What kind of footwear did Ancient Greeks use? The answer is: a large variety of shoes, depending on sex, wealth and the kind of activity for which the shoes would be used. A stroll around Greece’s museums gives us detailed information on the ancient art of shoemaking.
In the temple of Artemis in Brauron, archaeologists have discovered a pair of shoes which were dedicated to the Goddess patron of pregnant women. The shoes were made of wood and had carved motifs. (see photo 2)
In the ancient cemetery of Kerameikos, the most important cemetery of Ancient Athens reserved for the privileged, a women’s skeleton bore a pair of well made leather sandals.
Bronze soles (see photo 3) and a pair of clay baby boots, once lying inside tombs, are now showcased in the Museum of the Ancient Agora.
From Slippers to Riding Boots:
From the sculptures on the Parthenon frieze, researchers have reached a series of conclusions on how shoes must have looked liked. In the Acropolis Museum, one can see a pair of red slippers worn by a small-sized country girl. In general, the wealthy wore leather shoes, while the underprivileged used timber.
Footwear included gaiters worn separately, made of fabric, leather or metal, depending on the use. Archeologists have also found boots for horse-riding, equipment used for protecting the thighs at wartime, and the famous 'kothorni,' the 8-10cm heels worn by actors performing on theatrical stages.
For Men and Women, Actors and…Hetaerae:
Ancient Greeks rarely wore closed shoes and women wore light sandals because they spent most of their time inside the house. Most common colour was black but there were also colourful shoes for both men and women. Cork and felt shoes were worn exclusively by the highly educated, sophisticated companions called hetaerae, who wore distinctive dresses and had to pay taxes.
In the National Archaeological Museum a statue of Aphrodite depicts the naked goddess attempting to scold the playful god of the wild, Pan, with her sandal. (see photo 6)
The Shoe as Cultural Sign:
In the Mycenaean civilization (before the classical period), the art of shoemaking was well developed.
In the Mycenaean palace of Pylos, in the Peloponnese, archaeologists have revealed wall paintings (1,200 BC) where Mycenaean warriors wear shoes and are placed in juxtaposition to the barefoot 'barbarians.'
Archaeologists have also found a shoe workshop. On the floor they found relics of nails and a mechanism to tie the stripes on the sandals, as well as a 'clay mug' used for wine, with the name of the shoemaker 'Simon' carved on it. (see photo 8)
source: http://www.greeknewsagenda.gr
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