Gods, Myths, and Heroes - Part 87

Cincinnatus

The city of Cincinnati is named after the Roman hero Cincinnatus, a military leader and statesman who lived c. 519 BC - 430 BC.  Above is a statue of Cincinnatus in Cincinnati.

Cincinnatus became a hero to the Romans because of his honorable and selfless behavior.  Those were the days of the Roman Republic, before the Roman Empire, when Rome was a small city-state.  In 458 BC, Rome was being attacked by a neighbor, the Aequi.  The city leaders found Cincinnatus plowing the soil of his farm, as shown in the statue.

The city leaders made him Dictator, which gave him total control over Rome.  In those days the title Dictator did not have the negative connotations that it has now, but it did give him power over everything in Rome.

Above, a statue of Cincinnatus by Lysippe, c. 320 BC, now in the palace of Versailles.

Cincinnatus took control of the small Roman army and in 15 days he defeated the Aequi.  Then he gave up his dictatorship.

Above, a statue of Cincinnatus by French sculptor Denis Foyatier, 1834, in the Tuileries Gardens in Paris.

Cincinnatus was given a second dictatorship in 439 BC to deal with a wealthy Roman who was trying to buy the loyalty of the poor and make himself king.  After 21 days, the wealthy man was killed while resisting arrest, and since the threat was gone, Cincinnatus again resigned his dictatorship.

Cincinnatus became a hero to the Romans for his honorable behavior.  Granted supreme power twice, he held onto it for not a day longer than necessary.

Above, an indoor copy of the Foyatier statue of Cincinnatus that has escaped the weathering of the outdoor copy.

George Washington was called the American Cincinnatus because he gave up his command of the army after the American Revolution and did not try to make himself king.  Above, George Washington as Cincinnatus by Horatio Greenough, 1832, shows Washington in Roman robes that he never would have worn in real life.

If all of this makes you think of an American politician who, having no ethics or honor, is the anti-Cincinnatus, constantly trying to increase his power, you are not alone.

World Naked Bike Ride - Part 96

 Brighton 2010

The fifth annual World Naked Bike Ride in Brighton, England took place on June 13, 2010.  After negotiations with police, full nudity was permitted at the event.  Riders gathered at The Level, a park in Brighton.

Above we see a fine specimen, but what's special about him?

He's Superman!

He chats with another rider.  WNBR rules do not require you to be naked; it's "as bare as you dare."

The ride begins.

They ride down a seaside avenue.

And the ride ends at Brighton's naturist beach.

Estonian Photos - Part 53

Estonian Photos

We continue our series of photos from the Tartu Ülikooli museum of anthropology in Estonia.

I am presenting the photos in reverse chronological order; that is, each new post has photos earlier in the sequence.  The later photos show a front view, rear view, and side view of two men.  At this earlier point in the sequence, the photos show a front view and a side view of a single man.

For those who haven't seen my previous posts in this series, a few words of explanation.  The museum provides no information about the men, other than the photos came from the Institute of Anatomy at the University of Tartu.  In particular, it does not say who these men are, or when or why the photos were taken.  However, the photos are labeled "Füüsilise antropoloogia pildistus" (physical anthropology photography).

Who are these men?  My best guess is that they are military recruits.  The very short haircuts suggest that these photos were taken during or shortly after the enlistment process.

When were the photos taken?  My best guess is between World War I and World War II, when Estonia was an independent country with its own military.  Before WWI, Estonia was part of the Russian Empire, and after WWII, Estonia was part of the Soviet Union until 1991.

A clue to the time frame is that these photographs were made on glass plates, not film.

Dry glass-plate photography started in 1871 and began to fall out of use in the 1920s.  I found some references to it in Estonia through the 1930s.

One other clue to the time frame of these photos is that in two previous batches, one of the men is wearing a wristwatch.   Wristwatches were considered to be for ladies before World War I.  (Men used pocket watches.)  However, during the war, wristwatches proved very useful for soldiers and pilots.  After WWI, wristwatches came into fashion for men.

Although wristwatches were evidently rare in Estonia (only two men wore a wristwatch among the hundreds that were photographed), it suggests that these photos are post-World War I.

Since the use of glass plates fell out of use in the 1920s, I think the photos were most likely taken shortly after World War I.

For some reason, the side view of #129 is missing.  We only have the front view.

