Perizoma (loincloth)

Perizoma (from Greek περίζωμα, from peri "around, about" and zoma "loin-cloth, drawers, band, belt") is a type of loincloth that originated with the Minoan civilization in Crete. Surviving depictions show it being worn by male and female acrobats (for example, in the Bull-Leaping Fresco).[1]

Christ Crucified by Diego Velázquez shows Jesus wearing a perizoma

A perizoma was possibly worn by Jesus during his crucifixion. It is a standard feature of the crucifixion in the arts. However, Roman custom was to crucify victims naked, and there is no evidence to suggest that Jesus was an exception.[2] Perizoma was likely added by later artists to preserve modesty (see fig leaf) and first appeared in the 8th century.[3] Aachen Cathedral claims to have the actual relic of the perizoma, preserved inside the Marienschrein reliquary.[4]

See also

References
  1. Bonfante, Larissa (2003). Etruscan Dress. JHU Press. pp. 19–20. ISBN 9780801874130.
  2. Tombs, David (2009). "Prisoner Abuse: From Abu Ghraib to the Passion of the Christ". In Hogan, Linda; Lehrke, Dylan (eds.). Religion and the Politics of Peace and Conflict. Princeton Theological Monograph Series. Wipf and Stock Publishers. pp. 182–83. ISBN 9781556350672.
  3. Viladesau, Richard (2006). The Beauty of the Cross: The Passion of Christ in Theology and the Arts from the Catacombs to the Eve of the Renaissance. Oxford University Press. p. 188. ISBN 9780195188110.
  4. Nickell, Joe (2007). Relics of the Christ. University Press of Kentucky. p. 106. ISBN 9780813172125.
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