Editing Cinderella (section)

===European===

The oldest known oral version of the Cinderella story is the ancient Greek story of [[Rhodopis]],<ref name="Green 2011, chapter '''The Land of Egypt'''"/><ref>{{cite book|last=Hansen|first=William|title=The Book of Greek & Roman Folktales, Legends & Myths|date=2017|publisher=Princeton University Press|location=Princeton, New Jersey|isbn=978-0-691-17015-2|pages=86–87}}</ref> a [[Greeks in Egypt|Greek]] [[hetaira|courtesan]] living in the [[Colonies in antiquity|colony]] of [[Naucratis]] in [[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]], whose name means "Rosy-Cheeks". The story is first recorded by the [[Ancient Greece|Greek]] geographer [[Strabo]] in his ''[[Geographica (Strabo)|Geographica]]'' (book 17, 33): "They [the Egyptians] tell the fabulous story that, when she was bathing, an eagle snatched one of her sandals from her maid and carried it to [[Memphis, Egypt|Memphis]]; and while the king was administering justice in the open air, the eagle, when it arrived above his head, flung the sandal into his lap; and the king, stirred both by the beautiful shape of the sandal and by the strangeness of the occurrence, sent men in all directions into the country in quest of the woman who wore the sandal; and when she was found in the city of Naucratis, she was brought up to Memphis, and became the wife of the king."<ref>Strabo, [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Strabo/17A3*.html#ref178 ''The Geography''], book 17, 33</ref>

The same story is also later reported by the Roman orator [[Claudius Aelianus|Aelian]] ({{circa|175}} – {{circa|235}}) in his ''Miscellaneous History'', which was written entirely in Greek. Aelian's story closely resembles the story told by Strabo, but adds that the name of the pharaoh in question was Psammetichus.{{efn|There were three pharaohs called [[Psammetichus (disambiguation)|Psammetichus]], and it's unclear which one Aelian had in mind.}}<ref name="penelope.uchicago.edu">Aelian, [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/aelian/varhist13.xhtml#b28 ''Various History''], book 13, chapter 33</ref> Aelian's account indicates that the story of Rhodopis remained popular throughout [[classical antiquity|antiquity]].

[[Herodotus]], some five centuries before Strabo, records a popular legend about a possibly related [[courtesan]] named [[Rhodopis (hetaera)|Rhodopis]] in his ''[[Histories (Herodotus)|Histories]]'',<ref name=Anderson2000/>{{rp|27}} claiming that she came from [[Thrace]], was the slave of Iadmon of [[Samos]] and a fellow-slave of the story-teller [[Aesop]], was taken to Egypt in the time of [[Pharaoh]] [[Amasis II|Amasis]], and freed there for a large sum by Charaxus of [[Mytilene]], brother of [[Sappho]] the lyric poet.<ref name=Anderson2000/>{{rp|27–28}}<ref name="Herodot">Herodot, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hdt.+2.134&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0126 "The Histories"], book 2, chapters 134–135</ref>

The resemblance of the shoe-testing of Rhodopis with Cinderella's slipper has already been noted in the 19th century, by [[Edgar Taylor (author)|Edgar Taylor]]<ref>Grimm, Jacob & Grimm, Wilhelm; Taylor, Edgar; Cruikshank, George (illustrator). ''Grimm's Goblins: Grimm's Household Stories''. London: R. Meek & Co.. 1877. p. 294.</ref> and Reverend [[Sabine Baring-Gould]].<ref>Baring-Gould, Sabine. ''A Book of Fairy Tales''. [2d ed.] London: Methuen. 1895. pp. 237–238.</ref>

====Aspasia of Phocaea====
{{main|Aspasia of Phocaea}}
A second predecessor for the Cinderella character, hailing from late [[Ancient history|Antiquity]], may be [[Aspasia of Phocaea]]. Her story is told in [[Claudius Aelianus|Aelian]]'s ''Varia Storia'': lost her mother in early childhood and raised by her father, Aspasia, despite living in poverty, has dreamt of meeting a noble man. As she dozes off, the girl has a vision of a dove transforming into a woman, who instructs her on how to remove a physical imperfection and restore her own beauty. In another episode, she and other courtesans are made to attend a feast hosted by [[Persian people|Persian]] regent [[Cyrus the Younger]]. During the banquet, the Persian King sets his sights on Aspasia herself and ignores the other women.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ben-Amos |first1=Dan |title=Straparola: The Revolution That Was Not |journal=The Journal of American Folklore |date=2010 |volume=123 |issue=490 |pages=426–446 |doi=10.5406/jamerfolk.123.490.0426 |jstor=10.5406/jamerfolk.123.490.0426 }}</ref><ref>Anderson, Graham. ''Fairytale in the Ancient World''. Routledge. 2000. pp. 29–33. {{ISBN|0-203-18007-0}}</ref>

