Alexander the Great, Aristotle and Pamphili from Kos
Interesting information from the Museum Guide
The comments of PLINY the Elder:
“The women weave webs, like spiders, making a luxurious material for women’s dresses, called silk. The process of breathing and weaving the thread was first invented in KOS, by a woman named PAMPHILI, daughter of PLATAEUS. She had the undoubted glory of inventing the way to lighten women’s clothing to the point of nudity.”
In this way PLINY the Elder, a writer of the 1st century, comments on the property of silk to “reveal” the human body (Naturalis Historia XI, xxvi-xxvii). We obtained the information from the Silk Museum guide written by Alexandra Tranta (published by PIOP), where one can find many interesting facts about the history of silk.
ALEXANDER THE GREAT, ARISTOTELES AND PAMPHILI
We also READ: “SILK CLOTH WAS INTRODUCED TO ANCIENT GREECE WITH THE CAMPAIGNS OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT (334-323). WISHING TO UNRAVEL THE SECRET OF SILK PRODUCTION ALEXANDER SENDS COCOONS TO HIS TEACHER, ARISTOTLE, WHO, THE FIRST OFTHE ANCIENT GREEK WRITERS, MENTIONS THE SILKWORM, DESCRIBING IT, AS A kind OF “LARGE WORM” (ARISTOTLE, ON ANIMAL STORIES, V.XIX, 551 b):
“From the large worm, which has one horn and differs from the others, it becomes first a variable of the tapeworm, then a bombylus, and then a necydalus; and in six months it changes all these forms. And from this life also the cobs are analyzed by the women’s clothes, being rubbed
, and then they woven; and the first is said to be woven in K. Pamphili Plato’s daughter”. Hist. Anim.V.19.6. Aristotle, “The Histories about Animals”.
Here ARISTOTLE mentions as the first silk weaver PAMPHILI from KOS in even earlier times (the first one is not called ὑφῆναι ἐν Kῷ Pamphili) and describes the process of converting the cocoon into silk.
He speaks, in fact, of its transformations, as well as of the process of pulling the thread from the cocoon: “therefore the animal and the analyzable buds of the women’s tennis shoes are woven together”.
Aristotle mentions that Pamphili from Kos wove silk cloth, but we don’t know if silk-making was later forgotten. Thus, we do not know if silk was imported or reused because it had fallen into oblivion when Alexander “discovered” it in his campaigns.
Image: Detail of a black-figure lekyth by the AMASIS Painter depicting women in domestic work: weaving on the standing loom and grinding. Metropolitan Museum, New York.
https://anihneftes.wordpress.com/, https://www.archaiologia.gr/
https://euphoriatric.com/living-arts-bird-of-paradise…/
The oldest silk was found in Cyprus
In Pyrgos, Cyprus, the archaeologist Christos Dumas found a fossilized cocoon of a lepidopteran species similar to the silkworm (!) and connected it to the many figures in Cretan art showing women collecting cocoons in forests.
Nevertheless, there is a reference to the introduction of silk into Greece as early as Alexander the Great, who, wishing to discover the secret of silk production, sent cocoons to his teacher, Aristotle, who was the first of the ancient Greek authors in his work “The Life Stories” refers to the silkworm and its transformation process.
A little later, a small piece of 4,000-year-old silk fabric (the oldest silk found in the Mediterranean), was unearthed by Italian researchers. In the container where the cloth was found, there were also wool and cotton fibers, as well as weights and a small spool.
(K.M.): At least for me, the event caused sensation, admiration and curiosity… We know that in other countries, when a …shovel that is at least 200 years old is discovered, a Museum is built to …show it off!
The ancient Greeks did have knowledge of sea silk, in 5Th century BC ,referring to it as “sea wool” continuing in the 2nd century CE, indicating its use as a luxury item. Archaeological finds of *Pinna nobilis shells in ancient Greek sites suggest a potential for the material, though the fibers may have been used for other purposes, such as food, as they were in Southern Italy. The earliest saved written records for sea silk date to the 2nd century CE, and while the Greeks may have been among the cultures that worked with this rare fiber, the Magna Graecia connection remains less clear compared to later production centers.
