Phrygian Cap

The Phrygian cap is worn by the syncretic Hellenistic and Roman, though originally Persian, saviour god Mithras. The same soft cap is seen worn by an attendant in the murals of a late 4th century Thracian tomb at Kazanlak, Bulgaria

The Phrygian cap was worn during the Roman Empire by former slaves who had been emancipated by their master and whose descendants were therefore considered citizens of the Empire. This usage is often considered the root of its meaning as a symbol of liberty. In Byzantium, Anatolian Phrygia lay to the east of Constantinople, and thus in 6th-century Ravenna, part of the Eastern Empire, the three Magi wear Phrygian caps, as generic "easterners"

The cap has appeared on the coat of arms of Argentina and the United States of Central America, and an effigy of "Liberty" was shown holding the Liberty Pole and Phrygian cap on some early United States of America coinage (pictured right). It also appears on the Flag of the State of New York, as well as the official seal of the United States Army. The cap had also been displayed on certain Mexican coins (most notably the old 8 Reales coin) through the late 19th century into the mid 20th century.

The Phrygian cap is familiar to some as the headgear of the Smurfs.

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A Soft Cap With the Top Pulled Forward

The Phrygian cap is a soft conical cap with the top pulled forward, and that pulled-forward top is the whole identification. A cone that stood upright would read as a different cap; the Phrygian form leans, its point falling forward over the forehead in the shape seen again and again in ancient and later imagery. Because the cap is soft, the forward fall is part of its construction and wear, not a stiffened point held in place. The cap takes its name from its wearers and their home: it was worn by the inhabitants of Phrygia, a region of central Anatolia in antiquity. A regional soft cap might have remained a local detail of dress, but this one travelled through art, politics, and national symbolism for centuries, carrying its distinctive forward-leaning silhouette with it wherever it went.

In the ancient world the cap first worked as a marker of origin. In vase-paintings and other Greek art, the Phrygian cap serves to identify the Trojan hero Paris as non-Greek, and Roman poets habitually use the epithet Phrygian to mean Trojan. The cap can also be seen on the Trajan's Column carvings, worn by the Dacians, and on the Arch of Severus worn by the Parthians, and in 6th-century Ravenna the three Magi wear Phrygian caps as generic easterners. The pattern in those examples is consistent: artists used the cap to show that a figure came from the east and was not Greek or Roman. A soft, forward-topped cap therefore became a visual shorthand, readable at a glance in a painting, carving, or mural, including the murals of a late 4th century Thracian tomb at Kazanlak, Bulgaria, where the same cap is worn by an attendant.

From Emancipation to Liberty Cap

The cap's second meaning grew from a specific Roman practice. The Phrygian cap was worn during the Roman Empire by former slaves who had been emancipated by their master, and whose descendants were therefore considered citizens of the Empire. Wearing the cap in that setting announced a change of status, from enslaved to free, and that usage is often considered the root of its meaning as a symbol of liberty. The logic is direct: a cap associated with people who had been freed could come to stand for freedom itself. Its shape also had an afterlife in armour, since the Macedonian, Thracian, Dacian and 12th century Norman military helmets had a forward peaked top design resembling the Phrygian cap, and the cap is worn by Mithras, the syncretic Hellenistic and Roman, though originally Persian, saviour god.

In the 18th century that liberty meaning became explicit and political. The red Phrygian cap evolved into a symbol of freedom, held aloft on a Liberty Pole during the American Revolutionary War, and it was also adopted during the French Revolution. To this day the national emblem of France, Marianne, is shown wearing a Phrygian cap, so the cap remains part of a living national image rather than only a historical reference. Its official appearances are wide: it has appeared on the coat of arms of Argentina and the United States of Central America, an effigy of Liberty was shown holding the Liberty Pole and Phrygian cap on some early United States coinage, and it also appears on the flag of the State of New York and the official seal of the United States Army. It was displayed on certain Mexican coins, most notably the old 8 Reales coin, through the late 19th century into the mid 20th century. In popular culture, the Phrygian cap is also familiar to some as the headgear of the Smurfs, a reminder that the same soft, forward-pulled shape can move between solemn national emblems and everyday recognition without changing its form.