Changes

Key features of Hellenistic culture were athletic exercises in gymnasia and athletic performances in public arenas, where men appeared in the nude. While the [[penis]] sheathed in an [[intact]] foreskin was normal and acceptable, ancient Greeks and their Hellenistic successors considered the [[circumcised]] penis to be offensive, as it was perceived as a vulgar imitation of [[erection]], unfit for public display.<ref name="kennedy2015">{{REFjournal |last=Kennedy |first= |init=A |author-link=Amanda Kennedy |etal=no |title=Masculinity and Embodiment in the Practice of Foreskin Restoration |trans-title= |language= |journal=International Journal of Men's Health |location= |date=2015 |season=Spring |volume=14 |issue=1 |article= |page= |pages=38-54 |url=https://www.arclaw.org/wp-content/uploads/Kennedy-Embodiment-and-Restoration-IJMH-2015.pdf |archived= |quote= |pubmedID= |pubmedCID= |DOI=10.3149/jmh.1401.38 |format=PDF |accessdate=2024-12-28}}</ref> The ancient Greeks and their Hellenistic successors considered the "ideal prepuce" to be long, tapered, and "well-proportioned." Removing it was considered [[mutilation]]. Men with a short [[foreskin]], a condition known as ''lypodermos'', would wear a leather cord called a ''kynodesme'' to prevent its accidental exposure.<ref>{{REFjournal