By Gary Mussell, Moorpark, California
For most of human history, nudity was a natural and normal part of life. People were nude when the environment and conditions favored it. The true foundations of nude recreation and social nudism started in Ancient Egypt under Pharaoh Akhen-Aton (1385 – 1353 B.C.). It was during these times that students in Greece exercised and received their education in the nude. Also, most athletes played in the nude including in the early Olympic Games in Greece. It is this proof that might lead one to assume that the Greeks and Romans lived in a clothing-optional society.
Before the Judeo-Christian-Moslem concept of body shame, most of the tropical and temperate world was one big nudist camp. Greeks and Romans wore clothing when necessary or for certain social functions, but bathing and sports were openly enjoyed while naked. As exhibited by their sculpture and ceramics, the Greeks revered youth and physical fitness. To them, the body was truly a work of divinity to be admired in its entirety. Read more