Wearing Shoes from a Folklore Perspective

Abstract

 The research objectives are to analyze 1) why the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates did not wear shoes all his life and 2) why the kings of many countries cannot walk with bare feet. The reason why Socrates did not wear shoes all his life was revealed by the results: ancient beliefs dictated that the gods were all so radiant and hot that if mere mortals saw them, they would be burned to ashes. Therefore, every time the Gods descend to earth, they must disguise themselves as different types of beings. Wearing shoes can prevent them from touching the ground directly, which became a symbol of the Gods and a means of classification between the nobility and the ordinary people. Shaivism's belief that the monarch is a God and not a human being causes the inability of monarchs in many countries to walk barefoot. It has given rise to the customs and traditions of the Thai, Burmese, Cambodian, and Vietnamese royal courts, such as maintaining the purity of the palaces and those in the royal residences of the kings, forbidding the familiar people to look at or touch the kings, preventing all parts of the monarch's body from touching or falling to the ground, and including the conventional regulation that the king must wear shoes while traveling to various places to prevent conflagration.