====''Le Fresne''====
[[File:Marie de France 1.tif|thumb|upright=1|Illustration of [[Marie de France]], the author of {{lang|fr|Le Fresne}}, from a medieval [[illuminated manuscript]]]]
The twelfth-century {{lang|fr|[[Lai (poetic form)|lai]]}} of {{lang|fr|[[Le Fresne (lai)|Le Fresne]]}} ("The Ash-Tree Girl"), retold by [[Marie de France]], is a variant of the "Cinderella" story<ref name=Anderson2000/>{{rp|41}} in which a wealthy noblewoman abandons her infant daughter at the base of an [[ash tree]] outside a nunnery with a ring and [[brocade]] as tokens of her identity<ref name=Anderson2000/>{{rp|41}} because she is one of twin sisters<ref name=Anderson2000/>{{rp|41}}—the mother fears that she will be accused of infidelity<ref name=Anderson2000/>{{rp|41}} (according to popular belief, twins were evidence of two different fathers).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/manykids.html|title=Multiple Births in Legend and Folklore|website=University of Pittsburgh|access-date=15 January 2018}}</ref> The infant is discovered by the porter, who names her {{lang|fr|Fresne}}, meaning "Ash Tree",<ref name=Anderson2000/>{{rp|41}} and she is raised by the nuns.<ref name=Anderson2000/>{{rp|41}} After she has attained maturity, a young nobleman sees her and becomes her lover.<ref name=Anderson2000/>{{rp|41}} The nobleman, however, is forced to marry a woman of noble birth.<ref name=Anderson2000/>{{rp|41}} Fresne accepts that she will never marry her beloved<ref name=Anderson2000/>{{rp|41}} but waits in the wedding chamber as a handmaiden.<ref name=Anderson2000/>{{rp|41}} She covers the bed with her own brocade<ref name=Anderson2000/>{{rp|41}} but, unknown to her, her beloved's bride is actually her twin sister,<ref name=Anderson2000/>{{rp|41}} and her mother recognizes the brocade as the same one she had given to the daughter she had abandoned so many years before.<ref name=Anderson2000/>{{rp|41}} Fresne's true parentage is revealed<ref name=Anderson2000/>{{rp|41}} and, as a result of her noble birth, she is allowed to marry her beloved,<ref name=Anderson2000/>{{rp|41}} while her twin sister is married to a different nobleman.<ref name=Anderson2000/>{{rp|41}}

===={{lang|mt|italic=no|Ċiklemfusa}} from Malta====
The Maltese Cinderella is named {{lang|mt|italic=no|Ċiklemfusa}}. She is portrayed as an orphaned child in her early childhood. Before his death, her father gave her three magical objects: a chestnut, a nut and an almond. She used to work as a servant in the King's palace. Nobody ever took notice of the poor girl. One day she heard of a big ball and with the help of a magical spell turned herself into a beautiful princess. The prince fell in love with her and gave her a ring. On the following night the Prince gave her a diamond and on the third night he gave her a ring with a large gem on it. By the end of the ball {{lang|mt|italic=no|Ċiklemfusa}} would run away hiding herself in the cellars of the Palace. She knew that the Prince was very sad about her disappearance so one day she made some krustini (typical Maltese biscuits) for him and hid the three gifts in each of them. When the Prince ate the biscuits he found the gifts he had given to the mysterious Princess and soon realized the huge mistake he had made of ignoring {{lang|mt|italic=no|Ċiklemfusa}} because of her poor looks. They soon made marriage arrangements and she became his wife.<ref>{{cite %20Rakkont.pdf|title=Ċiklemfusa|website=Rakkonti|access-date=23 May 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i34ZwXDNn1E| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211029/i34ZwXDNn1E| archive-date=2021-10-29|title=Ċiklemfusa|language=mt|website=Filmat mill-Aġenzija tal-Litteriżmu| date=February 2019|access-date=23 May 2020}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/bitstream/123456789/44340/1/Book_review_The_Maltese_Cindirella_and_the_Women%E2%80%99s_Storytelling_Tradition_2019.pdf|title= Book Review: The Maltese Cinderella and the Women's Storytelling Tradition (Veronica Veen)|journal=The Gozo Observer|number=39|date=2019|first=Anton F.|last=Attard}}</ref>