such nudity? The kouros appears to have been in some
way "archetypal";it was used in a varietyof circumstances.
or as a dedicationin a sanctuary.41 A kouros sometimes representedApollo (fig. 2),42 and was occasionally
dedicatedfor an athletic victory. Given the association often supposed, no doubt correctly,between the
nudity of the kouros figure and fit nudity, it is
somewhat surprising to note that no kouroi were
found at Olympia. Kouroi and korai were the "symbols and embodiment of Archaic Greece's aristocracy-its beautiful people"; they were the visible
Epic arete and kalokagathia.43 Although I think a
Link with athletic nudity existed, I consider it
was indirectrather than direct. The kouroi were not,
as has been pointed out, chiefly fit. https://s3.amazonaws.com/2-naturist/nude-on-beach.html were all in some way spiritual.
They were presents for the gods, or for the dead. In some
cases, as mentionedabove,they actually did represent
a god, Apollo (fig. 2). Brunilde Ridgway has sug-
NUDITY AS A COSTUME IN CLASSICALART
gested the broad, leather-backed belt some kouroi
wear may have been an attribute of Apollo, and of
divinity. Based on https://s3.amazonaws.com/2-naturist/group-sex-on-the-beach.html , nevertheless, it
represented a passing trend. Other attributes, such
fancy hairdos of various sorts may have entailed
another spiritual organization, for which the nudity of
the kouroi supplied a "costume": the initiations of
youths into manhood, and into their proper rank.44
In Greece, fullfledged initiations are known from
Inscriptions bear witness to herds of youths stripping off their clothing (ekdyomenoi), while the younger lads wore girlish
clothes. In Athens the institution of the ephebeia still
bears the marks of initiation motifs.45 The gymnopaidiai of Sparta, which took their name from the nudity
of the participants, were the best known initiation rituals in antiquity.46
The kouros sort fits the concept of the sacred quality of nudity: its nakedness symbolized a attribute of
initiation ritual. It referred to those spiritual dances
and rituals that called for the nominee's nakedness as
a particular costume or habit. Perhaps the elaborately
dressed pattern of the hair additionally represented part of a
Rite costume.
was to fight against Old Age, which conquers all mankind.49 As we have seen, a naked young man was
Consistently beautiful, even if dead; a naked old man was
Hideous, a thing of shame. In contrast to the large, erect
phallus of the magic, apotropaic figure, a lovely
young man was characterized by a little dick. For
Girls, also, whether they were represented nude or
small breasts were part of the ideal of youthful beauty.o50It was more than an obsession with male nudity:
Athenians were infatuated, constantly fascinated, by
the allure of youth. The truth is, if the nudity of the ephebe
became the "costume" of the citizen in Athens, it was
the 16-year old ephebe.
18, he stood for the most resplendent of physical
Attractiveness, on the brink of manhood, with only the blooming
of hair on his cheeks."'
This was the ephemeral moment of attractiveness Athenian artists wanted to capture in their statues of kouroi.
athletic nudity, additionally to be seen in the rite, religious
Circumstance of early Greek nudity, although, as in the case
of the Rampin Horseman, older men also appeared
Nude.
Age classes, which exist in primitive societies and
even among the primates, were well known in Classical Greece. The separation of sportsmen or soldiers according to age groups went back to early times, and
was found at Olympia from the seventh century on
at least. https://s3.amazonaws.com/2-naturist/nudism-porn.html of the athletes, which was so significant part of the custom of the contests held
every four years at the sanctuary, must have been a
part of the initiation rituals of youths, in the religious
context of the holy place.52
Greek and Roman writers pay a good deal of focus to the Greek custom of athletic nudity."3 Various
writers recorded the details of its origin. They agreed it
but differed about the date and the person in charge of this initiation.54 According to some, a specific
when he lost his perizoma on the way, ending the
race nude while the others still wore their loincloths.
Dionysius of Halicarnassus says it was Acanthus the
B.C.), who began the new custom. Thucydides also
credits the Lacedaemonians or Spartans with establishing
the example for a custom eventually universal among
such nudity? The kouros appears to have been in some
way "archetypal";it was used in a varietyof circumstances.
or as a dedicationin a sanctuary.41 A kouros sometimes representedApollo (fig. 2),42 and was occasionally
dedicatedfor an athletic victory. Given the association often supposed, no doubt correctly,between the
nudity of the kouros figure and fit nudity, it is
somewhat surprising to note that no kouroi were
found at Olympia. Kouroi and korai were the "symbols and embodiment of Archaic Greece's aristocracy-its beautiful people"; they were the visible
Epic arete and kalokagathia.43 Although I think a
Link with athletic nudity existed, I consider it
was indirectrather than direct. The kouroi were not,
as has been pointed out, chiefly fit. https://s3.amazonaws.com/2-naturist/nude-on-beach.html were all in some way spiritual.
They were presents for the gods, or for the dead. In some
cases, as mentionedabove,they actually did represent
a god, Apollo (fig. 2). Brunilde Ridgway has sug-
wear may have been an attribute of Apollo, and of
