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Phrygian cap
Attis or Ganymede wearing a Phrygian cap, marble bust, c. 1st century ce; in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, England.
Phrygian cap
headdress
Phrygian cap, soft felt or wool conical headdress fitting closely around the head and characterized by a pointed crown that curls forward. It originated in the ancient country of Phrygia in Anatolia and is represented in ancient Greek art as the type of headdress worn not only by Phrygians but by all inhabitants of Anatolia and of nations farther east.
Myth-making in Eugène Delacroix's Liberty Leading the PeopleThe allegorical figure of Liberty is a French trope inspired by antiquity.
See all videos for this articleThe Phrygian cap might have been mistaken for the pileus, a cap worn by emancipated Roman slaves, when it became an emblem of liberty during the French Revolution (1787–99). It was adopted by the revolutionaries as “the red cap of liberty” and continues to be associated with the national allegorical figure of Liberté.
The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Meg Matthias.
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