Open main menu
Home
Random
Recent changes
Special pages
Community portal
Preferences
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Incubator escapee wiki
Search
User menu
Talk
Dark mode
Contributions
Create account
Log in
Editing
Handshake
(section)
Warning:
You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you
log in
or
create an account
, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
Anti-spam check. Do
not
fill this in!
==History== [[File:Shalmaneser III greets Marduk-zakir-shumi, detail, front panel, Throne Dais of Shalmaneser III at the Iraq Museum.jpg|thumb|Assyrian king [[Shalmaneser III]] (right) shakes the hand of Babylonian king [[Marduk-zakir-shumi I]] (left), 9th century BCE]] The handshake may have originated in [[prehistory]] as a demonstration of peaceful intent, since it shows that the hand holds no weapon.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.history.com/news/what-is-the-origin-of-the-handshake |title=The History of the Handshake |website=History.com |date=16 March 2020 }}</ref>{{Better source needed|date=May 2024}} Another possibility is that it originated as a symbolic gesture of mutual commitment to an oath or promise: two hands clasping each other represents the sealing of a bond. One of the earliest known depictions of a handshake is an ancient Assyrian relief of the 9th century BC depicting the Assyrian king [[Shalmaneser III]] clasping the hand of the Babylonian king [[Marduk-zakir-shumi I]] to seal an alliance.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Andrews|first=Evan|title=The History of the Handshake|url=https://www.history.com/news/what-is-the-origin-of-the-handshake|access-date=18 July 2020|website=HISTORY|language=en}}</ref>[[File:ACMA 1333 Samian decree 2.JPG|thumb|[[Hera]] and [[Athena]] handshaking, late 5th century BC, [[Acropolis Museum]], Athens]] Archaeological ruins and ancient texts show that handshaking was practiced in [[ancient Greece]] (where it was called [[dexiosis]]) as early as the 5th century BC. For example, a depiction of two soldiers joining hands can be found on part of a 5th-century BC funerary [[stele]] that is on display in Berlin's [[Pergamon Museum]] (stele SK1708)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://plus.google.com/photos/+ChrisThomasmiltoncontact/albums/5375908723525279169/5375911583917789890?pid=5375911583917789890&oid=107595387761034666575 |title = Handshake β Priest and two soldiers, 500BC. Pergamon Museum Berlin (SK1708) |work = [[Picasa Web Albums]] |first = Chris |last = Thomas |access-date = 4 September 2011 |date = 27 August 2009 }}</ref> and on other funerary steles, such as one from the 4th century BC that depicts Thraseas and his wife Euandria shaking hands.<ref>{{Cite book |last = Busterson |first = Philip A. |title = Social Rituals of the British }}</ref> [[File:Nerva Aureus Concordia.png|thumb|Handshake depicted on a Roman coin, with the name of the goddess [[Concordia (mythology)|Concordia]] (AD 97)]] Depictions of handshakes also appear in [[Archaic Greek]], [[Etruscan civilization|Etruscan]] and Roman funerary and non-funerary art.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Davies |first=Glenys |title=The Significance of the Handshake Motif in Classical Funerary Art |journal=American Journal of Archaeology |year=1985 |volume=89 |issue=4 |pages=627β640 |doi=10.2307/504204 |jstor=504204 |s2cid=191645710 }}</ref> Muslim scholars have written that the custom of handshaking was introduced to them by the people of Yemen.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=28KCOnhdJHsC&pg=RA1-PT256|title=Riyad-us-Saliheen|last=IslamKotob|publisher=IslamKotob|language=en}}</ref>
Edit summary
(Briefly describe your changes)
By publishing changes, you agree to the
Terms of Use
, and you irrevocably agree to release your contribution under the
CC BY-SA 4.0 License
and the
GFDL
. You agree that a hyperlink or URL is sufficient attribution under the Creative Commons license.
Cancel
Editing help
(opens in new window)