Silon has tentatively been identified as a cobbler, but we do not know the reasons that led him to dedicate this votive stele on the Acropolis. An inscription found built in an Ottoman bastion near the temple of Athena Nike refers to a shrine of Blaute and Ge Kourotrophos (Earth Nursing Mother). Other ancient writers refer to Blaute as an Athenian hero or a place in Athens. Modern scholars identify Blaute with Aphrodite. To make matters even more confusing, blaute was the name of a type of sandal. Ancient Greeks considered sandals as functional items of clothing but also used them as decorative elements and symbols of mobility, transition, and transformation.