FREEDOM OR DEATH. THE TSAROUCHI'S HYMN TO INDEPENDENCE
The bicentenary of the Greek War of Independence (1821-2021) is the perfect opportunity for the country both to celebrate and honor its history and to look to its potential future.
A strong sense of ethnic identity has binded Greek-speaking communities from time immemorial. A strong feeling, capable not only of surviving the empires that have followed one another in the Mediterranean but also of strengthening over time, creating a powerful overlap of the concepts of nation and state.
The same values, the same language, the same traditions and shared memories link the ancient Greece to the modern one with a thread impossible to break. A thread that wraps, binds, weaves new plots, repairs lacerations, strengthens the social fabric. That is why in Greece a humble accessory like a shoe can not only survive time, but eventually become the symbol for an entire nation of pride and love of freedom.
Tsarouchia, leather shoes with a tassel on the toe, were the most common footwear in both urban and rural mainland Greece. After the Greek War of Independence Tsarouchia became less common, remaining widespread only in the most marginal rural areas. They survived, however, with reinforced soles to instill more fear, in the uniforms of the Evzones until the twentieth century (not surprisingly, the Evzones were largely enlisted in the mountainous regions of Greece), disappearing only after the First World War in favor of more practical boots with laces. Today they are used almost exclusively by the presidential guard and in traditional parades, while retaining their symbolic value: the tassel on the tip symbolizes the tree of freedom while the blade hidden inside the tassel represents the decisive and uncompromising reaction of the Greek people in defense of freedom threatened (in battle the blade was also clearly a useful weapon for close combat). The Tsarouchia are also a symbol of the revolt of 1821, with the color red to symbolize blood and black to symbolize mourning.
Today Tsarouchia can be found in souvenir shops and in the form of pretty charms for bracelets and necklaces. They epithomise the Greek nation and its values, a tribute to the idea of freedom (even that of not always taking oneself too seriously) done with lightness and elegance.
Images: Stelios Petroulakis - exhibition "Evzones", greece-is.com, odosarkadia.gr, starfling.wordpress.com
