Kynodesme

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Picture of a classical Greek athlete wearing the Kynodesme.   Attributed to the Triptolemos painter, dating from about 480 B.C.E.
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Picture of a classical Greek athlete wearing the Kynodesme.
Attributed to the Triptolemos painter, dating from about 480 B.C.E.

A kynodesme ( κυνοδεσμη, literally a "dog leash"), was a thin leather strip worn by athletes in Ancient Greece to restrain the penis. It was tied tightly around the part of the foreskin that extended beyond the glans. The kynodesme could then either be attached to a waist band to expose the scrotum, or tied to the base of the penis so that the penis appeared to curl upwards. Although many athletes did do this, many did not.

[edit] External links

  • Experiments with the Kynodesme Accessed November 2006
  • Frederick M. Hodges The Ideal Prepuce in Ancient Greece and Rome: Male Genital Aesthetics and Their Relation to Lipodermos, Circumcision, Foreskin Restoration, and the Kynodesme , The Bulletin Of The History Of Medicine, Volume 75: Pages 375–405, Fall 2001.