The earliest known reference to walking a red carpet in literature is in the play Agamemnon by Aeschylus, written in 458 BC. When the title character returns from Troy, he is greeted by his vengeful wife Clytemnestra who offers him a red path to walk upon:
Now my beloved, step down from your chariot, and let not your foot, my lord, touch the Earth. Servants, let there be spread before the house he never expected to see, where Justice leads him in, a crimson path.
Agamemnon, knowing that only gods walk on such luxury, responds with trepidation:
I am a mortal, a man; I cannot trample upon these tinted splendors without fear thrown in my path.
Oriental carpets in Renaissance painting often show rugs and carpets, patterned but with red often the main background colour, laid on the steps to a throne, or on a dais where rulers or sacred figures are placed.
A red carpet was rolled out to a river to welcome the arrival of United States president James Monroe in 1821.[1] In 1902, The New York Central Railroad used plush crimson carpets to direct people as they boarded their 20th Century Limited passenger train. This is believed to be the origin of the phrase "red-carpet treatment".[2] Film premieres are often laid down with red carpets.
It wasn’t until the 1920s that the red carpet and Hollywood became truly synonymous. The crimson-hued carpet was unfurled for the Hollywood premiere of Robin Hood, starring Douglas Fairbanks, in front of the Egyptian Theatre in 1922. And for the following decades, there were only few places where the public could catch a glimpse of charismatic stars like Clark Gable, Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly, and the red carpet was one of them.[3]
Then, in 1961, the red carpet was introduced at the Academy Awards at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. A few years later, the broadcasters of the ceremony opted to film outside the venue, showing the arrival of guests as they stepped out of their limousines. From this point in 1964, the red carpet became a globally acknowledged focal point for actors and actresses to make a grand entrance and showcase themselves at the Oscars.[4]