the.com/cothurnus
The platform boot that literally elevated Greek tragedy's heroes above mere mortals.
means A thick-soled, high-platform boot worn by actors in ancient Greek and Roman tragedy to give their characters imposing stature, and by extension a term for the elevated, dignified style of tragic drama itself.
from From the Latin cothurnus, borrowed straight from the Greek kothornos — the name for a high, laced boot. In the theatre it became the tragedian's footgear, raising the actor literally and figuratively above ordinary life, while comic actors shuffled along in the flat soccus. From that contrast the word came to stand for the whole lofty register of tragedy, the cothurnus opposed to the comic sock. The boot's pre-theatrical origins, and how it first acquired its towering sole, are not well documented.
- Origin
- Worn by actors in ancient Greek tragedy
- Tall sole
- Thick platforms made heroes loom larger
- Latin name
- Romans borrowed the Greek kothornos
- Symbol
- Became shorthand for tragedy itself
- Opposite
- Comedy wore the flat soccus instead
cothurnus of aeschylus — ancient greek tragic boot worn by actors in plays like oresteia, 458 bce athens
roman cothurnus — tall laced boot adopted by roman tragic actors performing greek plays, 1st century ce