7 Symbolic Steps: Footwear of Ancient Greece

“Momma always said you can tell a lot about a person by their shoes, where they’re going, where they’ve been” 〜 Forrest Gump

Shoes are essential to our daily lives. They serve a practical function, protecting our feet from the harsh elements, as well as a symbolic function, representing our personalities, occupations, social statuses, and gender identities. Footwear was no different for the ancient Greeks. It was an essential part of ancient Greek dress, capable of conveying important messages about the wearer and their role within society.

Styles of Footwear

Ranging from sandals, to slippers, to boots, footwear in ancient Greece was incredibly diverse. Sandals were the most most common type of shoe available (see Fig. 7.1 for one of the oldest surviving pairs).  Styles included variations of the classic thonged type, with the strap running between the toes, and more complex network-like sandals, which tended to be studier with various overlapping, patterns of straps. 

A common type was a multi-strapped style (krepides), with multiple loops and crisscrossing straps. One of the most complex versions of this sandal featured mesh or net-like patterns of leather over the heels and toes. Complex military sandals (trochades) were worn by soldiers. This style was typically made out of goatskin for easy mobility. It consisted of solid leather covering the heel and sides of the foot, with laces and straps over the toes. Luxurious men’s sandals, decorated with golden brooches (blaute) were often worn at banquets, such as symposia. 

The ancient Greeks also wore various types of slippers (as pictured hanging on the wall in Fig. 7.2). Slippers were usually made of soft leather or cloth, and were often worn in domestic spaces. Persian slippers (perisaki), originated in the Near East and had upturned toes. Soleless felt slippers (pilidio), with rounded toes were another common style, and were similar to thick, modern socks. Plaited straw slippers (peribades) were worn primarily by women indoors.

Finally, there was a variety of boot styles, ranging in material, form, and height. Unlike the modern boot, many styles would have been partially open or open-toed. Short hunting boots (endromis), sometimes with pointed toes, an open front, and a long tongue were often worn by athletes. Tall boots with inner linings of felt or fur (embades) were typically used in cold temperatures. Often made from softer leather, these boots were a Thracian invention adopted by the Greeks and were commonly worn by soldiers and horsemen. Knee or shin-length boots or buskins (kothornos/korthornoi) were worn in daily life. They were typically worn unlaced and were often made of soft leather. They were frequently associated with women; however, a thick, platform-sole version of these boots were most identified with tragic actors.

Shoeless Exceptions

Contrary to popular belief, the ancient Greeks rarely ventured out barefoot —even enslaved individuals would have worn some form of simple footwear. The presence or absence of shoes was considered a marker between the private and public spheres. Customarily, the ancient Greeks only removed their shoes indoors: in domestic spaces, during meals, at the bathhouses, when exercising, at symposia (all male banquets), and before entering sacred spaces. In extreme cases, however, homeless individuals who lived in poverty might not have had the means to wear shoes (Plat. Sym. 203d). There are also accounts of philosophers, such as Socrates, choosing not to wear shoes as a mark of their asceticism (Aristoph. Cl. 102).

The Making of Shoes: Materials and Production

Leather was the primary material for Greek footwear, and could be produced in a variety of thicknesses, textures, and densities. A wide variety of tanned or raw animal hides were used, primarily cattle hide but also sheep, ox, goatskin, or even doe or fawnskin for more delicate or luxurious footwear. The soles of shoes were typically made of layered leather, wood, or cork. The upper shoe and interior lining could also be made from lighter materials, such as cloth, felt, hemp, wool, or even straw. In addition, bronze, iron, bone, and ivory were also considered essential materials, used for shoe eyelets, hooks, hobnails and decorative elements like brooches. Cold-weather shoes may also have been lined with fur, felt, or wool.

Although footwear rarely survives in the archaeological record, one of the oldest known examples of Greek leather shoes comes from Kerameikos (Fig. 7.1). Found among the grave goods in a woman’s sarcophagus, these leather sandal soles date to the late classical period (ca. 375/350 BCE).

There were various steps involved in shoemaking. First, the layers of the sole and upper were cut, shaped and fitted. Next, the leather was incised and pierced with an awl. The leather would then need to be punched, and the layers of the soles stitched together with threads of sinew. For cheaper or thicker soled shoes, hobnails may have been used to bind the layers of soles. The leather could then be dyed a different colour, left its natural shade, or darkened with pitch. Finally, the finished shoes might be incised with decoration or gilded with gold. The main tools of the trade would have included a hammer, pliers, a low three-leg table, a cutting board, an awl and needles. This short video recreates some of the traditional steps involved in the ancient art of Greek shoemaking.

