| | sex; 5) for apotropaic motives, to turn away the effects
We
shall see that one or more of these factors can
Additionally describe what nudity once meant for the Greeks-and how it changed.2
Though it will not function as a protection against the
weather (1), nakedness, like clothing or armor, was
used to distinguish social groups (2), in life and in art.
Clothes, in fact, differentiates human society, civilized
people, from animals and wild creatures, which are
Nude. Humans wear clothing, creatures do not. In a
clothed society, yet, nakedness is specific, and can
came to indicate a comparison between Greek and nonGreek, as well as between women and men. The latter
distinction is associated with the most basic connotation of nakedness, the sense of shame, exposure and
exposure it arouses in person (3), and the related sense
of shock induced by its sight. Garments was created to
Avert such strong emotions by covering the body, notably the male genitals, the phallus, and female genitals and breast.
People is pretty worldwide.3 There originally existed in
diazoma, as the Greeks generally called it. The attractiveness of
the naked body (4) has often been exalted. Its lusty and
aesthetic attractiveness, as Kenneth Clark has revealed, has
caused another word to be used: this aspect of nakedness is known as "nudity."4
In the ancient Near East Ishtar,5 and in the West
Nude. The attractiveness and strength of the naked man
body were also praised, and heroes, such as the Master of Animals, were symbolized naked, or wearing
culture the ideal of male nudity as the highest type of
Attractiveness. Greek art and athletics exalted the attractiveness of
the youthful male athlete, whose body supplied the
model for the hero or youthful god. The image of the
Naked young man, the kouros statue of early Greek art
(contrasting with the clothed female, the kore), embodied the arete or magnificence of an aristocratic youth, who
was kaloskagathos, "wonderful and noble."8
Due to the strong emotions of shame, shock,
lust, admiration, irreverence, commiseration, and disgust aroused
by the sight of the nude human body, the most frequent associations are with taboo, magic, and ritual
(5). When the sexual organ was uncovered, its power
was unleashed. Apotropaic and enchanting nudity, calling for the exposure of male genitals and female
breasts, and the exhibit of the enlarged male phallus have been used from early times, and testify to the
enduring power of this sophisticated picture. As read , it
can shield against the evil eye.
gaze, it can paralyze or protect.
Vulnerability of a woman's breast or genitals, for instance,
can signify weakness and powerlessness; but it can
Additionally function as strong magic.9 In art and in life,
belief in such magic powers is well attested in many
cultures throughout history, and has lived into our
own times.
as well as obscene gestures, still function as protection
against the evil eye in many parts of the world. When
Attire is normal, exhibitionist actions of nakedness normally
have a magical meaning. In the realm of magic, nudity
wards off a fascination or other harmful form of magic, compels love, and gives strength to one's own practice of
witchcraft and conjuring."1 Since, then, in a clothed
society nudity was special, grievous, dangerous, and
powerful,"1 complete nakedness was averted in regular life. https://s3.amazonaws.com/w-naturist/young-nudists-pics.html was saved for particular situations or particular
ritual services.
Language, too, sustained hints of this magic power
of nakedness. The word, like the fact, had to be
avoided, so that its magic power could be maintained. A
linguistic taboo thus caused the form of the word for
"naked" to transform, in all the Indoeuropean languages.
Though https://s3.amazonaws.com/w-naturist/nudism.html , nudus, nackt, etc. were all initially
related to each other-so linguists insure us-they
were all transformed in diverse and surprising ways,
so that their first likeness is nearly unrecognizable.12 For most parts of the body, there is what
Devoto called a "succinct" terminology:13 the words for
"heart," "eye," "foot," "knee," "nose," "tooth," "eyebrow" are basically the same in all the Indoeuropean
languages. Differences can be accounted for, even explained, by linguistic "rules." But words for "nude,"
In addition to the names of certain parts of the bodyfinger, tongue, hand, and hair-are different in the
different languages. How can this be clarified? Indoeuropeans clearly had fingers, tongues, hands, hair,
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