The story of Cinderella is a famous folk tale from Europe about a girl in servitude who eventually acquires riches and a more beautiful life by marrying a prince who identifies her through a lost shoe. While the Cinderella story can reliably be traced back to 1634 in Italy, its roots may go even deeper—to an ancient Greek legend about a slave named Rhodopis who lived in ancient Egypt.
The story of Cinderella
First and foremost, to better comprehend this potential connection to an ancient Greek legend, we need to understand the folk tale itself. Cinderella, who has a stepmother and two stepsisters, is forced to slave away in the house around the clock, but, eventually, her life changes when her fairy godmother appears and provides her with beautiful clothes, glass shoes, and the means to go to a royal ball.
There, at the ball, the prince falls in love with Cinderella. However, she must leave before midnight, as this is when the fairy godmother’s spell comes undone. As she flees, she accidentally loses one of her glass shoes, which the prince then takes.
He instructs his men to go around town and try it on all the women of the kingdom, leading him directly to Cinderella herself. Thereafter, the two of them marry, allowing Cinderella to escape her life of misery and slavery with her stepmother and stepsisters.
Rhodopis, the ancient Greek Cinderella in Egypt
The earliest version of the Cinderella narrative is from an ancient Greek legend about a slave girl named Rhodopis, which appears in a passage by Strabo in his Geography, written in the first century BC. After describing the smallest of the Pyramids of Giza, he wrote:
“When she [Rhodopis] was bathing, an eagle snatched one of her sandals from her maid and carried it to Memphis; and while the king was administering justice in the open air, the eagle, when it arrived above his head, flung the sandal into his lap; and the king, stirred both by the beautiful shape of the sandal and by the strangeness of the occurrence, sent men in all directions into the country in quest of the woman who wore the sandal; and when she was found in the city of Naucratis, she was brought up to Memphis, became the wife of the king, and when she died was honoured with the above-mentioned tomb.”
According to this account, the king of Egypt became captivated by Rhodopis, although he had never met her. With only one of her sandals in his possession, he ordered his men to search the kingdom and try the shoe on its women to uncover her identity. Much like in the Cinderella story, he was able to find her, and the two were married.
The real Rhodopis
The information we have about Rhodopis, the subject of this ancient Greek legend that may have inspired the story of Cinderella, comes from the ancient Greek geographer Strabo. He claimed that the smallest of the three Pyramids of Giza was built for Rhodopis, implying that she lived quite early in Egyptian history.
However, when we examine the remainder of Strabo’s account, it becomes clear that this is inaccurate. In the introduction to the legend, we find the following explanation:
“It is called ‘Tomb of the Courtesan,’ having been built by her lovers—the courtesan whom Sappho the Melic poetess calls Doricha, the beloved of Sappho’s brother Charaxus, who was engaged in transporting Lesbian wine to Naucratis for sale, but others give her the name Rhodopis.”
According to this, Rhodopis was the lover of Charaxus, the brother of Sappho—the famous poet of Lesbos. She lived in the sixth century BC, long after the Pyramids of Giza were completed. Therefore, clearly, Strabo’s claim linking Rhodopis to the Pyramids of Giza is incorrect.
Interestingly, Herodotus mentions Rhodopis and places her in the time of Amasis of Egypt, who lived in the sixth century BC, consistent with Strabo’s reference to Sappho. Herodotus knew of the tradition linking Rhodopis to the Pyramids of Giza, but recognized it as historically inaccurate.
Does the story of Cinderella really originate from this ancient Greek legend of Rhodopis?
The ancient Greek legend of Rhodopis certainly bears some resemblance to the story of Cinderella, but are they similar enough to justify a direct connection—or is the only link the motif of a girl being identified by her missing shoe?
In addition to this motif—which is by no means a simple one—there is also the rags-to-riches theme underlying the story. While Strabo does not specifically identify Rhodopis as a slave, other sources do. For instance, Herodotus explains:
“She was a Thracian by birth, slave to Iadmon, son of Hephaestopolis, a Samian, and fellow-slave of Aesopus the story-writer.”
This shows that Rhodopis was indeed a slave and closely parallels the tale of Cinderella, who was essentially a slave within her own home. In both the ancient Greek legend and the Cinderella story, a member of royalty finds the shoe and seeks the young woman to whom it belongs.
Furthermore, both stories conclude with the young women marrying the king or prince and gaining wealth. Additionally, the story did not disappear with Strabo; the Roman writer Aelian also recounted the legend in the third century AD.
Could this ancient Greek legend have ultimately inspired the folk tale of Cinderella? Simply put, we cannot say for certain, but a connection between the two remains entirely possible.
See all the latest news from Greece and the world at Greekreporter.com. Contact our newsroom to report an update or send your story, photos and videos. Follow GR on Google News and subscribe here to our daily email!
