[News Terms] France's Symbol of Liberty and Revolution, the 'Phrygian Cap'

Originating from the 12th century BC Phrygia Kingdom
Marianne, along with the rooster, one of the three major symbols of the French Revolution
Also appears in the painting 'Liberty Leading the People'

The ‘Phrygian cap’ is a brimless, conical-shaped hat. It is made from soft materials such as cotton, silk, or leather. A distinctive feature is that the tip of the cone tilts or droops to one side. It is also called the ‘cap of liberty.’

The mascot for the 2024 Paris Olympics and Paralympics, ‘Phryge,’ was inspired by the Phrygian cap. Phryge’s appearance is personified as a small red Phrygian cap with added white and blue colors, matching the colors of the French flag. Except that the Paralympic Phryge wears a prosthetic leg on one foot, it looks the same as the Olympic Phryge. Between the two Phryges’ bodies is the golden logo of this event. This logo combines a gold medal, the Olympic flame, and the face of ‘Marianne,’ a fictional woman personifying France.

2024 Paris Olympic Official Mascot, Phrygeu
[Photo by Official Olympic Website]

‘Marianne’ is one of the three major symbols of the French Revolution, along with the Phrygian cap and the rooster. She represents the French values of liberty, equality, and fraternity, and is also known as the goddess of liberty. Marianne is the French variation of the Hebrew name ‘Miriam.’ Miriam was the sister of Moses mentioned in the Old Testament.

Marianne also appears in the 1830 painting ‘Liberty Leading the People’ by the French artist Eug?ne Delacroix. In the painting, Marianne wears a Phrygian cap on her head, holds the French tricolor flag in her right hand, and a long rifle in her left, leading the people. Busts of Marianne wearing the Phrygian cap can be seen throughout France, including in government offices and courthouses. Marianne wearing this hat is also depicted on stamps and coins and is covered in school curricula. This shows how deeply the Phrygian cap is embedded in French history and culture.

The Liberty Leading the People (La Libert? guidant le peuple) [Photo by Paris Louvre Museum]

The Phrygian cap has a long history. It originated in the Phrygian Kingdom in the central-western region of ancient Anatolia in the 12th century BCE, which is present-day Turkey. At that time, the Phrygians traditionally placed this cap on freed slaves to signify their new status as free people. Later, ancient Rome adopted this custom. Freed slaves celebrated by hanging the Phrygian cap on a pole and waving it joyfully.

According to the French National Archives, there are records of citizens wearing the Phrygian cap at important moments in French history. Notable examples include the construction of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris in 1163, the French Revolution in 1789, the construction of the Eiffel Tower in 1887, and the 1924 Paris Olympics. Especially during the French Revolution, when the citizen army opposing the absolute monarchy wore the Phrygian cap, this hat became firmly established as a symbol of liberty and revolution.

The Phrygian cap also appears in American history across the Atlantic. In the ceiling painting ‘The Apotheosis of Washington’ in the Rotunda dome of the U.S. Capitol, the goddess of liberty, ‘Libertas,’ is seated wearing a red Phrygian cap to the left of George Washington, the first U.S. president. It also appears on the official seal of the U.S. Senate. Thus, over a long history, the Phrygian cap has come to represent much more than just a hat.