Naked, Plural, and Caricatured Bodies of Greek Athletes: Memory and Identity

Abstract

The study of Attic images of athletes highlights the predominance of representations characterized by balance and well-proportioned forms, creating the notion of a hegemonic and unique athletic body that was immortalized in the memory of the Hellenes. However, this notion does not hold if we observe the existence of a significant group of images presenting bodies far from this idealized model. There is a diversity of body representations on Attic vases — from extremely thin to fat — that cannot be ignored. In this text, we will analyze this diversity and defend the hypothesis that this variety was a caricature of athletes created by painters. We also assert that the diversity of representations of athletes' bodies in ceramics highlights the construction of identities and a more plural memory, overcoming the idealization of the discourse of the polis. The documentation for this study will be Attic images on ceramic supports from the classical period (5th and 4th centuries BC).