Costumes: Thrace, Thessaly, Epirus - The Sarakatsani Nomads

The Sarakatsani people are semi-nomadic stock farmers with true Greek origins, their roots lost deep within the bygone centuries. All expressions of their way of life are attached to very old traditions. Their flocks, their only possession and source of their sustenance, determine the unchangeable rhythm of their life revolving around the uninterrupted movement toward better pastures.

the Sarakatsani of the Pindus range spread out in every direction, to the Adriatic and Ionian Seas, Macedonia and Thessaly, until eventually populating the plains of the whole of the Greek mainland, reaching Attica, Euboea and northern Peloponnese.

In the final development of the costume, we notice two basic kinds. The first was worn by the Sarakatsani who were scattered over western Macedonia, Epirus, Thessaly, Sterea, as far as Attica and Euboea and the northern Peloponnese and is characterized by a frugal simplicity. The second kind was worn by the Sarakatsani who passed the winter in central and eastern Macedonia, the Serres and Kavala area, as well the mountainous region of Paranestion Rodopis.

Benaki Museum