Diadem

A diadem is a crown, specifically an ornamental headband worn by monarchs and others as a badge of royalty. It was common for Greek women, and later Roman women, to wear their hair crowned by a ribbon tied tightly around the head. The diadem is in the form of a ribbon, simple or ornate, the ends of which are crimped or tied behind the head.

Etymology

The word derives from the Greek διάδημα diádēma, "band" or "fillet", from διαδέω diadéō, "I bind round", or "I fasten". The term originally referred to the embroidered white silk ribbon, ending in a knot and two fringed strips often draped over the shoulders, that surrounded the head of the king to denote his authority. 

History

The simple gold or silver diadem has been known since the end of the Neolithic period and, with different embossing or openwork, was used by the Phoenicians, the Mycenaeans and even the Celtiberians. In Mesopotamia, women adorned their hair with one or more overlapping diadems from which hung leaf- or ring-shaped beads or flowers with petals made of inlaid stones. Men held their hair in place with a ribbon from which hung rows of beads. 

Such ribbons were also used to crown victorious athletes in important sports games in antiquity. It was later applied to a metal crown, generally in a circular or "fillet" shape. For example, the crown worn by Queen Juliana of the Netherlands was a diadem, as was that of a baron later (in some countries surmounted by three globes). The ancient Celts were believed to have used a thin, semioval gold plate called a mind (Old Irish) as a diadem. Some of the earliest examples of these types of crowns can be found in ancient Egypt, from the simple fabric type to the more elaborate metallic type, and in the Aegean world.

A diadem is also a jewelled ornament in the shape of a half crown, worn by women and placed over the forehead (in this sense, also called tiara). In some societies, it may be a wreath worn around the head. The ancient Persians wore a high and erect royal tiara encircled with a diadem. Hera, queen of the Greek gods, wore a golden crown called the diadem.

The "Priest King" statue made by the Indus Valley civilization (c.  3300 – c.  1300 BCE) wore a headband that is possibly a diadem.

The Greeks used it to reward the winners in public games and the Romans used it for their emperors, however the classical Greeks used diadems made only with foliated olive branches or with foliated laurel branches to crown their champions. The Roman emperors, at least from Julius Caesar (who was never legally emperor or imperator although he achieved a similar hierarchy and was followed by the first official Roman emperor: Octavian who called himself Caesar Augustus honoring his godfather Julius Caesar or Caesar. Julius Caesar apparently began to use a laurel -shaped crown but instead of made with real laurel leaves but with gold leaves that imitated laurel leaves.Latter after Constantine I and in the medieval Byzantine Empire, some had adopt the tiara of modified Persian origin, heavier compared to the lightness of the diadem.

By extension, "diadem" can be used generally for an emblem of regal power or dignity. The Roman emperor's head regalia worn, from the time of Diocletian onwards, is described as a diadem in the original sources. It was this object that the Foederatus general Odoacer returned to Emperor Zeno (the emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire) after his expulsion of the usurper Romulus Augustus from Rome in 476 AD.

Antiquity

Among the Persians, the diadem was wrapped around the tiara or turban and was typically blue with white interwoven detail. In ancient Egypt, diadems made of gold or electrum were already worn; rare examples have been preserved from the 18th Dynasty (1550 to 1292 BC), decorated with golden flowers or stars and gazelle heads.

Some Greek gods were depicted adorned with a diadem, particularly Zeus and Hera. In ancient times, Greek women and young men – especially the Olympic victors – wore a bandage in their hair. In Hellenistic times, at the latest since the Diadochi, the bandage was the symbol of rulership (royal bandage). Whether the diadem of the Hellenistic kings can be traced back to Persian or Greek models is disputed. The Bacchic diadem (kredemnon) consisted of a multiply folded bandage that encircled the forehead and temples and was tied behind the head.

In the Roman Empire, the diadem appeared later. The early emperors preferred not to wear one so as not to irritate the people. It wasn't until Diocletian (* between 236 and 245 - † 312) that the custom revived. However, diadems in the form of half-crowns had been worn by the wives of Roman emperors since the 1st century.

During the reign of Emperor Constantine the Great (sole ruler from 324 AD), the foundations for the development of the crown were laid. Initially, it was composed of a number of equally wide metal plates, similar to a headband. In the 6th century, under Emperor Justinian, they were fitted with a headband.

The diadem was also known in Byzantium, and in the Middle Ages (c. 11th–14th centuries) angels were often depicted with diadems in Byzantine and Italian art.

