chalked ambition". Oddly, this custom appears to have been banned by plebiscite in 432 BC, but the restriction was never enforced.^[10] The term is the etymologic source of the word candidate.
• Toga praetexta: An ordinary white toga with a broad purple stripe on its border. It was worn by
  • Freeborn boys who had not yet come of age.^[11]
  • All curule magistrates.^[12][13]
  • Ex-curule magistrates and dictators, upon burial^[14] and apparently at festivals and other celebrations as well.^[15]
  • Some priests (e.g., the Flamen Dialis, Pontifices, Tresviri Epulones, the augurs, and the Arval brothers).^[16]
  • During the Empire, the right to wear it was sometimes bestowed as an honor independent of formal rank.
  • According to tradition, the Kings of Rome.
  • Those with the right to wear a toga praetexta were sometimes termed laticlavius, "having a broad crimson stripe". It also gave its name to a literary form known as praetexta.
• Toga pulla: Literally just "dark toga". It was worn mainly by mourners, but could also be worn in times of private danger or public anxiety. It was sometimes used as a protest of sorts—when Cicero was exiled, the Senate resolved to wear togae pullae as a demonstration against the decision.^[17] Magistrates with the right to wear a toga praetexta wore a simple toga pura instead of pulla.
• Toga picta: This toga, unlike all others, was not just dyed but embroidered and decorated. It was solid purple, embroidered with gold. Under the Republic, it was worn by generals in their triumphs, and by the Praetor Urbanus when he rode in the chariot of the gods into the circus at the Ludi Apollinares.^[18] During the Empire, the toga picta was worn by magistrates giving public gladiatorial games, and by the consuls, as well as by the emperor on special occasions.
• Toga trabea: According to Servius, there were three different kinds of trabea: one of purple only, for the gods; another of purple and a little white, for kings; and a third, with scarlet stripes and a purple hem,^[19] for augurs and Salii.^[20] Dionysius of Halicarnassus says that those of equestrian class wore it as well, but this is not borne out by other evidence.

Modern usage[link]

In several countries, the tradition of the toga party has become popular in recent decades, generally at colleges and universities, perhaps best illustrated in (if not inspired by) the film Animal House.

This practice trades on the exaggerated legend of Roman debauchery, and participants dress in togas that are usually makeshift garments fashioned from bed sheets. As such, these togas bear little resemblance to the Ancient Roman garment, being both flimsier and scantier.

The toga is also used by peoples that can claim descent from Romanized Punics, such as the Arabized Berbers of Tripolitania, in Libya, the most prominent example probably being the late Muammar Gaddafi.

See also[link]

• Chasuble
• Clothing in ancient Rome
• Stola

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Toga

• How to make a toga
• Clothing for Men in Ancient Rome
• William Smith's A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities on the toga
• How to make a toga by Ron Turner

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities by William Smith (1870).