'Togaman' recounts historical journey of toga
Christopher Vincent, Staff Writer
Issue date: 2/10/05 Section: News
- Page 1 of 2 next >
The Roman toga was a symbol of citizenship, decency, importance, peace or prostitution, or it served as a trail-mix bag, "Togaman" Wade Heaton said Monday night.
As a child, movies of ancient times entranced Heaton, Daniel Levine, classical studies professor, said. However, Heaton was plagued by one question: "If these guys were so great, why did they wear those stupid clothes?"
After taking time and earning grant money to study the answers to such questions as, "Did they wear underwear?" Heaton travels the country, demonstrating classical Roman dress and explaining the symbolic and practical importance of the toga.
UA classical studies group Eta Sigma Phi brought Togaman to the UA to promote the understanding of the classics on campus and "get exposure for the field," said UA chapter president Evin Demirel.
Heaton, accompanied by a troupe of Eta Sigma Phi models, told nearly a hundred people, mostly students, that the toga "was no bed sheet."
In fact, it was very large and heavy and was worn to build and imply the character qualities that Romans valued: dignity, virtue, gravity and piety, he said.
Virtue in Latin is directly linked to manliness, so the toga was symbol of manhood. The toga was heavy, especially on the left side, where a soldier would carry a heavy shield. Togas were worn much like shields and their weight trained the men's bodies and minds for the weight of Roman armor, he said.
They "trained them for the virtues of citizenship, they were not fun to wear," he said.
The stripes worn on the fringes of the garment were symbolic of a wall, like the one around Rome, Heaton said. Rome's wall was sacred to its inhabitants, he said. According to legend, Romulus killed his brother Remus because he plowed over the line that marked the cities boundaries, Heaton said.
The same was true for the body, he said. Men and women wore purple linings on the edges of their clothes. These stripes separated their physical space symbolically and protected them from the evil eye, he said.
As a child, movies of ancient times entranced Heaton, Daniel Levine, classical studies professor, said. However, Heaton was plagued by one question: "If these guys were so great, why did they wear those stupid clothes?"
After taking time and earning grant money to study the answers to such questions as, "Did they wear underwear?" Heaton travels the country, demonstrating classical Roman dress and explaining the symbolic and practical importance of the toga.
UA classical studies group Eta Sigma Phi brought Togaman to the UA to promote the understanding of the classics on campus and "get exposure for the field," said UA chapter president Evin Demirel.
Heaton, accompanied by a troupe of Eta Sigma Phi models, told nearly a hundred people, mostly students, that the toga "was no bed sheet."
In fact, it was very large and heavy and was worn to build and imply the character qualities that Romans valued: dignity, virtue, gravity and piety, he said.
Virtue in Latin is directly linked to manliness, so the toga was symbol of manhood. The toga was heavy, especially on the left side, where a soldier would carry a heavy shield. Togas were worn much like shields and their weight trained the men's bodies and minds for the weight of Roman armor, he said.
They "trained them for the virtues of citizenship, they were not fun to wear," he said.
The stripes worn on the fringes of the garment were symbolic of a wall, like the one around Rome, Heaton said. Rome's wall was sacred to its inhabitants, he said. According to legend, Romulus killed his brother Remus because he plowed over the line that marked the cities boundaries, Heaton said.
The same was true for the body, he said. Men and women wore purple linings on the edges of their clothes. These stripes separated their physical space symbolically and protected them from the evil eye, he said.
