Athens, Greece
Gyrometer: 15
Erotic art is an important part of many civilizations’ history, and Greece is no exception. One artifact at the National Museum here in Athens is a small statue of a man engaged in an act of heartfelt and sensual passion with somebody he loves very much – himself.
Okay, so quit your snickering. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this, in fact, if you give me about 27 beers, I might actually admit myself to having experimented with such activity myself one time when I was 14. But I didn’t inhale, okay, so spare me your morality lectures.
Anyway, we’re all adults here, unless you are not an adult, in which case stop reading this right now or you will go blind. The point is: displaying a statue of this nature helps us understand the thinking of ancient times in regard to sexuality and/or leisure activities. For anthological purposes, it is important to put things like this in museums. The tricky part is that the National Museum in Greece is excellently laid out, with helpful descriptions in both Greek and English of what you are looking at. Somebody had to write and translate a description of what this statue is doing to himself.
If I had that job, I would probably write something like, “Duh! What does it look like he’s doing?!” But the Greeks are more refined than me, and wrote the following English translation of this man in his moment of largeness:
“Figure of a robust man with direct gaze and manly bearing at a moment of action.”
Yes, the Greeks handle these delicate matters sensitively, but apparently the rest of the world is a bunch of perverts. Photography is allowed in most Greek museums; however, standing next to a statue and having your picture taken is prohibited. This is because tourists have been seen... ummm... how can I put this? Tourists have been doing naughty things to naked statues, which has led the Greek government to outlaw posing beside them.
Erm... Greece is a nation of perverts.
Posted by: Andigarimisou | Monday, March 06, 2006 at 06:55 AM