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→The foreskin in ancient times
|note=
}}</ref>
==Jewish men in Greek society==
[[Circumcised]] Jewish men encountered significant issues when they tried to blend into Greek society.
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" /> 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
|last=Hodges
|first=Frederick M.
|init=FM
|author-link=Frederick M. Hodges
|title=The Ideal Prepuce in Ancient Greece and Rome: Male Genital Aesthetics and Their Relation to Lipodermos, Circumcision, Foreskin Restoration, and the Kynodesme
|journal=Bulletin of the History of Medicine
|date=2001-09
|note=Fall 2001
|volume=75
|issue=3
|pages=375-405
|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/history/hodges2/
|quote=
|pubmedID=11568485
|pubmedCID=
|DOI=
|accessdate=2019-09-30
}}</ref>
The sight of [[circumcised]] genitals at public baths or gymnasia would inspire laughter and ridicule. Jewish men, who wished to gain acceptance in the larger social world and needed a full-length [[foreskin]] to cover their [[glans penis]], gave themselves a presentable appearance by pulling the remaining [[foreskin]] forward as far as possible, and keeping it under enough tension to encourage permanent [[stretching]] toward its original length. Using a fibular pin or a cord, they pierced the front of the remaining foreskin, drew it forward, and fixed it in place; sometimes they would attach a weight to maintain tension. Over time the foreskin stretched and restored at least some of the appearance of an [[intact]] organ.<ref>{{REFbook
|last=Glick
|first=Leonard B.
|init=LB
|author-link=Leonard B. Glick
|year=2005
|title=Marked in Your Flesh
|url=
|editor=
|edition=
|volume=
|chapter="This Is My Covenant", Circumcision in the World of Temple Judaism
|page=31
|location=New York, NY
|publisher={{UNI|Oxford University|Oxon}} Press
|isbn=0-19-517674-X
|quote=...some, eager for acceptance in the larger social world, gave themselves a presentable appearance by pulling the remaining foreskin forward...
|accessdate=2011-09-23
|note=
}}</ref> and [[epispasm]] was invented. Up until the 2th century, [[Jewish circumcision]] involved only partial foreskin removal. Rabbis of the 2th century responded to the practice of epispsam by mandating ''[[Periah| peri’ah]]'', or the complete ablation of the [[foreskin]] in order to prevent Jewish men from engaging in [[foreskin restoration]].<ref>{{REFbook
|last=Glick
|first=Leonard B.
|init=LB
|author-link=Leonard B. Glick
|year=2005
|title=Marked in Your Flesh
|url=
|editor=
|edition=
|volume=
|chapter="This Is My Covenant", Circumcision in the World of Temple Judaism
|page=31
|location=New York, NY
|publisher={{UNI|Oxford University|Oxon}} Press
|isbn=0-19-517674-X
|quote=For obvious reasons this was anathema to the rabbis: tantamount to rejection of Judaism and defiance of rabbinic authority.
|accessdate=2011-09-23
|note=
}}</ref>
{{SEEALSO}}
* [[Epispasm]]
{{REF}}