foot. The ancient Greeks
largely viewed footwear as
self-indulgent, unaesthetic and
unnecessary. Shoes were
primarily worn in the theater,
as a means of increasing
stature, and many preferred to
go barefoot. Athletes in
the Ancient Olympic
Games participated barefoot –
and naked. Even the gods and
heroes were primarily depicted
barefoot, and the
hoplite warriors fought battles
in bare feet and Alexander the
Great conquered his vast
empire with barefoot armies.
The runners of Ancient
Greece are also believed to
have run
barefoot. Pheidippides, the
first marathoner, ran
from Athens to Sparta in less
than 36 hours. After the Battle
of Marathon, he ran straight
from the battlefield to Athens
to inform the Athenians of the
news.
The Romans, who eventually
conquered the Greeks and
adopted many aspects of their
culture, did not adopt the
Greek perception of footwear
and clothing. Roman
clothing was seen as a sign of
power, and footwear was seen
as a necessity of living in a
civilized world, although the
slaves and paupers usually
went barefoot. Roman soldiers
were issued
with chiralfootwear. There are
many references to shoes being
worn in the Bible. During
weddings of this period, a
father would give his son-inlaw a pair of shoes, to
symbolize the transfer of
authority. Slaves were also
commonly barefoot, and shoes
were considered badges of
freedom since biblical times:
Humans started wearing shoes
about 40,000 years ago, much
earlier than previously thought,
new anthropological research
suggests.
JOY FEELINGS | DECEMBER ISSUE
292