Ancient Roman Mosaic Reveals: Women Wore Bikinis Thousands Of Years Ago
Many believe that the bikini is a 20th-century invention. In 1946, it was independently conceived by two French designers. Jacques Heim, the proprietor of a clothing store in Cannes, pioneered this swimsuit, which he dubbed "sealed" to highlight its minuscule size, comparable to the dimensions of an atom, the tiniest unit of a chemical element.
Simultaneously, automobile engineer Louis Riel, employed by his mother's lingerie firm in Paris, designed a similar swimsuit, even smaller and more revealing. His inspiration for this minimalist design came from observing women at Saint-Tropez beaches rolling up the edges of their swimsuits to catch more sun.
Riel christened his creation "bikini," inspired by the ongoing nuclear weapons tests on Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean during that era. He claimed that his invention possessed "atomic" allure and thus named it "bikini" after the island.
However, an ancient mosaic discovered in the Roman villa at Casale, Sicily, dating back to the early fourth century, offers an astonishing revelation. Amidst the archaeological ruins, one of the most extensive collections of ancient Roman mosaics was remarkably preserved.
This is Not the First BikiniIn the artwork known as "The Winner's Crowning," depicted in a floor mosaic in the "Ten Maidens" room within the villa, several women are portrayed in scanty attire. Eight of them wear a two-piece bikini, akin to the modern version, while one woman dons a sheer yellow dress, and only one figure has not survived the ravages of time.
The lower part of this attire appears as a terracotta-colored fabric or leather strap, resembling men's loincloths. The upper part resembles a contemporary strapless design, echoing the chest harnesses of ancient Greece, primarily constructed from linen. These garments catered to active women who engaged in physical activities.
Bikini: Not for swimming, for sportsHence, it can be inferred that in antiquity, the bikini served not for swimming but for sports activities, which is precisely what the women depicted in the mosaic are engaged in.
Some are running, others are throwing a discus or holding weights, and two women are seen playing a ball game, potentially an early form of volleyball. Ball games have a longstanding history, with mentions found in Homer's Odyssey.
One woman at the center of the mosaic holds a palm branch in one hand, poised to crown herself with a victory wreath, likely a reward for exceptional performance. All these women exhibit athleticism, displaying well-defined muscle contours in their arms and legs.
In the realm of sports, women in ancient Rome were permitted to participate in physical activities, albeit within certain patriarchal constraints. They were not allowed to compete with men, and public female nudity was discouraged. Therefore, a precursor to the modern bikini facilitated comfortable participation in sports.
Other archaeological findingsThis mosaic is not the sole evidence of this garment's ancient origins.
In 1998, British archaeologists unearthed a bikini bottom or something akin to a leather thong, more suitable for modern swimwear when fastened with delicate strings. This intriguing relic is now on display at the London Museum.
How the bikini became popularAlthough we have established that the modern world did not invent the bikini, it is essential to consider how it gained widespread popularity. The pivotal moment is generally dated to July 5, 1946, when, partly due to post-World War II material rationing, French engineer Louis Réard introduced the modern bikini, modeled after Micheline Bernardini.
Furthermore, owing to the historical context of the era, Réard christened his design "Bikini Atoll," named after the location where the first post-war atomic bomb tests occurred. The term was highly publicized at the time and, frankly, had an appealing ring to it.
While famous actresses such as Brigitte Bardot and Ava Gardner donned bikinis in the 1950s, it was Swiss actress Ursula Andress's iconic appearance in the James Bond classic "Dr. No" as she emerged from the Caribbean that propelled the bikini into mainstream beachwear.
Men Think About The Roman Empire Every Day, But The Female Version Of That Trend Is Sadder Than We Realized
For what feels like ages now, people online have been talking about the strange phenomenon of men constantly thinking about the Roman Empire — an amusingly strange shared fixation that you can't help but chuckle at.
But what is the female version of the Roman Empire trend? Women online have some ideas, and it's anything but amusing.
The trend of men revealing their shared fixation on the Roman Empire has exploded in recent weeks, so much so that even newspapers like as The Washington Post have run articles about it. It's such a strange little glimpse into the male brain that the story has become irresistible for its hilarious weirdness.
Some of the theories for the female equivalent that have cropped up have been funny too — women have suggested everything from the Titanic disaster to the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire to the Regency Era popularized in books like "Pride and Prejudice" as candidates for the female counterpart.
But none of those have seemed to strike the same consensus among women that the Roman Empire has with men. What has, on the other hand, is near-constant thoughts about potentially being victims of violence.
When a TikToker asked female friends how often they think about being kidnapped or assaulted, many said 'every day.'TikToker Dal Araùjo decided to poll her female friends after seeing another TikToker suggest kidnapping is the female version of the Roman Empire trend. Much like the male trend, she simply asked her friends, apropos of nothing, how often they think about getting kidnapped. The answers were disturbingly revealing.
"Maybe like 3-4 times a week," one woman responded. "Multiple times a day, basically whenever I'm out in public, or going anywhere alone," another answered. One woman said she thinks about the possibility of being kidnapped pretty much any time someone in public seems suspicious. Another said, "any time I'm alone."
