Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | Herodotus Encyclopedia |
Editors | Christopher Baron |
Publisher | Wiley-Blackwell |
Pages | 957–958 |
Number of pages | 3 |
ISBN (Electronic) | 9781119113522 |
ISBN (Print) | 9781118689646 |
Publication status | Published - 30 Mar 2021 |
Abstract / Description of output
References to nakedness are sparse in Herodotean ethnography, despite his general interest in matters of sexuality and the treatment of women. Greek male athletic nudity is straightforwardly presented as a norm, albeit one that is shared by few non-Greek peoples, while female nakedness, taboo in most of the Greek world, is described as even more shameful for non-Greeks. In the tales of Gyges and Candaules’ wife (Book 1) and of Periander of Corinth (Book 5), a willingness to outrage propriety with regard to female nakedness is presented as indicative of the instability of tyrants and despots.