Do you know how to tell Paris of Troy in a picture of Trojan War heroes? He's the one wearing the Phrygian cap (second from the left). The Phrygian cap also appears in ancient Rome as the cap of the freedman (liberty cap) and is associated with the winter holiday Saturnalia. Much later, French Revolutionaries adopted the Phrygian cap to stand for freedom.
In the Iliad, Phrygia, a kingdom of Anatolia (the Asian part of Turkey), was one of Troy's allies. Troy is also considered to be a city of Phrygia. Pelops (son of Tantalus, a mythological Phrygian king) -- after he was served by his father as a meal to the gods, restored, and given an ivory shoulder -- emigrated from Phrygia to the Peloponnese, where he won the land of King Oenomaus and re-named the area after himself.
Read more about Phrygia and the other kingdoms of ancient Anatolia: Ancient Asia Minor
Other related topics:
- The EID MAR Denarius Coin - (Shows a Liberty Cap) - From About.com's Coin Guide
- Pelops, Tantalus, and the House of Atreus
- Saturnalia
- Life of Aesop
Trojan War Heroes and Phrygian Cap images © Clipart.com
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