them. (They didn't, as in the event of "lion," for example, have to adopt the name for the item from another

language.) There must have been some other motive at
work to account for the lack of a consistent routine
in these words. Such a rationale can be found in the
Strong connotations of particular parts of the body,
and of nakedness. These were such that the word was
Averted, and a euphemism, or a distortion replaced.
The Greek word albotia, "black matters," for sexual
organs, like the Latin word pudenda, shows that male
nudity was not consistently taken.14
The class of nudity as magic is closely related to
Several kinds of nudity we shall be discussing. Religious nudity covers a vast area of significance. Divine
nudity qualifies gods and goddesses. The divine

nudity of the goddesses Astarte, Ishtar (consistently
shown in frontal nudity), Aphrodite, Venus, and
others signifies fertility, fecundity, and power." Ritual nudity means nudity as a unique style of dressing for initiation rituals for boys and girls, for sacred

grafia della madre nell'arte dell'Italia antica,"

Hookers serving at the temple, for a priest sacrificing before his god.16 Clearly dress and undress, nakedness and nudity, are related in meaning and circumstance.
The Old Testament includes a famed report of
the origin of clothing that shows some of the fundamental
ancient connotations of nakedness and clothing. Based on Genesis (6.7), Adam and Eve devised a
garment to hide the sex organs of http://nudistwmv.com and girls-the Greek Septuagint called it a perizoma. They did
this to keep from being ashamed of-and/or shocked
by-their nakedness after they'd eaten of the Tree
of Knowledge in the Garden of Eden: "Then the eyes
of both were opened, and they discovered that they
were naked; so they sewed together fig leaves and
made themselves loincloths." (In the Vulgate: Et aperti sunt oculi amborum: cumque cognovissent se esse
nudos, consuerunt folia ficus, et fecerunt sibi perizomata ... .)17 Whatever the meaning (or meanings) of
nakedness in this passage, the intention behind the perizoma
was definitely to avoid appearing naked before each
other, as male and female, and before God. It wasn't
for protection; for only later (Gen. 3.21) did God
give them fur coats to protect them from the cold.
Just as clothes could serve different functions, so
nakedness and nudity could have distinct meanings.
This appears to be revealed by the story of Ishtar, the goddess who in art usually appeared in frontal nudity,
in the full pride of her beauty and power. In the narrative
of Ishtar's descent into the Underworld, she is increasingly stripped of her jewels and ornaments as she
enters each of the seven gates. At the last, the gatekeeper removes her "breechcloth," and the goddess of


fertility seems fully nude, deprived of her divinity and dignity.'" Even she can be stripped and
shamed. (The Akkadian phrase for the loincloth is
"robe of shame," sometimes euphemistically rendered
as "robe of grandeur.")19 There was obviously all the
difference in the world, to historical eyes, between a gloriously, divinely naked figure wearing jewelry, a
crown, a loincloth, even a belt, and one not wearing
anything. Being "stark naked" meant poverty, as well
as shame.
In the Old Testament nakedness constantly signifies
poverty, shame, slavery, humiliation. In the ancient
Near East and elsewhere it's a sign of defeat-nude,
Bind prisoners were paraded in the king's success
Party, and are hence signified on innumerable
monuments.20 The slain enemy, frequently stripped of
clothes or armour, lies naked. As in a dream of nervousness,
nakedness exposes you to fear and shame. But the
Greeks were to turn the concept near and to see the
Attractiveness and pride of the male human body, without
cover or adornment.


NUDITY AS A COSTUME IN CLASSICAL ART

dented deviation from a norm accepted in http://nudist-young.com/nudist-beach.html and tribe. "Once, even in the Olympic
games, sportsmen competed with a diazoma, or perizoma. Quite a few other customs reveal that the Greeks
once lived like the barbarians of today." Many other
passages could be cited to demonstrate that the Greeks considered the custom of nudity indicated a split with
their own earlier tradition.
What led to this change? Explanations have for the
most part referred to the Classical period, and emphasized one or another aspect of this custom: the arty
nudity of the kouros, the monumental statue of a
standing youth, or the real-life nudity of the sportsman.
I want to attempt to follow the source and growth of this kind of important phenomenon. Of the many
questions involved, several must for the moment remain unanswered; this is a work in progress. The provisional nature of some of my suggestions will, I expect,
stimulate others to treat this important topic. In attempting to sort out the various chronological levels of
Greek nudity and their significance, I have attempted
to do what I did for the Roman triumph,21 finding,
along the way, how differently Greek and Roman

Posted January 3, 2017 23:01