Being Left-Handed Was A Sign Of Evil Until Only Recently

Question: Why did ancient people considered left-handed to be evil?

Answer: All of the early great civilizations of the world, from the ancient Mesopotamians to the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans have been strongly biased towards the right hand. The right hand of the gods was considered to be healing and beneficent, while their left hand was used for curses or inflicting injury. In almost all of these cultures, the right hand was used for ceremonies and for eating, and the right-hand side was always the favored position

In drawings, the Ancient Egyptians depict all the good armies as being right-handed, while their enemies are left-handed.

Plato and Aristotle, almost always associated the right with good and the left with evil and criminality. The great philosopher Plato was convinced that the limbs are naturally of equal strength and ability, and that any handedness is culturally imparted. In fact, he went so far as to blame left-handedness on inept mothers and nurses who failed to adequately school their children in the correct way of doing things. Aristotle, on the other hand, believed that a person’s handedness was natural and inherited.

See also: Baffling Depictions Of Pharaohs And Gods With Two Left Or Two Right Hands

Ancient Romans shared similar beliefs about left-handed. According to some, wearing a wedding ring on the third finger of the left hand originated with the Romans, the idea being to fend off evil associated with the left-hand. The modern practice of shaking right hands in greeting dates back to the Roman custom of touching right hands to demonstrate the absence of hidden weapons.

Little is known of the practices and attitudes towards handedness during the Middle Ages.

Despite the limited reforms of the Age of Reason and the Age of Enlightenment, the 18th and 19th centuries were particularly hard on left-handers, and discrimination against them became engrained and institutionalized. Even in the relatively free societies of North America and Western Europe, deliberate and sometimes brutal attempts to suppress left-handedness and impose conformity in the education system were endemic during this time, including such practices as tying a child’s left hand behind his chair or corporal punishment for anyone caught writing with the left hand.

Until only recently left-handed children were forced to learn to use their right hands in school.

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Right Left Right Wrong