Recently updated on December 20th, 2022 at 02:26 am
Les Phryges.
The Phryges have been chosen by the organising Commitees of the Paris Olympic games to be the official mascots of Paris 2004.
The Phryges (pronounced free-jees) have been approved by children and represent the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The Phrygian cap (Pronounced FRI-JEE-UHN) or le bonnet Phrygien” as one of the symbols of the French Republic, is often red and sometimes sports a blue-white-red cockade.
The bonnet is one of the attributes of Marianne, a symbolic figure of the French Republic whose bust holds a place of honor in the town halls and official buildings of France.
The bonnet’s origins have traditionally been considered to be ancient Anatolian , specifically Phrygia , hence its name.
The Phrygian cap derives its symbolism of freedom from its resemblance to the pileus, a hat worn by the freed slaves of the Roman Empire, representing their liberation.
This bonnet was taken up in France in early 1790 as a symbol of freedom and civic -mindedness. It became known as the “bonnet de la liberté.”
Le bonnet phrygien became a symbol of the French Revolution. From autumn 1793 to July 1794, a period known as La Terreur (The terror)it was worn in many administrative communities in the country.
It is also worn by the Patriotes led by Louis-Joseph Papineau of the 1837-1839 lower Canada rebellion, and appears on several flags and coats of arms of Latin American countries.