Walking the red carpet was linked to murder in 458 B.C

CAIRO – 26 May 2022: The red carpet is linked today with VIPs, celebrities and film festivals. But those who joyfully walk on it now do not know that the first mention of the red carpet in history dates back to ancient Greece, and was associated with murder.

A reference to the red carpet was first found 2,500 years ago in a Greek epic attributed to Aeschylus and his story about Agamemnon, in 458 BC, according to the ancient-origins website.

Clytemnestra hesitates before killing the sleeping Agamemnon, by Pierre-Narcisse Guérin.

Red carpet for the premiere of Robin Hood at the Egyptian Theatre in California, 1922.

In the tale, Clytemnestra sought revenge on her husband Agamemnon, and waited for him on a red carpet. She did so for two reasons - because he was dating a new girlfriend, Cassandra, and because of Agamemnon's role in the death of their daughter, Iphigenia, a decade earlier.

All this while Agamemnon tried to be careful, but he walked the red carpet on the way to his palace, where he ended up being stabbed to death in his bathtub by Clytemnestra.