SILK IN ANCIENT GREEK CONTEXT
Term for Sea Silk:
By the 2nd century CE, the Greek term for sea silk was tà ἐκ τῆς θαλάσσης (thalassis eria), or “sea wool,” which still denoted a luxury textile material,
Use as a Luxury Item:
Sea silk was already considered a luxury item in the ancient world, and the Greeks were likely continuing used this precious, naturally golden-brown fiber.
Magna Graecia Connection
Pinna nobilis Distribution:
The noble pen shell (Pinna nobilis), the source of sea silk, is endemic to the Mediterranean and was always present in the waters of Magna Graecia, as in the main land of Greece
Shell Remains:
Remains of the noble pen shell have been found in ancient Greek sites in locations like Thessaly and Santorini, suggesting that the material was available in the region.
This very luxurious textile made (Later in Latin “Byssus”, from the Greek Βυσσος=filaments) of the Mediterranean pen shell, known for its naturally iridescent, golden-brown color. While silk production from silkworms in ancient Magna Graecia was limited, Greek maritime networks and the trade.
In luxury Marine Silk and goods did connect back the regions to Greece, especially in Thessaly, Corinth and Santorini, where it was started once, commerce. Sea-silk remained a luxury product, during the Roman era was, as before, appreciated by the elite, and its production was a dying art, with ancient sources mentioning its existence and appreciation in the classical period..
“SEA SILK” IN THE COPPER AGE for UNDERWEAR
According to a recent study, “sea silk” was used for the spidery, fitted underwear of women, as shown by the figures in Minoan and Mycenaean frescoes. The almost transparent “bodice” that they wore under the vest, and which gives the impression that their breasts were bare, was instead covered by a very thin, fitted underwear made on a loom from the organic silk of the “Noble Pinna” shell (Pinna Nobilis) that was endemic to the Aegean archipelago (Dr. Eleni Konstantinidi – Syvridi).
The noble pen shell or fan mussel, commonly known in English as the “noble pen shell or fan mussel”, is the largest bivalve mollusc in the Mediterranean Sea (marine bivalve mollusc) that can exceed one meter in length, with a lifespan of (45) years. It belongs to the Pinnidae family and the Anisomyaria order, and resembles a huge mussel. It has the property of producing a rare type of silk, which was the finest textile material of animal origin with brilliant transparency and sparkling in the sun like gold. The threads were extremely expensive, more valuable than gold and precious stones, and is even mentioned in Champollion’s Rosetta in the British Museum.
The laminae, with their broad triangular and relatively fragile shells, reddish-brown in color with fan-like radial striations, and their inner surface covered with nacre, are found on soft bottoms and seagrass beds standing upright on the bottom. They produce teardrop-shaped pearls, and secrete from their glands a network of fringes (byssus), made of a multitude of silken threads, consisting of keratin and other proteins, which solidify immediately, and reach a length of (6) centimeters.
This was the raw material for the processing of luxurious threads for the transparent underwear worn by priestesses and goddesses in the signet rings of Crete, in the wall paintings of Mycenaean times, and in Sardinia until Roman times (goddesses and priestesses attire). These delicately tufted “busts” were symbols of high social status, and were worn by the wives of officials and wealthy individuals (Evagella Campi, Dr. Italian history).
Today, the shells tend to disappear due to parasitic infection, and they survive only within the Amvrakikos Gulf in the Ionian Sea, and in the Gulf of Kalloni in Lesvos. In Italy, their fishing has been banned. According to the BBC, there is probably only one person left in the world today in Sardinia, who collects the viscose, spins it and weaves it like our ancestors into shiny fabrics for newlyweds, etc. Her name is Chiara Vigo from Sant’Antico, a small island southwest of Sardinia.
practitioners keep it alive–more for tradition’s sake than economic reward.
