Tainia (costume)

{{Short description|Headband or fillet of Ancient Greece}}

{{About|a ribbon worn in the hair|an element of Doric architecture|Taenia (architecture)|other uses|Taenia (disambiguation)}}

File:Godward_-_A_Pompeian_Lady_1891.jpg (painting by J.W. Godward, 1891)]]

In ancient Greek costume, a tainia ({{langx|grc|ταινία}}; {{plural form}}: {{lang|grc|ταινίαι}} or {{langx|la|taenia}}; {{plural form}}: taeniae) was a headband, ribbon, or fillet.

File:Perseus of Macedon BM.jpg wearing a taenia or diadema headband]]

The tainia headband was worn with the traditional ancient Greek costume. The headbands were worn at Greek festivals.Pl. Symp. 212d.e, 213d; Xen. Symp. 5,9 The gods also bound their heads with tainiai.Paus. 1,8,4 Furthermore, cult images,Paus. 8,31,8; 10,35,10 trees,Theocr. 18,44 urns, monuments, animal sacrifices and the deceasedLucian, Dial. mort. 13,4 had tainiai wound around them. They were later adopted by the Romans.[http://www.encquran.brill.nl/entries/brill-s-new-pauly/tainia-e1128490 "Tainia."] Brill's New Pauly. Brill Online, 2013. Reference. 28 June 2013 A similar type of headband was the diadema, used as a symbol for kings.