Among the Romans, a statue like the Knidian Aphrodite was called a Venus pudica, a "modest Venus". Yet the citizens of Kos were allegedly shocked by its indecency, and old photographs of the copy in the Vatican Museum show that it was displayed until 1932 with additional draperies made of tin. How do you account for these very different standards of decency? To what degree do they suggest that concepts of "beauty" or "modesty" are historically constructed?

Among the Romans, a statue like the Knidian Aphrodite was called a Venus pudica, a "modest Venus". Yet the citizens of Kos were allegedly shocked by its indecency, and old photographs of the copy in the Vatican Museum show that it was displayed until 1932 with additional draperies made of tin. How do you account for these very different standards of decency? To what degree do they suggest that concepts of "beauty" or "modesty" are historically constructed?