Archive : 3/9/19
It’s been said that to the ancient Greeks the most important muscle for a man to have developed was a muscular thigh.
I’ve seen anecdotes of the woman’s family rejecting the marriage proposal on the grounds that the man’s legs were not of sufficient sturdy development.
The Greeks in the gymnasium were jealous of the thigh development of slaves engaged in certain forms of heavy labor.
Sisyphus damned to forever not get that rock uphill over and over at least was able to have serious quads that even Tom Platz would be jealous of from the thing.
Why though did the Greeks care so much for the thigh?
My gut says it is by reason of practicality.
Strong athletic legs were able to carry a man successfully through the world.
The Greeks ran…important thigh.
Hiking the hills… important thigh.
Pushing shield upon shield in battle… important thigh.
Even rowing in the trireme… important thigh.
Though I didn’t go look for it, I swear there is a reference in the Iliad/Odyssey to Odysseus’s/Ulysses’s thigh.
Heck, even Achilles with his weak heel still had super thighs.
I imagine the active ancient Greek had good thigh development. Carrying, running, and jumping in sand pits would build a strong, shapely, athletic leg.
There is a masculine narcissism to feeling pride the power in one’s thighs.
(Update : March 2020 – Apparently the above is something I think of a lot. I thought I’d written this within the last month, only to find I’d written this a year ago.)