An ancient Greek short cloak or cape worn by soldiers and travelers, pinned at one shoulder and draped across the back and side.
From Ancient Greek chlamys, the garment was common among Greek hoplites and appeared in art from the Classical period onward. The word entered European languages through Latin and Greek texts about ancient military and daily life.
The chlamys appears in countless ancient Greek sculptures and vase paintings, and it's the ancestor of modern military capes and formal cloaks—a simple invention that proved so practical it influenced fashion for thousands of years.
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