That's a pretty staggering thing to think about — every time you're alone you think about the possibility of being the victim of a violent crime? For most men (this writer included), it's difficult to imagine going through the world this way, with a constant awareness that you could end up in danger at any moment.
But, of course, the statistics about violence against women don't really lie. According to the U.S. Department of State, there are an estimated 27.6 million human trafficking victims in the world at any given time, and 70% of them are women or girls.
And that's before we even talk about terrifying situations like the staggering rates of missing and murdered Indigenous women, the majority of cases of which go unsolved, and the rates at which women are sexually assaulted or harassed.
Many women online also said the female version of the Roman Empire trend is constantly thinking about being murdered.While kidnapping and assault topped the list of many women's fixations, fears of being murdered seemed to be a close second.
A TikTok creator's video (@sophisticatedspreads) went viral after they asked women to name the "random thing" they all think about, and several women said they think about being killed on a regular basis.
One woman wrote that it "literally crosses my mind 10 times a day." Another wrote of thinking, "oh no, this is my time" any time she hears a noise in the house or sees a suspicious person in public. "That's not random," another woman on TikTok wrote. "We HAVE to think about those things."
Related Stories From YourTango:And several commented to say that the men in their lives just don't get it. "My husband was shocked when I said I think about that basically everyday," one wrote. "My husband doesn't get why this is a constant thing I think about," another added.
Here again, though, the fears are far from unfounded. Domestic violence incidents frequently turn deadly for women — while more men than women are murdered each year both worldwide and in the U.S., women are vastly more likely to be murdered by a family member or intimate partner, according the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics.
One 2018 study found that of all female murders in the U.S. That year, 92% were committed by a man they knew personally and 63% by a current or former romantic partner.
Is it any wonder then that such things are constantly on women's minds? There's a reason so many women are drawn to "true crime" TV shows and podcasts, after all.
If anything, looking at those statistics makes not feeling suspicious of men seem like the more unreasonable response. That's something that should give all of us, but especially men, a moment of pause.
John Sundholm is a news and entertainment writer who covers pop culture, social justice and human interest topics.
Women Respond To Viral TikTok Prompt Asking About 'female Version' Of Male Roman Empire Obsession
After the discovery that men think about the Roman Empire on an almost daily basis, women are taking over TikTok to figure out what their equivalent of the viral obsession is.
Many women were shocked to hear that the men in their lives think about the Roman Empire either daily or multiple times per week, prompting one TikToker to ask "what is the female version of the Roman Empire?"
Los Angeles-based professional charcuterie artist Emmy Rener took to TikTok to ask her viewers that exact question as she said: "What is something random that we all think about on a very regular basis that is female specific?"
Since being posted on 14 September, the video has been viewed over 600,000 times, with women either leaving comments or stitching the TikTok and sharing their own videos to answer Rener's question.
One answer that appeared in multiple comments and stitches was that women often think about the possibility of being victims of violence. Danyelle Leyden, a TikToker who regularly shares content about her life and family, said being kidnapped was top of her mind in a response video. "Definitely being kidnapped, or just in general somebody's gonna get me," Leyden said.
In an interview withInsider, the TikToker said she thinks responding to the question with a more dark response highlights the societal differences between men and women. "It speaks volumes for society that women are so cautious and have to feel on guard most of their lives," Leyden told the outlet. "I think unfortunately most women have had past experiences that led them to be this cautious.
"For me it also puts into further perspective that as women we feel like prey subconsciously," she added.
"Genuinely think about being kidnapped every day," one person commented on Rener's TikTok. Another viewer agreed, writing, "Being abducted while out for a walk and how we will escape."
Other answers that came up often in the comments section of Rener's TikTok were: the Salem witch trials, Princess Diana, and Greek mythology.
"I firmly believe that there are four," user @gertiethehippo said in a TikTok response to Rener's question. "The six wives of Henry VIII, the Titanic, obviously, not the movie but the Titanic, the Romanovs, and, of course, Greek mythology."
The question has also circulated on Twitter, formerly known as X, where one individual suggested the female version of the Roman Empire is "Tom Holland's performance on Lip Sync Battle," while others suggested it was Taylor Swift.
For some people, the answer to Rener's question was pretty simple. Carly Maris, a postdoctoral fellow at San Diego State University whose research interests include Rome, Persia, and Egypt, responded to the trend on TikTok, saying that for her "personally, the female version of the Roman Empire is the Roman Empire".
"Ladies, when they would do a good job at something they would get little leaf hats, they wore special dresses, their favourite colour was purple," she added.
The Roman Empire trend originally started on Instagram when Gaius Flavius, a Roman reenactor based in Sweden, shared an Instagram video to his 100,000 followers with an on-screen caption that read, "Ladies, many of you do not realise how often men think about the Roman Empire."
His caption continued: "Ask your husband/boyfriend/father/brother – you will be surprised by their answers."
Flavius's post has been viewed more than 1.7 million times since being posted on 19 August. More than 1,000 people commented on the post, with many proving Flavius's theory right.
