The handshake has existed in one form or another for thousands of years, but its origins are somewhat obscure. A popular theory is that this gesture began as a way to convey peaceful intentions. By holding out their empty right hands, strangers could show that they were not holding weapons and had no ill will toward each other. Some even suggest that the up and down motion of the handshake was meant to dislodge knives or daggers that might be hidden in a sleeve. Another explanation is that the handshake was a symbol of good faith when making an oath or promise. By shaking hands, people showed that their words were a sacred bond.
“Agreement can be expressed quickly and clearly in words,” the historian Walter Burkert once explained, “but it is only made effective by a ritual gesture: open, unarmed hands extended toward each other. other, grabbing each other in a mutual handshake.”
One of the earliest depictions of a handshake is found in a 9th-century BC relief, which shows the Assyrian king Shalmaneser III pressing flesh with a Babylonian ruler to seal an alliance. The epic poet Homer described handshakes several times in his “Iliad” and “Odyssey,” most often in connection with promises and displays of trust. The gesture was also a recurring motif in the 4th and 5th centuries BC. Greek funerary art. Tombstones often depicted the deceased person shaking hands with a family member, signifying either a final farewell or the eternal bond between the living and the dead. In Ancient Rome, meanwhile, the handshake was often used as a symbol of friendship and loyalty. Pairs of clasped hands even appeared on Roman coins.
While the handshake had several meanings in the ancient world, its use as a daily greeting is a more recent phenomenon. Some historians believe it was popularized in the 17th century. Quakers, which considered a simple handshake a more egalitarian alternative to bowing or tipping a hat. Later, the greeting became commonplace, and by the 1800s, etiquette manuals often included guidelines on proper handshake technique. As is often suggested today, the Victorian the shake was supposed to be firm but not too strong. An 1877 guide advised its readers: “A gentleman who roughly shakes the hand offered to him in greeting, or shakes it too violently, should never have occasion to repeat his offense.” »
