Wreath (attire)

{{Main|Olive wreath|Laurel wreath|Diadem}}

The wreath has been associated with Greek attire and celebrations since ancient times, a tradition that continues to modern Olympic ceremonies. Ancient coinage minted by early Greek city-states often depicted a divinity or other figure with a wreath. Wearing a wreath may have also had a mediating role by helping the wearer get closer to a specific deity. Different plants were dedicated to various gods: oak to Zeus, laurel to Apollo, herbs to Demeter, grapevine to Dionysos and myrtle to Aphrodite.{{cite book|first=D.|last=Rogić|date=2012|title=Wreath - its Use and Meaning in Ancient Visual Culture|url=https://www.academia.edu/3552255|page=342}} Wreaths were also used to decorate the hermae,Theophrastus, Characters XVI stone pillars surmounted with the head of a god or distinguished mortal.

{{Main|Grass crown|Civic crown}}

Wreaths were also part of clothing in Ancient Rome.

Laurel wreaths from the bay laurel tree Laurus nobilis were worn by triumphatores – victorious generals celebrating a Roman triumph. Generals awarded a celebration ritual, the ovation ({{Langx|la|ovatio|links=no}}) wore wreaths of myrtle (Myrtus communis).{{Citation|last=Campbell|first=John Brian|title=crowns and wreaths|url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199545568.001.0001/acref-9780199545568-e-1942|work=The Oxford Classical Dictionary|year=2012|editor-last=Hornblower|editor-first=Simon|edition=4th|publisher=Oxford University Press|language=en|doi=10.1093/acref/9780199545568.001.0001|isbn=978-0-19-954556-8|access-date=2020-10-14|editor2-last=Spawforth|editor2-first=Antony|editor3-last=Eidinow|editor3-first=Esther}}

Wreaths ({{Langx|la|coronae|links=no|lit=crowns}}) were awarded as military awards and decorations. In the Roman Republic, the nature of the feat determined the nature of the wreath awarded. It was a custom for soldiers rescued from a siege to present a wreath made of grass ({{Langx|la|corona graminea|links=no}} or {{Langx|la|corona obsidionalis|label=none}}) to the commander of the relieving force. This award was extremely rare, and Pliny the Elder enumerated only eight times occasions that had warranted the honour, ending with the emperor Augustus. The oak leaf civic crown ({{Langx|la|corona civica|links=no}}) was awarded to Romans who had saved the life of another citizen in battle. The award was open to soldiers in the Roman army of all ranks, unlike most other wreaths, which were awarded to commanders and officers only in the Roman imperial period of the Roman Empire.

A gold wreath ({{Langx|la|corona aurea|links=no}}) was also awarded for gallant military conduct. In the Roman navy, the naval crown ({{Langx|la|corona navalis|links=no}}, {{Langx|la|corona classica|label=none}}, or {{Langx|la|corona rostrata|label=none}}) was a wreath awarded for feats in naval battles. In an assault on a fortified position, a mural crown ({{Langx|la|corona muralis|links=no}}) was awarded to the first man onto the walls of the enemy fortification.

In Christianity, the wreath represents the resurrection of Christ and, therefore, eternal life, or more appropriately, the victory of life over death.{{cite book|first=D.|last=Rogić|date=2012|title=Wreath - its Use and Meaning in Ancient Visual Culture|url=https://www.academia.edu/3552255|page=352}} The crown of thorns was placed on the head of Jesus at his execution by crucifixion and became a symbol of the Passion.

{{Main|Ukrainian wreath}}

A tradition of the Ukrainian wreath,O.P.Tracz, 1999 a headdress made of leaves, flowers and branches worn by girls and young unmarried women, dates back to the old Slavic customs that predate the Christianization of Rus. The flower wreath remains a part of the Ukrainian national costume and is worn on festive occasions and holy days.

Floral wreaths and garlands, known as lei (Hawaii), are ubiquitous in Polynesia as both ornamental attire and gifts representative of affection or respect. They are worn by men and women around the neck or around the head and are commonly fashioned of flowers, leaves, vines, and plant fibre.

Wreaths are part of the culture and legends of indigenous peoples of the Americas. The Cheyenne people wear wreaths during sacred ceremonies, rituals, dances and songs and head wreaths are usually made from willow, cottonwood or sage.{{cite book|first=George Bird|last=Grinnell|date=1962|title=The Cheyenne Indians|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cqAwNmeutzwC|volume=1|pages=28, 269, 330|publisher=U of Nebraska Press |isbn=978-0-8032-7131-9 }}

Wreaths have resurged in popularity in the 21st century. Flower crowns, or "crowns of love", are popular at outdoor music festivals such as Coachella. Variants made with artificial flowers can be purchased.{{cite web|last1=Duan|first1=Noel|title=How the Flower Crown Became the It-Accessory of Coachella|url=https://www.yahoo.com/beauty/how-the-flower-crown-became-the-it-accessory-of-115674941768.html|website=Yahoo News|access-date=26 April 2017}} Flower crowns became a popular internet meme in 2013, originating from the One Direction fandom and consisting of digitally adding the "crown" to celebrities and characters, such as Hannibal Lecter, Sherlock Holmes, and The Doctor.{{cite book |last1=Nielsen|first1=EJ|last2=Morimoto|first2=Lori|title=Sartorial Fandom: Fashion, Beauty Culture, and Identity |publisher=University of Michigan Press |chapter=10 This Is My (Floral) Design: Flower Crowns, Fannibals, and Fan/Producer Permeability|date=2023 |isbn=978-0-472-07604-8 |doi=10.3998/mpub.12315327 |doi-access=free |url=https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/61687/1/9780472903382.pdf |access-date=18 March 2025 |page=163}}

File:Gloeden, Wilhelm von (1856-1931) - n. 0269 - Boy with laurel wreath.jpg|alt=|{{center|Portrait of boy with Sicilian laurel wreath by Wilhelm von Gloeden, c. 1900}}

File:Cheyenne Indian Man.jpg|alt=|{{center|Porcupine, a Cheyenne man, wearing a wreath of cottonwood leaves, 1910}}

File:Ukrainian-wreath.jpg|alt=|{{center|1916 postcard from Kiev, Ukraine depicting a kvitkakh (Ukrainian wreath)}}

File:Wiccan spouses.PNG|alt=|{{center|Wiccan wedding wreaths, c. 2009}}

File:Three female druids.jpg|alt=|{{center|Druid wreaths at Stonehenge summer solstice, 2009}}

File:Traditional Lithuanian dress.jpg|alt=|{{center|Traditional Lithuanian dress including a wreath, 2009}}

File:Marquises 9619b.jpg|alt=|{{center|Wreath of Marquesas, 1996}}

• Diadem
• Garland
• Tainia

{{reflist}}

• Thomas Arnold (1871) History of Rome
• Orysia Paszczak Tracz, Vinok, vinochok, The Ukrainian Weekly, August 1, 1999 [http://www.ukrweekly.com/Archive/1999/319917.shtml]

{{commonscat multi|Wreaths|Flower crowns}}

• [http://www.dl.ket.org/latin2/mores/military/coronae.htm Crowns and Laurels: Coronae Romanae]
• [http://www.tribunesandtriumphs.org/roman-clothing/roman-crowns-and-wreaths.htm Roman Crowns and Wreaths - Roman Colosseum]

{{Headgear}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wreath (Attire)}}

Category:Headgear

Category:Flowers in culture

Category:Internet memes introduced in 2013

Category:2013 neologisms

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