Unfortunately the Pinna nobilis clams which are the source of byssus fibers have declined rapidly in number thanks to overfishing, pollution, and the general decline of the Mediterranean sea-grass beds. Other fibers like seaweed based cellulose or watered silk have adopted the “sea silk” name further confusing the issue. Today the sea silk industry only barely survives in Sardinia where a handful of aging practitioners keep it alive–more for tradition’s sake than economic reward.
A few pieces have survived in museums including the extraordinary mediaeval chasuble of St. Yves pictured below
Luxury fiber is a strange thing. Linen comes from flax (which has some legitimate claims to being the first domesticated plant). Silk is derived from the cocoons of lepidoterans. Qiviut comes from the undercoats of musk-oxen. One of the rarest of all luxury fibers comes from an even more peculiar source. “Sea silk” is produced by collecting and spinning the long micro filaments or “byssus” secreted by several kinds of bivalve mollusks–expecially Pinna nobilis (a large saltwater clam once widespread in the Mediterranean ocean). Pinna nobilis can grow up to a meter (3 feet) in size and anchors itself to the ocean floor with an extremely fine fiber it excretes from a land in its foot.
NO V I O L E N T SILK:
Peace Silk, or Ahimsa silk, is made without hurting silkworms. Rather than boiling the cocoons, small incisions are made to allow the month to exit the cocoon once the metamorphosis is complete.
Unlike conventional silk production, which involves boiling silkworms alive in their cocoons to extract the silk fibers, Peace Silk is produced by allowing the silkworms to complete their metamorphosis into moths before harvesting their cocoons. Ahimsa is a Sanskrit term meaning ‘non-violence’ or ‘non-harm.General Information, Caring For & Breeding Silkworms
Background
Silkworms are the larva of a moth (Bombyx mori) native to Asia that spins a cocoon of fine, strong, lustrous fiber that is the source of commercial silk. The culture of silkworms is called sericulture. The various species raised today are distinguished by the quality of the silk they produce. Silkworms feed on the leaves of the mulberries (genus Morus) and sometimes on the Osage orange (Maclura pomifera).
Bombyx Mori will not bite, making it an ideal worm for feeding most reptiles, amphibians and other animals. And they offer great nutritional value as a live feeder. mulberry leaves
Mulberry Leaves
Newborns are small enough for most baby reptiles to eat and young silkworms can even be fed so they will grow to a desired size. Silkworms are soft-bodied, slow moving and can grow to 3 inches in length. They are also relatively fast growing, reaching about 3 inches in length and ready to cocoon in as little as 25 – 28 days.
Silkworms go through four stages of development, as do most insects: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Click here to see a life cycle chart. The adult (imago) stage is the silkworm moth. The larva is the caterpillar (not really a “worm” at all). The pupa is what the silkworm changes into after spinning its cocoon before emerging as a moth. Since the silkworm grows so much, it must shed its skin four times while it is growing. These stages-within-a-stage are called instars.
Today, the silkworm moth lives only in captivity. Silkworms have been domesticated so that they can no longer survive independently in nature,
particularly since they have lost the ability to fly. All wild populations are extinct. Also contributing to their extinction is the extraordinary fact that they only eat mulberry leaves.
Silkworms have been used by researchers to study pheromones or sexual attractant substances. The pheromones are released by female moths and the males detect the chemicals with olfactory hairs on their antennae. This allows the male to find the female for mating. The male antennae are made of many small hairs to increase the chances of picking up small amounts of the pheromones over long distances.
How to Grow Your Worms to the Perfect Size silkworm eggs
Silkworm Eggs and Moth The great thing about silkworms is that they only grow as much as you feed them, and they can go for up to a week without food. Keep in mind, however, that they will become dehydrated and begin to die off after a few days without food, and should be fed at least once daily in order to remain healthy. But, in general, if you have too many you can feed them a few times per week and they’ll stay alive until you need them without growing too much larger.
Wash hands thoroughly before handling the worms or the food or they may develop bacterial problems. Using a cheese grater, grate a small amount of food onto the them and repeat until the caterpillars reach the desired size. For best results, maintain temperatures between 78° and 88° F.
