Swimming Through The Ages

It may be quite surprising to find out that the history of swimming goes back thousands of years

. The cave of swimmers that can be found in the south-western part of Egypt feature cave-paintings of what are believed to be people swimming, while a clay seal, also from ancient Egypt, depicts a group of swimmers who appear to be doing front crawl. Swimming and bathing in ancient Roman and Greek societies were popular pastimes Plato supposedly said that anyone who could not swim lacked a proper education. Though the ancient Greeks enjoyed swimming, it was not a part of the ancient Olympic Games. Swimming in these times was generally done in the nude, a tradition that was continued for centuries until the early modern period.

There were conflicting ideas about swimming and bathing in the Middle Ages. Some people feared that water could bring disease; they thought that water could transport diseases into the body through the pores and tried to stay away from prolonged bathing. However, swimming was also considered one of the seven agilities of the knights; they were also expected to be able to swim in armour. It is likely that attitudes towards water and hygiene were affected by outbreaks of disease and illness, such as the Black Death. The traditions of the Greeks and Romans were continued with many people bathing in the nude or in their underclothes.

The 18th and 19th centuries brought with them a proliferation of spas and seaside resorts and as a result swimming had something of a revival in popularity. With the popularity also came an increase in modesty and changes in the idea of what was considered decent. In the 18th century long bathing dresses were popular and some ladies sewed weights into the hems of their dresses to prevent them from floating up and exposing their legs. The Victorian era stayed very similar in terms of modesty but moved away from long dresses and more towards two piece swimwear that consisted of long sleeved shirts and long bloomers.

Men in the mid to late 19th century tended to wear all in one swimsuits that covered their arms and legs. Strong ideas about public decency meant that the use of bathing machines in the 19th century was common place. The idea was that people could change from their day-to-day attire into their swimwear in complete privacy the machine would then be wheeled into the water where the user could go down the steps easily into the water. Men and women were also segregated and not allowed to bathe together, let alone see each other in their swimwear.

Towards the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century conceptions of modesty did begin to change and with it the size and coverage of swimwear. This was a very slow process as even in 1907 the underwater ballerina Annette Kellerman was arrested for indecent exposure. Her swimsuit scandalously showed off her arms, legs and neck. It wasnt until the 1930s that swimwear for men began to involve chest-baring. One of the first swimsuits to do so was the Topper in 1932 that featured a detachable top part. Although men did embrace this change and choose to go topless, society was not quite ready for it and a number of men were arrested for indecent exposure. Eventually, however, the idea caught on.

By the 1940s things had changed substantially the bikini was introduced in 1946 (a two piece bathing suit that reveals everything about a girl except her mothers maiden name!) and smaller brief style swimwear was more popular with men than the longer boxer-style swimming shorts. The swim briefs that most closely resembled modern male swimwear were given their debut by Speedo at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. Since the mid-20th century swimwear has stayed, in essence, mostly the same although the size of female swimwear has had a tendency to shrink over the decades! Men generally still tend to choose between either the brief-style swimwear that has become known by the name of its most famous manufacturer (Speedos) or longer swimming trunks.

by: Izzy Evans

POST COMMENT

Techniques For Finding The Main One Object Bikini Swimming Costumes Using This Type Of The Summer Mo The Right Way To Find Commonly Normally The One Element Swimsuit Diet Swimming Costumes Exclusively Tips On How To Receive Generally One Aspect Swimming Wear Weight Losing Bathing Suits Just By That T Do You Know Techniques For Finding Swimming Brazilian Bikinis? Swimming Pool Paint Explained Swimming Pool Contractors: - Want To Know How To Find Good Swimming Pool Contractors? Explore Your Swimming Experience By Installing Most Promising Pool Methods To Opt For The Suitable Swimming Wear Towards Females? Picking Out Beautiful Bikinis Swimming Wear With Regards To Summertime? Beat The Heat In Cool Swimming Pool Through Finest Pool Constructors The Best Way To Opt For Elegant Bikinis Swimming Wear About Summer Season? The Way Sizzling Bikinis Swimming Wear Concerning The Summer Season? Choosing Go Swimming Put On For The Ladies Along With Infant Protrusions?