Attitudes towards nudity in the ancient world

[NovaKart]

I'm curious about attitudes towards nudity in the ancient world, more specifically the ancient Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, and people of the Near East. A lot of the art was nude but that doesn't necessarily mean people went around nude in their daily life. How common and socially acceptable was nudity and in what contexts?

 

[innonimatu]

I'm curious about attitudes towards nudity in the ancient world, more specifically the ancient Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, and people of the Near East. A lot of the art was nude but that doesn't necessarily mean people went around nude in their daily life. How common and socially acceptable was nudity and in what contexts?

I'm guessing that at least partial nudity must have been very common wherever the climate allowed it, because clothing was, until the industrial revolution, a big expense in any individual's budget.

 

[Lord Baal]

Nudity was extremely common in Athens, at least amongst the men. It was considered barbaric and uncivilised to wear clothing unnecessarily. Athens wasn't alone in this, though it was probably the most famous example. I don't know about Rome, but nudity was very common among children in Egypt, and adults tended to wear only the minimal amount of clothing.

 

[Tee Kay]

A lot of the art was nude but that doesn't necessarily mean people went around nude in their daily life.

It at least suggests a degree of acceptability of nudity.

 

[Dachs]

Yeah, the fact that all statues of warriors in classical Greece were nude doesn't mean that anybody was actually fighting in the nude. It's only in the Hellenistic era that we start to get some variety going (first female nudes, first mold-breaking as far as activities for nudes; also, clothed soldiers) and that definitely doesn't have anything to do with the degree of acceptability for nudity, it just means that the kind of statuary that was being commissioned was changing. Instead of temples buying votive offering statues and cities putting up statues for civic and athletic virtue and success, people were actually buying statues of things that they wanted to see in statues. (Novel!) In general, statuary isn't a very good representation of daily life; hell, look at Napoleon or George Washington, both of whom were sculpted in the nude and neither of whom would ever be seen outside of his chambers unclothed.

As far as daily activity goes, I honestly can't think of anything other than athletic activity (for certain men) that would be done in the nude in classical Greece or Rome by anybody other than those few who were too poor to have clothes, and even the Romans tended to engage in most exercise while clothed.

 

[NovaKart]

Napoleon and George Washington were sculpted in the nude? Were the clothes added later or are there nude statues of them in some museum?

 

[Cynovolans]

In Old Kingdom Egypt male workers and fishermen were depicted doing their jobs nude, but by the Middle Kingdom everyone except fishermen were able to find clothes. Female dancers and "sacred prostitutes"(who were not really prostitutes) wore really revealing clothes.

 

[Dachs]

Napoleon and George Washington were sculpted in the nude? Were the clothes added later or are there nude statues of them in some museum?

I misremembered the nude Washington; he's only topless and robed like a classical deity or Caesar:

Napoleon's still totally in the buff though

 

[Atticus]

I remember reading that during the late republic/ early principate some people complaining about (fairly) transparent clothes of women.

 

[NovaKart]

That's pretty hot, those statues weren't based on their actual bodies were they?

 

[Dachs]

Of course not.

 

[innonimatu]

Funny how all 19th century nude statures seemed to sprout fig leafs!

 

[Joecoolyo]

That's pretty hot, those statues weren't based on their actual bodies were they?

IIRC Napoleon was kinda pudgy in his later years.

 

[Ajidica]

IIRC Napoleon was kinda pudgy in his later years.

I thought he had some sort of infection that made him look like he needed to stop visiting the pastry store.

 

[NedimNapoleon]

George Washington looks like a Roman Emperor in that semi-nude.

 

[Dachs]

George Washington looks like a Roman Emperor in that semi-nude.

That was the idea.

It's in the National Museum of American History on the second floor if you're ever in DC and wanna take a look. Great for a laugh. Horatio Greenough: what a jokester

 

[LightSpectra]

That statue of Napoleon was actually in the Duke of Wellington's residence, which makes you wonder if there was some kind of sexual tension between the two.

 

[Atticus]

My my, at Waterloo Napoleon did surrender...

For long time I haven't been able to get rid of the thought that Abba's Waterloo tells about Napoleon's and Wellington's elaborate romancing. Guess Napoleon was playing hard to get.

Waterloo - promise to love you for ever more

The statues of antiquity were often made with propaganda purpose too. Or perhaps with artistic intentions, because skinny people weren't interesting enough. For example that one very famous Augustus statue is quite a contrast to how his appearance is usually described.

 

[Plotinus]

I remember reading that during the late republic/ early principate some people complaining about (fairly) transparent clothes of women.

The Rule of the Andanian Mysteries (91 BC) doesn't approve of transparent dresses - or much else. Of course this was for ritual wear - whether this means that transparent dresses were acceptable at other times or not, I don't know.

4. Regarding clothing. The men who are initiated into the mysteries are to stand barefoot and wear white clothing, and the women are to wear clothes that are not transparent, with stripes on their robes not more than half a finger wide. The independent women are to wear a linen tunic and a robe worth not more than one hundred drachmai, the daughters an Egyptian or linen tunic and a robe worth not more than a mina, and the female slaves an Egyptian or linen tunic and a robe worth not more than fifty drachmai. The sacred women: the ladies are to wear an Egyptian tunic or an undergarment without decoration and a robe worth not more than two minas, and the [daughters] an Egyptian tunic or a robe worth not more than one hundred drachmai. In the procession the ladies among the sacred women are to wear an undergarment and a woman's wool robe, with stripes not more than half a finger wide, and the daughters an Egyptian tunic and a robe that is not transparent. None of the women are to wear gold, or rouge, or white makeup, or a hair band, or braided hair, or shoes made of anything but felt or leather from sacrificial victims. The sacred women are to have curved wicker seats and on them white pillows or a round cushion, without decoration or purple design. The women who must be dressed in the manner of the gods are to wear the clothing that the sacred men specify. But if anyone somehow has clothing contrary to the rule, or anything else of what is prohibited, the supervisor of the women is not to allow it, but the supervisor is to have the authority to inflict punishment, and it is to be devoted to the gods.