Excessive condensation forming in the container after feeding is the leading cause of failure. If this condensation does form, take the lid off your container and allow the container and old food to completely dry out. In the future, make sure the previous food is dry before feeding again. Old damp food is a breeding ground for mold and other problems, dry food is not. A fan can help for quicker dry outs.
As the silkworms grow, you may need to transfer your worms to a larger plastic container. The lid needs to have ventilation holes. If not, you need to vent the lid so the silkworms won’t suffocate and to allow condensation to dissipate. You can also use a shoebox. The old food and waste matter can be removed, but does not have to be if it remains thoroughly dry.
Under ideal conditions (78° to 88° F and allowed to feed nearly continuously) silkworms can go from egg to 1 inch in length in about 12 days, and 3 inches in under 30 days. The worms will begin to spin cocoons at about 28 – 30 days old or when they are between 2 1/2 and 3 inches long.
From Cocoon to MOTH silkworm
Silkworm moths emerge from their cocoons after spending about two to three weeks metamorphosing. As moths, they do not eat or fly. They will usually mate, lay eggs and die within a week. Fertile eggs turn from yellow to gray or purple in a week or so. If the eggs don’t hatch within 3 weeks, they usually will not hatch until the following year (see above—from egg to larva).
Proper Handling Procedures
Again, in order for your worms to stay healthy for many weeks, you’ll need to keep the silkworms as dry as possible. If condensation builds up during feeding, vent the container lid to prevent excess humidity.
Be sure to wash your hands thoroughly before handling the worms or their food. Silkworms can be susceptible to bacteria if you don’t properly handle them. As long as the container environment remains dry, your worms will be fine.
Mold develops from high temperatures and high humidity. If the worms are covered with droppings, silk and old food for too long, mold may develop and kill the worms. If mold does develop, grate about 1/4 inch of food (sold separately) all over the worms with a cheese grater. As the worms crawl to the top of the new food pile you can transfer them off the moldy food and place them into a new container.
Silkworms are susceptible to bruising and dying if not handled with care, especially as they grow larger.
When handling and transferring the worms, be very gentle.
BACK TO PINNNA NOBOLIS!
The Pinna nobilis (noble pen shell) primarily lives within or on the edges of seagrass meadows, which are composed of marine flowering plants rather than true “seaweed” (algae).
Its most common and preferred habitats include:
Posidonia oceanica (Neptune Grass): This is the primary seagrass species associated with Pinna nobilis. The mussel anchors its pointed end deep into the sediment among the roots of this grass.
Cymodocea nodosa (Little Neptune Grass): It is also frequently found in meadows of this seagrass, especially in lagoon environments.
Caulerpa prolifera: In certain regions like Tunisia, they have been observed living within meadows of this green algae.
Ecological Relationship:
While the mussel lives among these plants, it also serves as a substrate for other organisms. Diverse species of true seaweed (algae), along with sponges and bryozoans, often grow directly on the exposed part of the Pinna nobilis shell, creating a “miniature ecosystem” on the animal itself.
The species is currently Critically Endangered due to a devastating parasitic outbreak. For information on current protection efforts,
RESTORATION PROGRAMME OF PINNA NOBILIS – RAC/SPA
The Mediterranean endemic fan mussel Pinna nobilis is suffering an ongoing basin-scale mass mortality event (MME) since 2016. As most Mediterranean populations have collapsed, the species has been declared as Critically Endangered in the IUCN Red List of threatened species. In an effort to track the progress of the MME and provide updated information on the status of the species in the Greek seas, data collected through dedicated surveys and opportunistic assessments during 2019 and 2020 have been compiled. During surveys conducted at 258 sites, a total of 14,589 fan mussels were recorded, of which 81.1% were dead. Of the remaining 2,762 live individuals, 256 were juveniles. Two marine areas that still sustain living populations were identified, namely Kalloni Gulf (Lesvos Island), and Laganas Bay (Zakynthos Island). The inner part of Kalloni Gulf appears to maintain the largest surviving population of the species in the eastern Mediterranean, with an abundance estimate of 684,000 individuals (95% confidence interval: 322,000-1,453,000). Solitary, potentially resistant, scattered individuals were recorded at several sites. Other previously abundant populations that had been assessed in the past, specifically those of Lake Vouliagmeni (Korinthiakos Gulf), Souda Bay (Crete) and Gera Gulf (Lesvos Island) with a total of ~350,000 individuals, have now been wiped out. Our results document the collapse of most P. nobilis populations throughout the Greek seas. The MME has progressed substantially between early 2019 and mid-2020, as indicated by the increase in mortality at sites consecutively monitored multiple times. This work highlights the urgent need for continuous monitoring of surviving populations and calls for immediate implementation of an effective protection and management strategy that will ensure the persistence of surviving individuals and the production of resistant offspring.
