Greek society was not much more accepting of public nudity than modern societies are today, Paul Christesen said.
The Dartmouth College classics associate professor said this may come as a surprise because of the numerous depictions of nudes in Greek art and the ancient Greek practice of participating nude in sports competitions.
But in his lecture “Competition, Violence and Nudity: Sport in Ancient Greek Society,” Christesen explained why nudity in sports competition was the exception that proved the rule. The lecture was presented Monday by the History Honor Society and the Barksdale Lecture Series in collaboration with the Classics Club and the Honors College.
He said the practice of exercising and competing in the nude was one method of keeping working-class men, who because of democracy could not be excluded by law, from competing with upperclassmen. Instead of bullying the working-class men, the upper-class men chose to embarrass them.
The upperclassmen were able to devote more time to their private training in the gymnasiums, where they were free to be nude outside without fear of public display thanks to high enclosure walls. By being able to exercise nude in the sun, they were able to tan evenly, unlike the working-class men, who had what is commonly called farmer’s tans.
This uneven tanning was a point of deep embarrassment for the working-class men, who were referred to by the upperclassmen as “white-rumps.”
Alumnus Jim Perry said he enjoyed the topic.
“The premise was interesting and the evidence given was well supported,” he said. “It was interesting that even the Greeks thought farmer’s tans were funny.”
Christesen said before the earliest stages of democracy, the city-states of Greece were run by aristocratic families, and people not born into these bloodlines were excluded from politics completely.
History senior Karra O’Connell helped organize the event.
“I think it’s important for people to understand different aspects of history,” she said. “We do a wide range of talks because it’s good for students to have an extra intellectual stimulant.”
Before democracy was instituted, only about 5 percent of men were able to compete in sports. That number rose to between 35 and 40 percent when democracy was introduced. In the political and sports arenas, it became necessary for people to learn to deal with the changes.
“Societies need to find a balance between order, which is insisting that people obey the rules, and autonomy, allowing the people certain freedoms,” Christesen said.
He made the point that sports was and remains a solid means of helping people learn to obey the rules, function in groups, and deal with losing as well as winning. Christesen said all the schools that were cutting their sports programs might unknowingly be contributing to future societal problems.
“It was pertinent that he emphasized the budget cuts on sports right now and how they could effect our society on a greater scale than we think,” nursing senior Erin Santos said.
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