Some of the men in this series have darker faces and hands.  Are they tanned from working outside like farmers, or are they dirty from some dirty occupation?  We don't know.

Although these appear to be military recruits, these are probably not military photos.  We know that the museum that currently has the photos got them from the Institute of Anatomy at the University of Tartu.  If these are military photos, why would they end up at the Institute of Anatomy?

I believe the photos were taken by academics doing a study of physical anthropology.

Scientists at the Institute of Anatomy were trying to measure what they considered racial characteristics of the population by measuring the body, including phrenology (measuring the skull), ideas which are now discredited.

I think that the scientists at the Institute of Anatomy may have persuaded the military to let them take photographs of the naked new recruits for "research" purposes. 

I have no written evidence to support this idea, but since the photos were at the Institute of Anatomy, and the photo subjects appear to be military recruits, it's now my best guess as to what happened.

Later photos in this series each contain a pair of men.  A question that perennially arose: why were the men photographed in pairs?  Was it to save film?

The answer is that these photos were made on glass plates, not film, but glass plates were more expensive and involved more labor than film, so yes, it's likely that the men were photographed in pairs to save on glass plates.

But these earlier photos are of individual men.  The idea of photographing the men in pairs to save on glass plates must have occurred to someone later in the project, after these photos were taken.

Bottom line: My best guess is that these photos were taken after World War I, the subjects are new or recent Army recruits, and the Estonian military allowed scientists from the Institute of Anatomy to take photos of the naked recruits for a study of physical anthropology.

Not the Same Old Song - Part 84

 Row, Row, Row Your Boat

Of course you know the children's song Row, Row, Row Your Boat.  I accompanied it with some visuals to make it more interesting.

Vintage Military - Part 107

Allied POWS in Germany, World War II

This photo was taken sometime during World War II (1939-1945) showing Allied prisoners using the swimming pool at Stalag Luft III in Sagan, Germany.  This POW camp for captured Air Force personnel was made famous by the 1963 film The Great Escape.

These are Allied POWs in Frankfurt, Germany in 1945 right after the war ended.  They are lined up to shower or perhaps to be checked out by medical personnel before being released.

The box he is carrying says "Second half of rations", but I suspect he used the empty box to hold his meager possessions.

He turns and gives us a dirty look.  The photographer was Margaret Bourke White for LIFE magazine, and he probably didn't like a woman being allowed to see the naked men.

We end with this photo taken in April 1945 of French POWs taking a shower in the railway station at Orsay on their return from Germany.

Bodybuilders - Part 44

Jack Thomas

Jack Thomas, originally from Maine, got hooked on weight training and fitness at an early age and won the Junior Mr. America contest.

He is best known for a series of photos taken by California photographer Russ Warner in the 1950s showing Jack Thomas and fitness guru Jack LaLanne nude together.  We'll look at those another day.  Today, we look at photos of Jack Thomas alone, also taken by Russ Warner.

I was not able to find specific dates for these photos, but they are from the 1950s.

I know someone who should appreciate the shadow in this photo.

Posing with a fishing net.

Posing with a bamboo pole.

I don't know if it's the pose, the detail, or what, but I really like this photo.

Posing outdoors.

Outdoors on some rocks.

We end with this photo, taken on those same rocks, that was used as a magazine cover for Trim Quarterly, a physique and gay interest magazine.  And it gives us a clue for the date of the photos.

Olympics - Part 26

Kurts Adams Rozentals

Kurts Adams Rozentals was on track to represent Great Britain in Olympic canoe competition until recently.

Born in Latvia in 2002, he moved to England when he was 8 years old.  In 2023, he won a silver medal at the Under 23 World Cup Championships men's C1 final in Krakow, Poland (that's him at left).

But in 2025 he posted some explicit material on OnlyFans to raise money.

And here's a gif from his OnlyFans video.  He also posted the video on Instagram.  When they found out about the Instagram video, Paddle UK, the British organization that had been sponsoring him, banned him for two years and kicked him off their World Class Programme, their program to financially assist athletes to prepare for the 2028 and 2032 Olympics.  Paddle UK claimed the video brought them into "serious disrepute".

Kurts said the ban would not have happened if athletes were funded properly.  His £16,000 yearly grant from Paddle UK was not enough for him to be a full-time athlete, and he had to do something else to raise money.  “While I understand the video could be described as crazy, it was not illegal and certainly shouldn’t be the reason for banning an athlete,” he said.