subject: Are Phrygian Hats The Ancestors Of Smurf Hats? [print this page] One of the most popular symbols of freedom is the Phrygian hat. Its origins are in the land Phrygia, near Greece. The Phrygian hat also appears in all of the pictures of Marianne, the beautiful woman who is the emblem of the French Revolution.
Its appearance is that of a tight-fitting cap with a pointed top which angled to the front. Stiffened fabric or leather were the main materials for the hats because they made them sit up on the head like helmets, with the pointed top curving towards the front of the head. There were other Phrygian caps made of soft felt, with the point either flattened onto the crown of the cap, hung to the side, or stood up softly.
Since ancient times, the Phrygian hats were very popular. The Phrygian hat gathered two connotations in Antiquity: the Greeks considered it a distinctive Eastern influence of non-Greek "barbarism" while among the Romans it represented a badge of liberty. In the late Republican Rome the cap was worn by freedmen as a symbol of freedom from tyranny. Some soldiers from ancient people like the Dacian are painted or carved in stone wearing these Phrygian type helmets.
What is truly essential about these hats is their symbolism associated with the idea of freedom. Taking a non-historic look at a Phrygian cap we might find its looks rather familiar. Could it be because the dwarfs in the "Snow White" cartoon wear it, or maybe because it covers the little blue heads of the Smurfs?
Freedom is still associated with this hat. But now we are talking about freedom of expression, freedom of being yourself and of having fun. A girls night out is the perfect moment to feel free, to tell jokes and laugh because around good friends you dont have to prove anything to anyone. Wearing this funny hat you might feel closer to your childhood and just as free.
