October 26, 1952
KOLLIAS AND WOMEN’S BREASTS: (From «An Athenian’s Notebook») These are part of the proposals made by the deputy Supreme Court prosecutor, Constantinos Kollias (Ed. note: later prime minister), regarding the recent appearance of naked women on the stage of the Acropole theater: «The exhibition of women’s naked bodies is an insult to public morality… according to the social conscience of the prevailing order which imposes, in all nations, a sensitivity to morality and modesty…» In another part of the proposal he said: «Covering parts of the human body is a social obligation, a law born of decency. Women were the first to feel that sense of modesty, the first to cover themselves, so as not to inflame men’s passions but also to make men’s urges more difficult to satisfy by introducing obstacles. Ever since, disrobing has been considered as contrary to modesty, social morality, dignity and civility. This still holds true today. Fortunately, morals have not been loosened to such a degree that people have rejected the constraints of morality and returned to the wild, natural state. The State takes measures to protect this public morality both within the theater and outside it. (…) Showing women’s breasts is not artistic expression. When done voluntarily, it is an immodest spectacle that disturbs morality. (…) Fortunately, Greek morals have not been degraded to the point where, in this land of beauty, it can be considered an art to serve the most bestial of human appetites.»