Article Details
How to Cite
ZOTOU, M., GKRANTOUNIS, P., KARADIMOU, E., TSIRINTANIS, K., SINI, M., POURSANIDIS, D., AZZOLIN, M., DAILIANIS, T., KYTINOU, E., ISSARIS, Y., GERAKARIS, V., SALOMIDI, M., LARDI, P., RAMFOS, A., AKRIVOS, V., SPINOS, E., DIMITRIADIS, C., PAPAGEORGIOU, D., LATTOS, A., GIANTSIS, I. A., MICHAELIDIS, B., VASSILOPOULOU, V., MILIOU, A., & KATSANEVAKIS, S. (2020). Pinna nobilis in the Greek seas (NE Mediterranean): on the brink of extinction?. Mediterranean Marine Science, 21(3), 575–591. https://doi.org/10.12681/mms.23777
Issue
Vol. 21 No. 3 (2020)
The “Project Sea-silk” went public in 2004, when the Natural History Museum and the Museum of Cultures Basel, Switzerland, presented in a joint exhibition for the first time over 20 textile objects of sea-silk, dating from fourteenth to twentieth centuries. The exhibition catalogue, Muschelseide – Goldene Fäden vom Meeresgrund, (Maeder et al. 2004) represents the first illustrated book to the theme. All exhibition and catalogue texts were written in German and Italian, as from the beginning of my studies it was clear, that sea-silk was first of all a cultural heritage of Italy. Parts of the exhibition were conceived as a travelling exhibition and presented later in Taranto and Lecce, Italy, and in Lugano, Switzerland. Since 2010, an extensive and richly illustrated Internet site presents the inventoried sixty sea-silk items, the biology of the Pinna nobilis L. and its fibre beard, the production process of the fibres, and – the most important part – the history of sea-silk, followed by a large bibliography. The regularly updated projects homepage www.muschelseide.ch is written in English, German and Italian.
The result is a fine, resistant textile material, once famous and highly appreciated for its natural iridescent, brown-golden colour. (Figure 2) The pen shell Pinna nobilis L. is protected since 1992, prohibiting a reanimation of the sea-silk productFelicitas Maeder Project Sea-silk, Natural History Museum Basel, Switzerland Abstract Sea-silk is made of the fibre beard of the pen shell (Pinna nobilis L.), endemic in the Mediterranean. The fibres were cut off the mussel, washed, dried, combed and spun. The result is a fine textile material, since antiquity appreciated for its naturally iridescent browngolden colour. Sea-silk was rare and nearly unknown in textile history. Sixty small textile items have been inventoried, mostly knitted, but also stitched, embroidered or fur-like. They belong to natural history, not textile collections. The oldest fragment was dated fourth century CE; the oldest surviving item is a knitted cap dated fourteenth century. Sea-silk is often confused with byssus. In the sixteenth century, naturalists have denoted the fibre beard of Pinna by the Latin term byssus, in analogy to the ancient byssus meaning fine linen. These double meaning has created many misapprehensions. Today new problems arise from old textile byssus relics newly declared as sea-silk. Contents: Revealing an old story /
The pen shell and its product: byssus / Written and material evidences of sea-silk / The ambiguity of the terms byssus and sea-silk / Sea-silk in antiquity / What a mess! Byssus and sea-silk in modern mass media Revealing an old story In the long, fascinating history of textiles, sea-silk is only a tiny chapter. In textile research it has hardly ever been a topic – with a few exceptions. Forbes mentions sea-silk in Volume 4 of his Studies in Ancient Technology. In the last part of the chapter named “Other fibres”, he writes: “Vestments were made […] even from the bundles of fibres from the pinna mussel of the eastern Mediterranean coast.“ (Forbes 1956, 63). Furthermore sea-silk was – and still is – a topic in both myth and legends, especially because of its golden gloss and the corresponding associations.
