Making (a Prostitute's) Shoe in the Ancient World

[guy]

This is an interesting exhibit now at the Uffizi in Florence, Italy "Worn by the Gods."

https://www.uffizi.it/en/events/worn-by-the-gods

 

 

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The exhibition, focusing on a theme as fascinating as it has been hitherto unexplored, sets out to recount the myriad roles played by footwear in the Western world from antiquity to the present day. The stars of the show, consisting of some 80 works (several of which have been loaned by such leading international museums as the Louvre), are the examples of the main types of footwear used in the Classical era from the 5th century BC to the 4th century AD, illustrated both on precious works of art such as painted vases and reliefs and "in the flesh" by a series of outstanding archaeological finds from the Roman fort of Vindolanda in Northumberland. 

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The style of a person's footwear frequently denoted their specific social class, status or profession in the Classical world. Hobnailed caligae, for instance, were primarily worn by soldiers because they were ideal for long marches, while calcei, a kind of ankle boot often brightly coloured when worn by women, pointed to the wearer's membership of the upper classes (patricians, senators and emperors). Historical sources, on the other hand, inform us that courtesans often wore sandals with small nails arranged on the sole in such a way as to leave a message for prospective customers in the dust of the roadway: "Follow me!"

But then seduction has always been a feature of this item of clothing, and it is no mere coincidence that footwear played an important symbolic role in the wedding ceremony in antiquity. In fact the shoe was a leading player in such myths as that of Rhodopis, the Cinderella of the ancient world, first recounted by Herodotus and subsequently relayed by Strabo. Footwear has also featured in numerous figures of speech since that era. In one of his Philippics, for example, Cicero uses the expression "mutavit calceos" to tell us that a certain person's social status had changed. The man had become a senator, and the calcei of a senator were a very  different matter from those of an ordinary patrician.

 

Replica of alleged prostitute's shoe with the message (in Greek) "Follow me" on the sole of the shoe. (Seen at 1:50 of embedded video in above link.)

 

 

guy also known as gaius

 

 

Edited October 26, 2021 by guy