Wool in the ancient times

Since the ancient times, wool has played a special role in people's lives. The Golden Fleece of the mythical winged ram Aries appears as the central motive of one of the oldest Greek stories about the heroic adventures of Jason and his band of Argonauts. 
Goddess Athena taught the Greeks the art of knitting, while the Moerae (the Fates), incarnations of destiny, spun, measured, and cut the "thread" of their lives. Processing wool and cloth making was primarily women’s duty, who could establish their social status thanks to their master weaving skills. The clothes were made from a single piece of fabric, without cutting and with minimal seams, and it was fastened to the body by wrapping, belts, and brooches (fibulae). The highest appraisal went to those fabrics that were decorated with woven and embroidered motives in different colours, especially purple that was obtained from murex, a sea snail that also lives in the Adriatic
 
Apart from wool, the Greeks also purchased finished garments from the Adriatic, especially dark woollen coats of Liburnians, famous sailors who founded the town of Osor 3000 years ago on the mythical islands of Apsyrtides from the tale of the Golden Fleece.
 
Irena Dlaka, BA Art History

Points of sale:
 
•Ruta Atelier, Zazid 4a, 51557 Cres, T: +385 98 313 029, cres.ruta@gmail.com, www.ruta-cres.hr

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