The blond beauty left the ball before midnight. The most important trace: a small glass slipper. First seen in antique scripts, the last time in Disney's animated film…  

  A wonderful interpretation of Walt Disney's favorite piece of animation | source

At those who doubt the existence of real Cinderella would laugh all the girls of the world, but also the famous Greek philosopher and geographer Strabo (63 - 24 BC) who claimed to know the real identity of the Cinderella.  In Strabo's  writings, it is recorded that Disney Princess really existed and lived in southeastern Thrace, about 500 years before the new era. The real Cinderella was called Rhodopis. She was a blonde Greek woman of exceptional beauty, whose name in translation means "girl with the rosy cheeks". 

                                Stabo, Greek philosopher and geographer (63 - 24 BC) | source

Exciting life of this girl reminded on fairy tale and, in the end, it is just what it have became. In the meantime, the story of  beauty with glass slippers have spread across the world. Today almost every country has it's own version of Cinderella. Russian, Serbian, Chinese, Vietnamese, German - all Cinderella's  speak a lot about the cultural characteristics of the ground on which they were created on, as well about the inexhaustible imagination of storytellers who were telling the same story in countless different ways for centuries. The destiny of the beautiful Greek lady and her odyssey from an orphan girl to a Pharaoh's wife showed that life indeed could be a fairy tale.  

                                                Beautiful Rhodopis | source

 Ancient Cinderella 

The adventure of the beautiful Rhodopis begins when, after being sold to the slave Caraxos, she ended up in Egypt. Among dark-skinned slaves, Rodophis was immediately noticed because of her beauty and light skin. Caraxos was impressed by the girl so much that he gave her the glass slippers that reflected the light. He taught that she was so much beautiful as if she was built from the pure light. Instead of stepmother and half-sisters, Cinderella was disturbed by the the other girl slaves who envied her for taking Caraxos full attention. Ancient Cinderella, according to Strabo, did not visit balls, but on one occasion, she attended a grand ceremony in the Egyptian city of Memphis. There was also the pharaoh himself, who immediately fell in love with a blond beauty and wanted to marry her. Since he could not find a girl after the ceremony, he ordered Horus, the god of the royal authority, to find Rodopis. Horus turned into an eagle, flew to the girl and took a glass slipper. Pharaoh's servants tried the shoe on every woman in the kingdom, and the Rhodopis was found. The beautiful Greek woman became a Pharaoh's wife.    

                                           Egyptian God Horus | source

Slippers from a fish scales

It would be easy to believe in Strabon's story if there werent for Chinese who claimed that the Cinderella was a Chinese Empress who lived during the Qin dynasty (221-207 BC) and Han (202- 220 BC). One of the most famous Chinese fairy tales tells about young girl Jeh-shen who lost father in early age, and had to suffer the cruelty of the evil stepmother. In severe trouble she was helped by a goldfish who would come to a riverbank every day and fulfilled one girls wish. Evil stepmother cooked the fish and left the girl ate from it. When Jeh-shen found out that she ate magic fish, she was said, but soon, like all Cinderellas, she got help.  Girl was comforted by the old man who told her that she has to bow down to the fish bones which had healing and magical effects. The girl, then, got the most beautiful dress and expensive slippers made of fish scales. With new suit she also got the heart of the Chinese current emperor and  she married him.   

                                                  

                                               Yeh-Shen, a Cinderella story from China | source

Unusual story about Chinese Cinderella is way different from fairy tale we know today. A series of motifs from Disney's Cinderella, such as help of the fairies and mice, converting a pumpkin into a carriage,  a lizard into the lakey originate from the oldest European version of Charles Perrault, the founder of a modern European fairy tale (1628-1703). 

The most read version is certainly German, the one published by the brothers Jacob (1787-1863) and Wilhelm (1786-1859) Grimm. It contains a number of interesting details that show that women had done a lot of things for beauty. Cinderellas stepsisters were starving themselves in order to enter their ball dresses. Since their feet were too large to fit into a glass slippers, one of the sisters cut of her thumb, and the other cut off the heel. These details are rarely present in Cinderella cartoons.

 Brothers Jacob (1787-1863) and Wilhelm (1786-1859) Grimm  | source

Cinderella of Vuk Karadzic

It is well known that Grimm brothers were extremely interested in Serbian literature and culture. They translated several Serbian songs and stories in German, and with the help of Vuk Karadzic (1787-1864), Serbian philologist and linguist, they also learned the Serbian language.

Grimm brothers  heard  for "Serbian Cinderella", wich was interested for them because of the unusual and archaic motifs. Namely, the Vuk's version of Cinderella was published in Vienna in 1853, and it shows the strong influence of the cultural environment in which it originated. The name of the Serbian Cinderella was Mara, and she spent the most of her time near the fire and the ashes. Thats why she got her famous nickname.

Her misfortune begun when she drowned spindle into the pit, and because of that her mother turned  into a cow. The evil stepmother again, as in the Chinese version, wanted to mistakes the girl. She slaughtered the cow and deceive the girl to eat mothers flesh.

Girl was said when she found out that she had been cheated, but soon she got help from cow's magic bones. 

                                                  Serbian Cinderella  |  source

Serbian Cinderella wore ordinary slippers. Instead of the ball, she went "to the church on a liturgy". These motives are not accidental. Since the fairy tale was born in a poor patriarchal environment, it is understandable that the girl wore just slippers. The liturgy, however, was a gathering place and perhaps one of the rare occasions when a young girl could afford to leave her home. 

At the end of the fairy tale, the stepmother hides the girl from the prince under the trough. Her presence is announced by a rooster that jumps on the trough and starts crowing. The appearance of the rooster is not accidental. Rooster, in accordance with folk beliefs, announces the day, the end of evil and unclean night time, and return of the harmony and peace.

Collectively unconscious

One more proof of the claim that Cinderella is more than just a fairy tale is also the theory of archetypes created by the Swiss psychiatrist Carl Gustav Jung (1875-1961). It is possible that story of Cinderella was not transferred from one generation to another, but spontaneously created in the consciousness of each of person. 

                                     Swiss psychiatrist Carl Gustav Jung | source

The reason for this belief is the existence of the collective unconscious, deepest and darkest space of the human soul, the foundation of the whole personality. Collective unconscious hides the spiritual experience of the generation of our ancestors. The basic units of collective unconscious are archetypes, and these are usually important life cycles, such is marriage. 

More precisely, Cinderella is a story about separating a girl from a secure parental protection, passing through various troubles and temptations, and eventually joining a beloved man. The story of girl who becomes wife occurs through symbols that are different in all the countries in which this fairy tale exists. Therefore, Cinderella is equally an Ancient and Chinese princess, but also every woman who goes through this process.

                                                          Version of Cinderella | source

Various versions of this fairy tale tell a lot about the magical rituals that were used in ancient times. Namely, the tasks that the stepmother entrusts to Cinderella are the most frequently: collecting lenses, winding wool on chicken, fishing, cleaning...  All these actions require repetition and relate to national ritual rituals. Cinerella's assistants are the most commonly used animals in magical rituals: lizards, birds and mice. 

The Cinderella's name is also multiple symbolic. The ashes are mostly related to the Phoenix mythical bird that dies and reborns from it. The basic symbolism of this myth is in rebirth and resurrection. Just as it is necessary for a new life to die, for getting merry it is necessary to be Cinderella. In various forms, this fairy tale transmits the same message that love eventually wins, and the victim and hope are always paid off. 

                                                                       STEEM ON :)