As a result of the 2004 Athens Olympics, there was quite a lot of reference to the fact that in ancient days, the Greeks undertook their athletic Olympic events in the nude. However, research has shown that this was not quite true. It appears that they actually wore a device / garment called a 'kynodesme'. A kynodesme was a thin leather strip, worn by tying it tightly round the part of the foreskin that extends beyond the glans. (the prepuce) The kynodesme can then either be attached to a waist band, or tied to the base of the penis so that the penis appears to curl upwards.

It served several purposes, for what appears to be a variety of mixed reasons. For the athletes, it restrained the penis and stopped it flopping about, which the ancient Greece apparently found this preferable.

As with modern day trends, they also had their fashions and preferences even, when nude. In modern day life nudists shave their pubic hair, get themselves pierced and have tattoos.
In ancient Greece having a foreskin that extended well beyond the end of the penis was clearly an aesthetic thing to have or acquire. Many paintings show the prepuce being up to three quarters of the entire length of the penis. They also show the prepuce with a very distinctive taper, regardless of whether the penis is soft or erect. It is highly probable that the act tying the kynodesme around the prepuce would almost certainly have the effect of stretching the foreskin and further enhancing the appearance and taper of the prepuce. In modern day life this is not dissimilar to the foreskin stretching exercises that are undertaken during foreskin restoration with a circumcised penis.
When the kynodesme was worn in the form of a waist strap, it maintained the penis in the upright position, clearly exposing the balls, which were also considered pleasing to the eye.

If addition to offering all the above advantages to the ancient Greeks, there was still one further attribute that it offered. The Greek standard of modesty held that the foreskin should cover the glans. Visible glans in an uncircumcised man was taken as evidence of sexual arousal and was thus considered indecent within the arena. Many athletes therefore wore the kynodesme. Its strand of string looped around the foreskin, closing it tightly over the glans, prevented mishaps,. The Greek code of genital etiquette obviously places circumcised Jews at an embarrassing disadvantage in the public baths, wrestling matches, and competitive games.
It is interesting to note that The Nilotic tribes of Africa also considered the glans to be offensive. It's interesting that such widely separated cultures should have such similar values.

For more information on the Kynodesme, have a look at this webpage.

Another Peter has also written a very informative page on the Kynodesme.

The Kynodesme is such a simple device that I could not resist trying it out. It is a delightfully simple thing to wear. I found that a long shoelace would fulfil the same function as a Greek leather strip, in fact I suspect that a shoelace is probably better, as it is softer and more 'grippy' than leather as you can see from the photos.

My only concern was a possible problem tying the lace around the prepuce, but in fact it was very simple and effective. All I needed to do was to pull the prepuce forward, slightly stretching it, and then using a simple knot; the lace stayed in place and did not slip. The version that tied around the waist was the obvious first choice, as it was straightforward to get it into position, and tie the ends of the lace around the back of my waist.

Just a simple knot hold it tight

Wearing the Kynodesme in this way is quite comfortable, but it does feel slightly strange. Obviously hold the penis in an upright vertical position and it also lifts the balls slightly. The lace is quite secure and easily stays in place while walking around. The penis is completely out of the way, so it is missing from its usual location of resting or bouncing between your thighs. Your balls are pulled slightly upwards, so although they are still 'around', they are not quite in their normal location. I suspect that it is a similar sensation to somebody with long hair, who decides to 'wear it up'. It just feels a bit strange! One additional advantage to wearing it (in addition to those listed by the Greeks) is that it can expose the underside of the penis and the inner thighs, helping the sun to get to parts that it rarely sees!

Most of the ancient Greek photos show the Kynodesme attached in some way to the base of the penis. It is not immediately obvious how they attach the tied prepuce to the base of the penis. One possibility might be that the actually tie it to some strands of pubic hair. That option was not available to me, and the only way I could think of attaching it was to tie it around the balls. It does work, but it does not look like the old images. Any ideas?

