Fascia (clothing)

Sportswoman with fascia pectoralis on a mosaic in the Villa Romana del Casale .

With fascia (plural fascia ) were designated in Roman antiquity all kinds of belts, bandages, tapes and bandages.

In particular, the fascia pectoralis denotes the bosom band worn by Roman women, also called mamillare or taenia . This served to hold up and cover the bosom; if it was tightly folded, it was supposed to restrict growth.

Other forms (which were also worn by men):

• fasciae crurales to protect the legs
• fasciae tibialia to protect the lower legs
• fasciae feminalia to protect the thighs

Men wore fasciae made of white, women of different colored fabric.

literature

• Walter Hatto Groß : Fasciae. In: The Little Pauly (KlP). Volume 2, Stuttgart 1967, column 517 f.