Nudity in Sport

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. In ancient Sparta, the Gymnopaedia was a yearly celebration during which naked youths displayed their athletic and martial skills through the medium of dancing. The famous Discobolus of Myron. In antiquity even before the Classical era, e.g. on Minoan Crete, athletic exercise played an important part in daily life. In fact, the Greeks credited several mythological figures with athletic accomplishments, and even male gods (especially Apollo and Herakles, patrons of sport) were commonly depicted as athletes. Nudity in sport however was not common. It was first introduced in the city-state of Sparta, during the late archaic period. The custom of exercising naked was closely associated with pedagogic pederasty and with the practice of anointing the body with olive oil to accentuate its beauty and erotic appeal. Unlike other Greeks, Spartans also sometimes went naked casually, such as in the public city area. They were also the only city-state where women and girls also competed in the nude; the other states banned females both as participants and as spectators from any sporting event where male nudity was visible.

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High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! In ancient Sparta, the Gymnopaedia was a yearly celebration during which naked youths displayed their athletic and martial skills through the medium of dancing. The famous Discobolus of Myron. In antiquity even before the Classical era, e.g. on Minoan Crete, athletic exercise played an important part in daily life. In fact, the Greeks credited several mythological figures with athletic accomplishments, and even male gods (especially Apollo and Herakles, patrons of sport) were commonly depicted as athletes. Nudity in sport however was not common. It was first introduced in the city-state of Sparta, during the late archaic period. The custom of exercising naked was closely associated with pedagogic pederasty and with the practice of anointing the body with olive oil to accentuate its beauty and erotic appeal. Unlike other Greeks, Spartans also sometimes went naked casually, such as in the public city area. They were also the only city-state where women and girls also competed in the nude; the other states banned females both as participants and as spectators from any sporting event where male nudity was visible.