Ancient Greece is that natural home of the body beautiful with people, even today, wishing they had a six-pack like that of Adonis. Greeks, the founders of the Olympic Games, were obsessed with athleticism and combined it with nakedness. The root of the word “gymnasium” comes from “gymnos” that means “naked” . Nakedness, in Greece, was not seen as shame but as heroic, as can be seen in the legacy left behind by ancient Greek statues.

Poseidon stands at the National Archaeological Museum of Athens.

Nudes at the Acropolis Museum.

Hermes and the infant Dionysos at the Archaeological Museum of Olympia.

Twin Kouros statues at the Museum of Ancient Corinth.

The Venus de Milo, the epitome of beauty, stands in naked glory at the Louvre Museum.

The Ilissos river god at the British Museum.