Anachronistie and Finch also sold violins in Ancient Greece.

Rhodapis?

Like the narration says, this part is inspired by a paragraph in a VERY old geography book by a geographer named Strabo, so it will NOT take long. It was written either VERY late BC, or VERY early AD.

It is arguably the earliest "Cinderella" story on record, for there are a LOT of stories with various shared "Cinderella" elements. What elements this one shares might already be obvious, what with the sandal being taken.

I'm bothering to include it for a few reasons, but mostly? I just really wanted to.

While looking up information on Rhodopis, I encountered more recent stories inspired by it that were made to be even more Cinderella-like. I don't recall them making clear that was the case, which made confirming information about Rhodopis EXTRA fun! Ha ha haaaa...

There WAS, however, actual mention of a maid, but I doubt she dressed like that.

Cinderella - Which Version

The specific version of Cinderella I'm going to be taking the most inspiration from is the one that introduced the fairy godmother, the pumpkin carriage, and the "glass" aspect of the slippers.

It's from 1697, French, and the original title was Cendrillon ou la petite pantoufle de verre, by Charles Perrault. Cendrillon was eventually anglicized to Cinderella in English versions.

The Brothers Grimm version, Aschenputtel, was from 1812 (with some revisions in 1819, because apparently, the 1812 version just wasn't dark enough). While my story isn't taking much inspiration from the Brothers Grimm version, there could be references here or there.