[lit-ideas] The naked Greeks
- From: Robert Paul <robert.paul@xxxxxxxx>
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 29 Mar 2006 11:35:58 -0800
Eric wrote:
As for Robert mentioning the Greeks wearing the same clothing at
meetings, that was to enforce equality, not as a sign of body shame.
Greek Olympic athletes often competed naked for the same reason,
equality: by not wearing colors that associated you with a family or
status, you were competing solely on the basis of your athletic merits.
I mentioned Greek uniformity of dress (I said nothing about 'meetings')
because you had given the nakedness of Greek youths in the gymnasia
(which means 'a place to be naked') as an example of the absence of
'body shame' in Ancient Greek culture, while at the same time using
uniformity and plainness of dress elsewhere as evidence of 'body shame.'
This struck me as inconsistent. There's no evidence I know of that the
lack of variation in everyday Greek dress was the result of anyone's
trying to 'enforce equality,' and if you have any, I'd be glad to see it.
Robert Paul
Reed College
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