# Women's Reactions To Male Greek Statues? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 26, 2002, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/womens-reactions-to-male-greek-statues/125676 "2002-08-26T20:05:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2002, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/womens-reactions-to-male-greek-statues/125676/1 "2002-08-26T20:05:56Z")
Do y’all find them erotic? The penises are mostly flaccid but, I must admit the guys are muscular. I still find the fact that they have no pupils in their eyeballs spooky, though. The female statues don’t do anything for me, but in another historical period and genre a **Boticelli** painting really turns me on. 😉 This might be better in MPSIMS, but since it calls for opinions, I placed it here. Thanks Q ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2002, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/womens-reactions-to-male-greek-statues/125676/2 "2002-08-26T20:42:50Z")
Oh, for sheer erotic sizzle, give me a [de Kooning](http://www.moma.org/docs/collection/drawings/c53.htm) any time. His female portraits have all the power and raw sexuality of…ummm…Chester Gould’s “Mrs. Pruneface.” ---
**Author:** ![CMC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8baadc/32.png) [@CMC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CMC)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2002, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/womens-reactions-to-male-greek-statues/125676/3 "2002-08-26T21:44:18Z")
Greek sculptures erotic? I have not ever even thought about it. But perhaps that’s because I was first introduced to them in art school… That was pretty funny about de Kooning’s Women series though. ---
**Author:** ![CMC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8baadc/32.png) [@CMC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CMC)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2002, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/womens-reactions-to-male-greek-statues/125676/4 "2002-08-26T22:43:21Z")
I forgot, there is one sculpture I find erotic. Bernini’s St Theresa in Ecstasy. ---
**Author:** ![Venoma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/c4cdca/32.png) [@Venoma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Venoma)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2002, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/womens-reactions-to-male-greek-statues/125676/5 "2002-08-26T23:00:47Z")
Greek statues make Venoma go drool. That is all. ---
**Author:** ![odd-socks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/c67d28/32.png) [@odd-socks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/odd-socks)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2002, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/womens-reactions-to-male-greek-statues/125676/6 "2002-08-26T23:45:58Z")
> [@](#): > > “Do y’all find them erotic?..” nope > [@](#): > > …“I still find the fact that they have no pupils in their eyeballs spooky, though…” heh, exactly. Could someone please explain why they are sculpted in such a way? ---
**Author:** ![Batsinma\_Belfry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@Batsinma\_Belfry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Batsinma_Belfry)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2002, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/womens-reactions-to-male-greek-statues/125676/7 "2002-08-27T00:26:39Z")
The sexiest thing about Greek male statues is the fact that most of 'em have rather small _parts_, yet they don’t have issues about it. They stand there in all their naked glory, saying “This is the way I was made, take it or leave it”. One thing I’ve always been curious about though, why are the balls always square shaped? Is it easier to sculpt that way? Did guys back then have square testicles? ---
**Author:** ![Venoma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/c4cdca/32.png) [@Venoma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Venoma)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2002, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/womens-reactions-to-male-greek-statues/125676/8 "2002-08-27T00:32:30Z")
Maybe Mediterranean men have oddly shaped balls compared with what we westerners are used to? Input needed! ---
**Author:** ![Witch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/258eb7/32.png) [@Witch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Witch)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2002, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/womens-reactions-to-male-greek-statues/125676/9 "2002-08-27T01:10:42Z")
**carodin** , I think I recall reading somwhere that back in the day when the sculptures were created they did have pupils but over time they, uh, fell out. I agree they are kind of creepy looking. ---
**Author:** ![everton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2002, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/womens-reactions-to-male-greek-statues/125676/10 "2002-08-27T01:16:37Z")
**carodin** : At least some of the statues had their eyes painted, so they wouldn’t have looked so weird when they were new. Occasionally you can even find statues with inlaid irises/pupils. Of course, by the Renaissance it was more common to chisel holes in the eyes to give the appearance of pupils. **hillbilly queen** : [This thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=126255) in Café Society asked the same question about penis size. I stand by my suggestion there that it was because the statues were supposed to depict the perfect (i.e. intellectual) human, not the animal human and a smaller penis meant that the subject had more going on _upstairs_ than _downstairs_. Nobody seemed to pay much attention to my post though :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2002, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/womens-reactions-to-male-greek-statues/125676/11 "2002-08-27T01:18:56Z")
Re: the “blank” eyeballs in Classical Statuary – well, waaayy back, the statues were _painted_ in the appropriate coloration. So the irises/pupils would be painted in. ---
**Author:** ![Witch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/258eb7/32.png) [@Witch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Witch)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2002, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/womens-reactions-to-male-greek-statues/125676/12 "2002-08-27T01:27:39Z")
Yeah, thats what I meant :smack: ---
**Author:** ![monica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a183cd/32.png) [@monica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monica)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2002, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/womens-reactions-to-male-greek-statues/125676/13 "2002-08-27T03:19:15Z")
I went to Greece this summer, and while there, had a chance to see many Greek statues. I came to the conclusion: Greek guys are HOT! Unfortuneately, I had no chance to hang out with any flesh-and-blood live Greeks, because my parents were there… Actually, what I find so sexy about the Greek guys in the statues is not so much their genitals (All guys have 'em, and the ones in the statues aren’t particularly special), but the rest of their bodies. They are chiseled to perfection, with just the right amount of muscle and proportions. If only one could come to life and take me into his arms… But seriously, I find the statues of the regular guys much sexier than those of the Satyrs (VERY “well-endowed” creatures with a goat/human appearance). Their sheer size is so ridiculously exaggerated that, far from turning me on, they actually turn me off. And the tourist shops with the Satyr statues with the genitals bobbing around (think like the toys here with the bobbing heads) are just plain tasteless. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2002, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/womens-reactions-to-male-greek-statues/125676/14 "2002-08-27T14:03:16Z")
The fact that the statues are nekkid men doesn’t impress me. The beauty and artistry of the work does, tho. I’m in awe of an artist who can take a cold, rough hunk of stone and transform it into a fluid, amazingly realistic human form. I react the same way to paintings. I suppose it’s because I’m not artistic at all - I do appreciate the talent, skill, and effort that go into these creations. And even if they were live guys, I don’t find bits to be erotic. But if you make me laugh, I’m all a’flutter! Well, OK, a nice, tight butt will get me a little fluttery, but I’m not as much taken with physical beauty as intellect, kindness, and humor. ---
**Author:** ![rjk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@rjk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjk)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2002, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/womens-reactions-to-male-greek-statues/125676/15 "2002-08-27T20:05:19Z")
Note to **monica** : Check out a book called _Night Life of the Gods_ by Thorne Smith, the same guy who wrote _Topper_. It’s pretty dated (copyright 1931) and far from politically correct, but funny and IMHO sort of sad at the same time. There’s a bibliography of his stuff [here](http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/authors/Thorne_Smith.htm). ---
**Author:** ![odd-socks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/c67d28/32.png) [@odd-socks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/odd-socks)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2002, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/womens-reactions-to-male-greek-statues/125676/16 "2002-08-28T01:24:14Z")
**Witch** - heh, I knew what you meant. Image made me smile though, so thanks 😉 Thanks to **JRDelirious** and to **everton** who also answered my question. **Everton,** - I think you made an interesting point about the focus of intellectualism. ~thanks guys