Sexual life in ancient Greece : with thirty-two full-page plates

THE HuMAN FIGURE

The question arises, why the Greeks, who yet had such understanding of boyish beauty, did not contrive some more advantageous dress for their young ones, since they continually had the opportunity to see boys and young men in the most beautiful dress, in the nakedness of paradise. Yet the boys were inthebaths and palaestrae, the gymnasia and wrestling-schools, for three-quarters of the day and were consequently seen naked, indeed quite naked, that is, without the hideous swimmingdrawers, of which we will speak later.

The clothing of the men consisted essentially of the chiton, the woollen or linen under-garment (shirt) and the himation thrown over it. This may be described as a large four-cornered piece of cloth which was thrown over the left shoulder and, held firmly with the arm, was then drawn away on the back towards the right side over or under the right arm, and then again thrown over the left shoulder or the left arm. From the more or less clever way in which a man put on this article of clothing one was able to recognize the general culture of the wearer. ‘The mild climate often enough permitted him to dispense with the himation, and to go out in the simple chiton. Conversely, many dispensed with the chiton and went out only wearing the himation, as Socrates nearly always did (Xenophon, Memor., i, 6, 2); so did Agesilaus (Aelian, Var. ust., vil, 13), the excellent king of Sparta, who even in severe cold weather and when he was old found the chiton superfluous; and Gelon (Diod. Sic., x1, 26), the ruler of Syracuse, and many others. It is also specially told of Phocion (Duris in Plutarch, Phocion, 4), that he “ always went along without shoes and without a chiton, unless the weather was bitterly cold, so that the soldiers used to say jokingly that it was a sign of intense cold when Phocion wore the chiton”. The word gymnos, usually meaning “naked”, was also applied to those who went without the chiton. The himation generally reached