The kynodesme has its uses even to todays world. I've used when running to stop my penis from flopping about, when wearing a 'marginally short' tee shirt. Have a look at my 'Nude Running Section' for more details.

The idea of trying out a kynodesme has appealed to some of my webpage readers, some of whom have photographed their efforts. If you want to let us all see your kynodesme, just send your photos to me and I'll add them to this 'mini gallery'.

Chris

		Robert demonstrating an unusual foreskin stretching technique by peeing into a tight kynodesme

Peter (me) trying the above toggle idea, which works very well

Dan

A Kynodesme with no foreskin at all. Not quite what the Greeks had in mind!!

More circumcised photos

This is an elasticated kynodesme with a toggle adjuster. Being elastic it is very comfortable to wear and easily accommodates any change in penis size.

Rick wore his with a ball weight which was incredible.

Here are some other pics of Rick using a different variation. He drew the kyndoseme through his buttocks like a gstring, tied it tight around his balls and then tight behind my cock and balls (like a cockring). His comment was that the feeling is incredible intense as it draws on the anus, balls and cock. Amazing try it if you haven't already.

Dave, who is circumcised, but stiil manages to enjoy his kynodesme

Gareth

Andy

Peter is Chinese with a circumcised penis. He is able to cover his penis glan to attach the kynodesme.

It may appear obvious, but if you tie the knot too tight for long periods it will stop the flow of blood to end of the prepuce. This is not a very healthy situation and it will eventually go blue!

So be sensible, I would not like to think that anybody hurt themselves while experimenting with a kynodesme!

Some comments from David's 'field trials':

Dear Peter,
I have only just seen your superb article about KYNODESME, so this afternoon decided to give one a field trial to see if it worked. (I live near an isolated beach so running naked is more the rule than the exception) I used a shoe lace as a belly band and a piece of parcel string for the cock string.

Attempt 1.
I tied up and started to jog but the belly band slipped and as my penis sagged so the string slipped off my foreskin.

Attempt 2
This time i gritted my teeth and tied the cock string as tight as I could and then humped the belly band well up above my hips. This time it worked. To start with I jogged about 3k. I was amazed at how secure and comfortable I felt...no cock banging against my belly, my balls well away from contact with my thighs and extremely well supported. More over, you were right- it really is a strange but very pleasant sensation. After the gentle running I decided to do some fast repetitions...200m (about the distance of the Ancient Greek Stadia). I ran fast and again, the Kynodesme held me firmly. I did five reps with my cock flaccid but on the sixth...and strictly in the interests of science you understand (hem hem) i gave my cock a little friendly stimulation to see how well the Kynodesme would cope with an erection and again inspite of my increased size, it held totally firm.

One other thing. After my run i biked home with the Kynodesme still on and found it equally comfortable ...my balls were held comfortably on top of the saddle and safe from any jarring contact. I was also pleasantly surprised that when I took the Kynodesme off, my foreskin was not marked nor sore in
any way.

Thanks a lot, Peter, it is just the thing I have been looking for and it will provide comfort (and pleasure) for a lot of training. By the way...market it quick. Before you know it, Adidas will be selling them, but with three cock strings rather than one "die marke mit den drei riemen"

Allans comments regarding nude running

Our first experiences of running naked was only about six weeks ago and I was surprised how little banging about there was from down below but having seen your web site thought I'd try the kynodesme.

As I have a very short foreskin so thought I'd try the circumcised version with the lace below the glans. This gave me the different feeling you describe but after about 4 miles I found my penis head was quite cold when I'd removed the lace. Next time I pulled as much foreskin forward as I could and could just tie the lace round it and if the knot is tight enough it holds for several hours. There was a slight mark when I took the lace off the first time but I've now found a round lace that works better and doesn't mark.

Overall I find that pulling and tying the foreskin gives a better feel than tying behind the glans, my balls are pulled higher and the air seems to get all round them giving a much better feeling. Having said that when running naked I want to feel naked and now wear the kynodesme when I'm running in shorts which I find really comfortable.