221 Textiles: Symbols and Meaning in the Embroidery of Epirus Cheryl Simpson In the past all textiles produced were imbued with symbols and meanings easily iden- tiied by all members of the community. hese same symbols and designs are oten echoed in other arts and crats such as architecture ceramics and jewellery making. he long and turbulent history of Greece has let a visible legacy in its embroidery designs which have been inluenced by Ottoman, Venetian, Genoese and Frankish rule. his paper seeks to explore the inluences on the textiles of the Epirus region. Textiles have historically played a signiicant role in the household and in the dress of Greek women and tell a story rich with heritage and meaning. Introduction he embroideries of Epirus from the eighteenth and nineteenth century are of par- ticular interest because they are the only mainland embroidery generally included with the study of island embroideries. Furthermore there are a number of textiles from this period, which are held in museums, thus providing the opportunity to observe irst hand the exquisite work executed by anonymous women from another time. To gain an understanding of the important role that textiles, and in particular embroidered textiles, have played in the Greek heritage of Epirus it is necessary to explain why it is that the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries produced the pinnacle of Greek embroidery in Ioannina, 1 the capital of the region. For fullness of discussion other examples of Greek embroidery will also be briely touched upon by way of comparison with Epirus embroidery. Greece with its complex history of changing borders and diversity of foreign rulers has let a rich legacy of history and heritage, which is ever present in its preservation of embroideries in both the public and private arena. Geographically it is positioned so close to Africa, Asia and Europe that it has, at various times, presented itself as predominantly either Eastern, or Western in outlook and inluence. his too, has let 1 Spelling is consistent throughout the paper except for direct quotes. Archived at Flinders University: dspace.flinders.edu.au Simpson, C.A., 2013. Textiles: symbols and meaning in the embroidery of Epirus. Journal of Modern Greek Studies - Special Issue, 221-231. Published version of the paper reproduced here with permission from the publisher.