Speedos and Naked Gods

The ancient Greeks were not bashful when it came to their artwork. From frescos, to painted pottery, to sculptures, you will see it all when it comes to the human anatomy. I can't even count the amount of nude human figures I have seen throughout the various museums that I've visited since being here, but I would imagine it's definitely in the hundreds. Seeing so many statues of nudity may puzzle modern westerners, who may come to the conclusion that the ancient Greeks were obsessed with penises. Well, I can't say whether that is true or not, but I think there was a much more plausible reason for why the Greeks felt it necesarry to depict most of their gods and athletes in the nude.

The ancient Greeks seemed to simply have a respect for the human body in its natural form. Why wouldn't they make nude artwork? It's the most natural human form that there is, the core of the human body, not covered by a shield of linens, unashamed of the physical form, it is the truth. In a way it is noble. The Greek sculptors recognized how beautiful and complex the human body was, and therefore had to capture it in all of its unaltered glory in their sculptures. Unlike in modern American thought, where old Puritan teachings make us feel ashamed of our bodies, make us think that they should be hidden from the world, the Greeks had no shame for the human figure.

Which brings me to speedos.

I should start by saying that speedos are vastly more common here in Europe than they are in the states. I mean, if you go to an area where there is swimming I'm sure that you will see at least a few speedos. It's not frowned upon here. Even the old, the out of shape, and sometimes both, wear speedos on public beaches without shame. This is certainly a different story for the United States, where most situations involving a speedo in public would be considered comical or even frowned upon.

The mindset is different here, and it makes me wonder if there is not some type of connection, vague or not, between such revealing bathing suits and a lack of bodily shame that was present in the ancient Greek world. It ranges from topless women on beaches (which are slightly less common than speedos, but still not uncommon) to old men in speedos, but the message is still the same. The people here don't care whether people see most of their bodies or not, because why should they? Who cares? They're our bodies, they are beautiful in their own way regardless of their shape, and despite the American idea that revealing so much of yourself in public is disgusting, there is not really much concern for that here. Really, why should there be?

Having considered all of this, I made my way to the beach....in my speedo.

Any looks of surprise that I got were justified. I assume they just confused me for a living breathing Greek god.