When we think of the clothing style of ancient Greeks and Romans, flowing robes, tunics and togas—not pants—usually come to mind. And for good reason: the Greeks and Romans deliberately avoided wearing trousers, largely due to xenophobia and sexism.
Why did ancient Greeks dislike trousers?
To the Greeks, trousers were barbaric, or the garb of non-Greek barbarians. And they saw wearing trousers as effeminate and a sign of weakness.
Greek clothing was typically made from simple linen or wool cloth squares, cylinders or rectangles that were draped on the body and fastened in place. Some types of garments were exclusively for men or women, while some were unisex, but worn differently by each genders. For instance, both men and women wore a plain, sleeveless white tunic called a chiton, which was ankle-length for women and knee-length for men.
The Greeks may have thought the Amazons—fierce female warriors who were often antagonists of Greek heroes and long believed to be mere myths by historians—created trousers. Often paired with a long-sleeve top, trousers were also associated with numerous nomadic, horse-riding peoples ranging from the Black Sea to the western border of China, and thus considered too foreign for the Greeks to adopt.
Additionally, in ancient Greece’s male-centered, male-dominated society, “real” Greek men did not wear trousers invented by women or purposely cover their lower bodies. They may have also been uncomfortable with the equalizing quality of trousers—in other cultures, women wore trousers and engaged in the same physical activities as men did.