Minoan female dress, as it figures on iconographic representations, seems to
consist of three garments: a tight-fitting bodice with short sleeves,
a long skirt formed by separate
woven bands and a decorative front.
Minoan women wore headbands and diadems, and decorated their
hair with many different jewels and elaborately tied ribbons. These combinations
occur in representations of eastern priestesses and feminine divinities and one can
unreservedly claim that the Minoan feminine costume
is a copy of Near East priestess garments.
In most religious Epiphany scenes the bodice was open in front or left
the breast entirely exposed. However, it is not certain whether the exposure of
the feminine breast was an essential element of Minoan dress
or part of the Epiphany ritual.
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