In 1998, the first critical, 200-page monograph was published in the Canadian journal Ars Textrina: “Pinna and her silken beard: A foray into historical misappropriations” (McKinley 1998). Daniel McKinley (1924-2010) meticulously analysed texts from antiquity to the twentieth century, from Portugal to China, identified unexamined iterations of recurring assertions, deconstructed myths and legends and uncovered countless errors. It’s a great pity that this essential source for any future studies didn’t get the attention it deserved. One reason may be that it has not been easy to access. I am happy to make the whole text – with the permission of the author’s family – available on the Internet site of the ‘Project Sea-silk’: http://www.muschelseide.ch/…/bibliogr…/Monographien.html In the same year 1998, without knowing of each other, I started the ‘Project Sea-silk’ at the Natural History Museum Basel, Switzerland with three main objectives: • To compile an inventory of all objects in sea-silk still existing in museums and private collections worldwide • To trace the history of this almost forgotten textile material, its production and manufacture, trade and diffusion • To document the knowledge and remains of this cultural heritage of Greece and Italy especially: “Magna Graecia”
The pen shell and its product: byssus Sea-silk is a product of the noble pen shell Pinna nobilis L. (Šiletić 2004). (Figure 1) This bivalve is the largest shellfish of the Mediterranean, where it is endemic. The sedentary mollusc stands upright in the sea grass weeds along the coast, with almost one third buried in the sand. To withstand the flow, it fastens itself with a beard of very fine, strong filaments in the ground. These fibrous tufts, zoologically called byssus, with a length of up to 20 cm, constitute the raw material for sea-silk. The tufts cut off the mussel have to be washed several times, dried, combed and spun like other natural fibres.
…IN GENERAL…
Ancient Greeks knew ALL of silk, INITIALY in Magna Greacia (Syracuse – Corinthian colony) and Athens, Thebe and Corinth, developing their own production, particularly on the island of Cos, using this time wild silkworms from Asia. Philosophers like Aristotle described it, noting its mysterious origin, and while the secret of true sericulture was lost LOST and REINTRODUCED from China later, Greeks traded, continued producing again Both Pinna Nobilis silk and Mulberry silk for luxury garments, before inking the East and West through the burgeoning Silk Road.
Early Knowledge & Introduction Alexander the Great: Silk apparently returned to Greece in the 4th century BC after Alexander’s campaigns, introducing the Hellenistic world to the exotic fabric. Aristotle’s Account: He described silk being spun on the island of Cos from wild silkworm cocoons from IONIA(Today’s “MinorAsia”in nowday’s Turkey), though his knowledge was vague, suggesting it wasn’t yet mainstream. “Seres”: The Greeks called China the “Seres” (Land of Silk), acknowledging its source, and the term “silk” (sērikós) derives from this.
Production & Trade Cos (Kós): Became famous for silk production, using imported Chinese raw silk for weaving, a practice that continued for centuries. Importation: Silk also came via the Silk Road from China and was a highly valued commodity, exchanged for gold and other precious goods. Other Cities: Syracuse, Athens, Thebes, and Corinth were also known for their silk industries. Usage & Mystery Luxury Item: Silk was a symbol of wealth and exoticism, used for rich robes and fine textiles, though initially rare. “Sea Silk”: All Greeks in Magna Greacia knew of “sea wool” (Amorgina), a very luxury fiber from the sea shell Pinna Nobilis, differed from Chinese silk. Secret Lost: The secret of true sericulture (raising silkworms) was lost later in the West until Byzantine monks smuggled eggs from China in the 6th century CE, making the earlier Greek knowledge distinct.