 

[NovaKart]

I found this from http://www.religioustolerance.org/nu_bibl.htm

It has some interesting passages from the Bible that relate to nudity as a social practice. I didn't copy all of the verses because some of them didn't relate to social practices as much. Judging from these it seems like the Bible takes a positive attitude towards nudity but there were also some negative passages about nudity and I didn't copy those because they didn't seem as relevant to the discussion but for a fuller look if you're interested it might be a good idea to check out the site. Some of these might be due to translation errors as well.

Some are just a bit bizarre, like prophesizing in the nude and that Isaiah pretty much lived as a nudity for awhile and that St Francis and Brother Rufino preached nude in a church.

These are from the Old Testament

1 Samuel 19:20-24: Saul had sent a group of messengers to capture David. The "Spirit of God" descended on the messengers, and they started to prophesize. Saul sent a second group of messengers, with the same result. Finally Saul went himself and the Spirit descended upon him as well. Verse 24 states: "And he stripped off his clothes also, and prophesied before Samuel in like manner, and lay down naked all that day and all that night...." (KJV). The nudity of Saul and his messengers while prophesizing is the first of many similar instances in the Bible.
2 Samuel 6:14: "And David danced before the LORD with all his might; and David was girded with a linen ephod." (KJV) David engaged in some kind of whirling dance to the accompaniment of music and ritual shouting. An ephod was a type of simple apron that covered his genitals. David was nearly naked. Presumably his genitals would have been exposed as he danced.
2 Samuel 11:2: "...David...went for a stroll on the roof of the palace. As he looked out over the city, he noticed a woman of unusual beauty taking her evening bath." (NIV) David and Bathsheba, wife of Uriah, later engaged in an adulterous affair. Bathsheba became pregnant, David sent her husband into a hopeless military situation so that Uriah was killed. This passage appears to reflect the building design in Palestine at the time. The populace generally had no access to indoor bathtubs, and commonly bathed in public in the river. In Bathsheba's case, she was probably bathing in her courtyard out of sight of passersby, but visible from the roof of the palace. Her nudity was mentioned in passing without comment. That would seem to imply that to be naked in the view of others, or to observe a person naked, are not sinful acts. David was later punished by God, not for gazing on a naked woman, but for committing adultery with her and for being indirectly responsible for arranging the death of her husband.
Isaiah 20:2: "The Lord told Isaiah, the son of Amoz, to take off his clothing, including his shoes, and to walk around naked and barefoot" (NIV) Isaiah's nudity, which was to continue for three years, was symbolic of the Assyrians conquering Egypt and Ethiopia, when they carted their prisoners away naked and barefoot. Isaiah was clearly acting as a naturist, but not necessarily of his own choosing. And God used his nudity to teach others. Many centuries later, St., Francis of Assisi followed Isaiah's behavior. He removed his clothes in the center of the village. He and Brother Rufino later preached nude in church. 1,2

These are all from the New Testament

Matthew 5:28: "...I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart." (NIV) Some would believe that more lustful thoughts might be experienced at a nudist facility than at a textile resort. However, it can equally be argued that the suggestive nature of many modern bathing suits arouse greater feelings of sexual lust at a textile beach or clothed resort than in a naturist location. So, the passage could be used to support or criticize naturism.
Mark 10:46-50: "... blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging...And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus." (KJV) It is unclear why he wished to come to Jesus naked. But his actions were not condemned.
Mark 14:51-52: "And there followed him a certain young man, having a linen cloth cast about his naked body; and the young men laid hold on him: And he left the linen cloth, and fled from them naked." (KJV) This verse is a bit of a puzzle. Some theologians speculate that the young man had just been baptized naked and had afterwards put on a white linen sheet. In the early years of the Christian movement, believers and the person doing the baptizing were both nude.
John 13:4-5: Jesus "... riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself. After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded." This is a passage from the last supper. After finishing eating, Jesus removed all of his clothes, wrapped himself in a towel and later used the towel to wash the feet of his disciples.
John 20:5-7: Two disciples visited the tomb where Jesus was interred. They found strips of linen and the burial cloth that had been around Jesus' head. Presumably, when Jesus was resurrected by God (according to Paul) or resurrected himself (according to the Gospel writers), he was without clothing. See also Luke 24:12.
John 21:7: "...And so when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put his outer garment on (for he was stripped for work); and threw himself into the sea.". (NIV) Once again, as in Genesis 3:7, the NIV translators seem to recoil from a vision of nudity; the idea of Peter working as a fisherman in the nude appears too much for them to handle. They chose an obscure term to describe the garment that Peter put on. The resultant passage is ambiguous whether he put the outer garment on over an inner garment, or over his previously naked body. The King James Version translates this verse quite clearly: "...he girt his fisher's coat onto him, (for he was naked)..." The New Revised Standard Version renders this passage: "...he put on some clothes for he was naked." This passage describes how Peter had stripped naked to work on the fishing boat, and later put on a garment and dove into the sea. Public nudity while fishing was apparently a common practice among fishermen on the Sea of Galilee, and Peter was no exception. Since Peter's nakedness was stated without comment, one could conclude that public nudity was/is acceptable behavior.