Aegis

The motivation was to make a multi-purpose garment that can be used to protect against the sun and dust storms, but that is also lightweight due to the Arizona heat. The idea of a protective garment inspired an adaptation of the aegis of Athena, a protective cloak. Descriptions differ, but it is usually some type of a skin or made of scales and has a fringe of tassels or snakes and a Gorgon’s head. Tassels would have probably annoyed the intended recipient. Instead, the 2-D representation of snakes was taken from an image of Athena with aegis [5]. Additionally, the desired feature of this garment is flexibility; the ability to wear it in whatever fashion is most helpful at the moment. Scales are directional and the orientation of the garment would affect whether they look “correct” or not. Instead, many pottery depictions (such as [5]) use more abstract dot patterns. Here, we decided on a diamond-shaped dot pattern to simulate scales. Last, while most depictions show the Gorgoneion centered on the aegis, if this item is worn as a veil, that would put the head on the back of the wearer’s head, which just seems a little odd. Instead, a few depictions show the Gorgoneion on the shoulder (such as [6] – here, the placement is on the shoulder of Athena, but it may still be centered on the aegis. I ran with it.) Putting the Gorgoneion on one end of the item would allow it to be positioned on the shoulder if worn as a veil or a shawl/scarf or draped down the back if worn as a veil, keeping it’s orientation.

References

[5] Athena and her agis, Toledo 1963.26 (520-515 BC). Internet: http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/Herakles/Hpix/1991.10.0074.jpeg, [April 5, 2016].
[6] Amphora by Andokides, Berlin F2159 (525 BC). Internet: http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/artifact?name=Berlin+F+2159&object=vase,  [April 5, 2016].