Shoemaking, repairing, and re-soling were well-respected trades, considered both a skilled craft and a fine art. Fig. 7.2 depicts a shoemaker working in his shop surrounded by his products and his tools of the trade: pieces of leather, a hammer, and a crescent-shaped knife. Plato (Plat. Rep. 2.369d) lists cobblers, alongside farmers, carpenters, and weavers, as essential workers in the ideal Greek city. This level of specialization, along with the wide variety of materials required to make shoes, suggests that shoemakers were involved in a broad trade network, and maintained extended social relationships with tanners, butchers, farmers, and animal-herders.

Shoes, Gender, and Identity

Like other forms of adornment, shoes were closely tied to an individual’s identity, reflecting their ethnicity, social status, and most significantly, their gender identity. Based on the artistic and literary evidence available, there were certainly differences between shoes for men and women. Xenophon notes that shoemakers even crafted gender-specific shoes (Xen. Cyrop. 8.2.5).

Women’s sandals were often made of softer, more delicate leathers and hides, and were often lightened or whitened by soaking the leather in a salt solution. Female sandals and boots also tended to have much thicker soles than their male counterparts. In fact, women were also the only gender socially permitted to wear platform sandals or boots to increase their height as seen in Fig. 7.3. However, some husbands complained of the habit, like Ischomachus, an Athenian elite, when he observed his wife wearing thick, soled platform shoes to make herself appear taller (Xen. Ec. 10.2). Certain styles were also considered exclusively feminine, like Persian slippers (perisaki) and soft versions of shin-length boots (kothornoi) with pointed, upturned toes. These shoes were used as markers of feminine identity, believed to enhance the beauty and appeal of the wearer.

In contrast, if a man were to wear these types of shoes, he would be viewed as effeminate. In Greek literature, male characters wearing women’s shoes was a recurring trope, used as a means to ridicule them. In Aristophanes, female shoes were featured in crossdressing fantasies or scenes when men would disguise themselves as women (see Aristoph. Thes. 253– 68).

Knockin’ Boots – Shoes, Sex and Hetairai?

Shoes and feet, in general, appear to have been closely tied to female sexuality, sensuality, and concepts of eroticism. Thus, it should come as no surprise that hetairai (paid companions) are often closely associated with footwear in literary and artistic representations.

In sympotic scenes featuring hetairai and their companions, sandals or boots are often prominently featured, shown carelessly discarded underneath the kline (couch) of the reclining symposiasts. Despite not even being on the foot, these shoes seem to retain their erotic significance. Equally as common are scenes of nude women donning, lacing, or removing their footwear (Fig. 7.4). Are these women preparing for seduction? Tempting the viewer? Re-lacing their shoes post intercourse? Regardless, this action, combined with the suggestiveness of the woman’s nudity and her raised leg, imbue a general atmosphere of eroticism.

So, what is so seductive about footwear?  First, scholars such as Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones believe shoes might have acted as tools of seduction, heightening the hetaira’s beauty and sexuality. Athenaeus of Naucratis (Ath. 13.23) describes hetairai wearing tall cork insoles to improve their stature and overall appeal. Discarded footwear also seems to have played a prominent role in “setting the mood.” Their careless removal in sympotic scenes could signify the release of inhibitions from the effect of the wine and the wearer’s readiness to partake in the revelry. Similarly, since the removal of the shoes was the last act before climbing into bed, scholars such as Llewellyn-Jones and Laura McClure have also suggested that shoe removal was a highly erotic gesture, meant to foreshow intercourse. Thus, an unlaced or discarded shoe may indicate the promise or imminence of sex. In Aristophanes’ Lysistrata, before disappointing her husband for the final time, Myrrhine, in the seduction scene, exclaims, “See, I’m just removing my shoes!” before hopping into bed (Aristoph. Lys. 950).

Walking with Meaning

Shoes were highly symbolic objects, capable of communicating messages about Greek identity. In literature and art, their presence, or absence, often marked important journeys, transformations, and transitions between different spheres of Greek life, such as the domestic, civic, or ritual spheres. Although often overlooked, the study of footwear can offer valuable insights into ancient Greek life and the individuals who wore them.