Mythology

At first, diadems were only made from tree branches and flowers and it was an attribute of the gods. Bacchus, according to Pliny, was the first to use it after his conquest of the Indies. Phereside refers its origin to Saturn; Diodorus attributes it to Jupiter, after his victory over the Titans; Fabius Pictor, to Janus, saying that this ancient king of Italy was the first to use a crown in his sacrifices. Leo the Egyptian assures that Isis was the first to crown herself with ears of wheat because she had taught men the art of sowing and cultivating it.

Saturn was crowned with figs or leaves of grass whose white and black fruit represents night and day

Jupiter, of oak or laurel

Juno, quince leaves

Bacchus, of bunches, of vines and sometimes of ivy

Ceres, of ears of wheat

Pluto, cypress

Mercury, olive ivyor mulberry

Fortune, of fir leaves

Apollo, Calliope and Clio, laurel

Cybele and Pan, made of pine branches

Lucina, from Fresnillo

Hercules, of poplar

Venus, of myrtle and roses, the same as Como and Hymen

Minerva and the Graces, olive wood

Vertumnus, of hay

Pomona, of fruits

The gods Lares, of myrtle and rosemary

Flora and the Muses of lyric poetry, of dance and music, of flowers, and rivers of reeds.

Radiant crowns are often given to Jupiter, Juno, Vesta, Hercules, etc., as also to deified princes. Altars, sacred vessels, victims, etc., were also crowned, and the priests never sacrificed without wearing a crown on their temples. The Romans used various crowns. 

From the 16th century to the French Revolution

At the end of the 16th and beginning of the 17th centuries, during the Spanish fashion era and the heyday of goldsmithing, high-ranking aristocrats sometimes wore diadems in their hair, often very delicately crafted and decorated not only with precious stones and pearls, but also with artificial flowers made of enamel or precious stones. Sometimes ribbons or rosettes were also woven into the hair.

In the early Baroque period, roughly between 1625 and 1685, the tiara was not fashionable. It was not until the end of the 17th century, when high and complicated women's hairstyles became popular again, that it reappeared and was incorporated into or onto the hairstyle as a crowning touch. Tiaras of the High Baroque and Rococo periods were relatively simple and consisted primarily of a crescent-shaped golden circlet - similar to that in antiquity -, sometimes decorated with a few stones and pearls. However, in the 18th century up until the French Revolution, the tiara was apparently worn almost exclusively by queens or other members of royal families and only on particularly official occasions. One cannot really speak of a 'fashion' - in the Rococo period, more lovely forms of decoration such as flowers, garlands or bows were preferred. The diadem played a certain role among the Russian tsars, but Elizabeth and Catherine the Great usually used a small diamond crown with a cross, which was a kind of replica of the huge tsarist crown with which they had been crowned.

1800 to modern times

The diadem experienced its greatest heyday from around 1800, when, as a result of the Greek antique fashion of the Empire, it became part of the court toilet of the ladies under Napoleon - it was now also worn by ladies of the court as jewelry. Empress Joséphine alone seems to have owned an entire collection, as there are many portraits in which she wears a different diadem almost every time, and a few pieces from her possession have also been preserved.

In the 19th and early 20th centuries, very magnificent diadems were made for the high aristocracy, which were often richly set with precious stones such as diamonds, emeralds, sapphires and others. The brilliant cut ensured glittering splendor. In some cases, attempts were also made to give the diadem a distinctly feminine appearance, either by using more 'feminine' materials such as pearls or mother-of-pearl, or by using floral patterns and shapes. Tiaras now often reached considerable dimensions, which made them a typically feminine crown – although they were not used directly in coronation ceremonies (but they were certainly used as additional jewelry).

Many of these particularly valuable examples are still preserved today (as of 2022) and are still worn by queens and other female members of the ruling houses of various countries on appropriate occasions. For example, the Swedish cameo tiara, which has been worn by Swedish princesses and queens at their weddings since the early 19th century, most recently by Queen Silvia in 1976 and by Victoria of Sweden in 2010. In the 1920s, the tiara 'slid' far down, in keeping with the fashion of the time, and was worn directly on the forehead above the eyebrows. But by the 1930s, it had been worn on the head again. Even in the 20th century, very luxurious creations were still being created, not least in non-European countries (the Orient).

Although several monarchies collapsed after the First World War (including those in Germany and Austria), and even though such luxurious pieces are no longer created for European monarchies as they once were, the tiara, in a simpler form, remains popular today. Occasionally, it is worn as jewelry by the bride at weddings or by young girls who wish to adorn themselves for a ball; traditionally, this is customary, for example, for debutantes at the Vienna Opera Ball. Beauty queens and carnival princesses are also often crowned with a tiara, although made of simpler materials than the great models.

As a pure piece of jewelry, the tiara is also popular among Muslim populations.

Sourced from Wikipedia