Summary of “Rhodopis”

Rhodopis is a story about a female Greek slave, this story told readers how slave Rhodopis became Egyptian Pharaoh’s wife. Rhodopis is actually a name of a young beautiful Greek courtesan, and she got married with an Egyptian Pharaoh. The author of the story is actually unknown. After her story was first recorded by the Greek historian Strabo in the 1st century BC, this story was widely spread around the word. And is considered the earliest known variant of the "Cinderella" story.

Long ago in the land of Egypt, land of the green Nile, there lived a slave girl named Rhodopis. Rhodopis was born in Greece, who was sold to an Egyptian in a young age. One thing that makes her different from other slavery is that she is extremely beautiful. She has long golden curly hair and brown deep eyes. It’s hard for a man to move his eyes away from Rhodopis. Because she is so different from others that no one want to be her friends. Rhodopis was so lonely that she only can make friends with animals.

One evening she had more energy than usual, when the day was done even her master had fallen asleep under a tree near the river, Rhodopis went down to the river near her animals, danced and sang so lightly, and the old man woke from his sleep and listened to her singing. He admired her dancing, and felt that one so talented should not be without shoes. He ordered her a special pair of red slippers. After that the servant girls teased her even more, so jealous they were of her beautiful red slippers.

A little while after this, the Pharaoh held a big party in Memphis and all in the kingdom were invited. Rhodopis wanted to dance in the party as well, but any other female slaves went to the party that night, so she had to stay at home and did extra work. That night Rhodopis was so sad that she began to sing out aloud to express her sadness. Her voice attracted a hippo, that hippo wanted to get closer to her, but the the splashing of the water wet Rhodopis’s slippers. She took them off and put slippers under the sun to dry. At that time, a falcon flew down and snatched one of the slippers. However, Rhodopis was in awe because she knew it was the God Horus who had taken her shoes. And the left that slipper in the Pharaoh’s chariot. Pharaoh thought that was God Horus’s sign. So he kept the slipper. In order to find the owner of this slipper, Pharaoh asked all women in the kingdom to try to put on this slipper, the one who fit the slipper best is the women who he looked for.

Finally, people find out that no other women can fit in this slipper expect Rhodopis. Then the pharaoh married Rhodopis, and Rhodopis lived happily from then on.

This story was written in the 1st century BC, so there are some terms that readers may not totally understand. Such as “pharaoh”, pharaoh is a title of an ancient Egyptian king. “courtesan” is a prostitute, especially one associating with noblemen or men of wealth. And her name “Rhodopis” means one’s face like a rose, and other strange thing is that the slipper that master gave her is also red, there may exist some connections.