Rhodopis: the Egyptian Cinderella by Regine Manuel

Rhodopis origins

reginesofia11 — 2025-01-16 17:26:58 UTC

It is not explicitly said what year Rhodopis' story takes place but her story was believed to have originally been written between 7 BC and 24 AD. She lives around the time when there is still pharaohs in Egypt and slaves. It is believed to have been loosely based on a real woman. Rhodopis' story is considered as one of the earliest versions of the Cinderella story.

Summary

reginesofia11 — 2025-01-16 20:02:11 UTC

Rhodopis is a young servant girl who is treated harshly because of her different looks. Instead of having dark straight hair, she has blonde curly hair making her stand out. She is forced to clean all day and pull weeds but once she is finished with all of her chores, she goes to a quiet place and practices her dancing with her special golden slippers.One day she hears that the king has invited everyone to a celebration and once she hears this news, she is happy, so she puts on her golden slippers. The other servants did not like to see her happy, so they gave her even more work to do while they left for the party. This made her upset but regardless, she tried to do her work without crying. While was in the river scrubbing clothes, Rhodopis left her slippers on a rock.

The king was watching his party but not women caught his eyes. As she was working, a hawk swooped down and took one of her slippers and dropped the slipper on the king's lap. The king took this as a sign and told his servants to find whose slipper it was. He said, "Somewhere in Egypt is a girl who fits this shoe, ... Whoever she is, I will bring her here and make her my wife". It took his servants days to find her, and they searched the whole kingdom while the king waited. Once the servants told him that they found the girl, he held up her golden shoe and asked, "Is this yours?" She was too shy to speak so she nodded and showed him the other shoe. The servants were surprised he decided to marry Rhodopis because she was not Egyptian born but he said, "Her heart is Egyptian, and she belongs with us".

Similarities and differences between Rhodopis and Cinderella

reginesofia11 — 2025-01-17 00:39:51 UTC

SIMILARITIES

Both are seen as outcasts and are treated like servants

Both have "special" shoes/slippers
Both have themes of injustice, mistreatment, resilience, and reward.
They both have little birds helping them.

DIFFERENCES

Rhodopis is a young slave girl while Cinderella is a beautiful young woman
Rhodopis marries a king, Cinderella marries a prince
Cinderella's stepsisters try to fool the prince by cutting off part of their feet to fit in the shoes

Theme

reginesofia11 — 2025-01-17 04:00:28 UTC

Some of the major themes in Rhodopis include injustice, class differences, along with being to recognize inner beauty. Rhodopis never once complained about having to do her chores. Yes, she felt upset that she had to do them, but she never said anything. She stayed doing her work and would sing while she worked. Rhodopis never lashed out against the other slaves for giving her more work to do. The main message is that love will always find a way.

Multimedia: Song representing part of the story

reginesofia11 — 2025-01-17 06:00:44 UTC

In Something by The Beatles, George Harrison, the lead guitarist, talks about endlessly loving this girl and how he doesn't need any other lover. This reflects in the story when the king knew immediately that as soon as that slipper landed on his lap it was a sign. He knew he wouldn't have to look much longer.

Culture of the time

reginesofia11 — 2025-01-17 06:33:35 UTC

During the time of Rhodopis, Egyptian culture flourished because of the rise of technology. It is famous today because of the great monuments which celebrated the triumphs of the rulers and honored their gods of the land.

Culture of the time: Cuisine and Banquets

reginesofia11 — 2025-01-17 06:58:31 UTC

Some staples of the Egyptian culture for the poor and wealthy were bread and beer, which was often enjoyed with green onions, and other vegetables, sometimes meats and fish. There were usually professional dancers and musicians that would play many instruments and perform for the higher ups while they ate. The dishes mostly consisted of stews served with lots of bread, fresh vegetables and fruit. For dessert there were cakes baked with dates and sweetened with honey.

There are depictions of banquets that can be found in paintings that usually take place sometime in the afternoon. Men and women did not sit together unless they were married. Seating was also arranged by social status meaning, the people with higher statuses would sit on chairs while those lower than them would sit on the floor or stools. Before food would be served, basins were provided with aromatics, and flower-scented fat was burned to spread beautiful smells all throughout or they would be used to repel insects (basically a candle).