Handshaking Is An Ancient Tradition – When, Where And Why Did We Start To Clasp Hands?

Conny Waters - AncientPages.com - We are so used to shaking hands with others that we hardly think about how, where, and why this custom was born.

In most countries, handshaking is done upon meeting, greeting, or parting. In modern times the purpose of handshaking is to convey trust, respect, balance, and equality, but this was certainly not how this ancient tradition began.

The history of handshaking is not entirely clear, and it's challenging to determine where this behavior emerged.

Archaeologists have discovered ancient texts, ruins, and artifacts that reveal handshaking was common among our ancestors. It seems the handshaking tradition goes as far back in time. There is a ninth-century B.C. relief of Assyrian King Shalmaneser III pressing the flesh with a Babylonian ruler to seal an alliance.

There is also a 5th-century B.C. funerary stele on display in the Pergamon Museum, Berlin, showing two soldiers who shake hands. Similar depictions of handshaking have been discovered in other funerary steles.

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