There has been come discussion about how Tarzan's moral character was not perhaps one suitable for young readers.

My own response was that I regard man's natural state as one of savagery, brutality, dominance, etc. Maybe I did this on Jim's list.

In any event, it might be interesting to compare Tarzan's behaviors with those prevalent in times when other great athletes, the Olympians, competed for about 1200 years.

These were the ages and times of Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle, and in fact these philosophers, celebrities, attended the Olympic Games regularly.

I just watched a show about these "first Olympics" on the history channel, and it was interesting and illustrative of some of these concepts.

These were extremely violent contests. Boxing was to the death or surrender; and surrender was so shameful that the Spartans wouldn't even compete in boxing, to avoid any chance they might have to suffer this shame. There were no "rounds", no water, just fight under the hot sun till you won, surrendered, got beaten to a pulp, or died.

If neither fighter could win, eventually they had a "sudden death", when each fighter got to swing at the other's unprotected body or face, one after the other.

When a new combat event, the Pancroteon (sp) was introduced, it immediately became the most popular event by far. In this event, you fought with two rules only: No biting and no gouging. You could break bones, use any dirty trick, in a total alley fight. Going for the genitals was "frowned upon", but apparently not illegal.

This kind of stuff was popular with elite society.

In their version of the broad jump, the athletes carried weights in their hands, and with the impetus of throwing their weighted arms out as they leaped, they could jump much farther. The pits measured about 50 feet, and one guy outjumped the pit, though breaking both legs when he landed.

The penalty for a false start in a running contest was that the judges actually beat you to a pulp with staffs or something.

Tarzan had sexual attraction to Jane, and carried her off, perhaps, but consider the treatment of the fair sex by Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, and their buddies.

Virgins were allowed to attend the games, where all athletes competed, in all contests, totally naked.

Married women were not even allowed to cross the river which was near the stadium, much less attend the games. If they did, and were caught, they were actually thrown off a cliff. They had a special cliff for this.

The virgins had a few contests of their own, called the "Heria" after Hera, and while not totally naked, they wore a short tunic which exposed one breast.

Although the winners only got an olive branch, they became such heroes that they were made wealthy by gifts. They were so revered that they would wipe off and bottle the sweat/dust which was on their bodies after they competed, and this was sold as a prized potion.

Apparently most of the male population, and certainly the athletes, were gay; or AC-DC in any event. In their culture, marrying a virgin was so prized that until marriage everyone was gay.

In any event, it seems the athletes were all eying each other; eyeing the virgins; who were eyeing back; the audience was eyeing both groups; and probably hoping the next events would be the Pancroteon or the race of the half-naked virgins.

So, when one starts criticizing the morality of the ultimate Olympian, Tarzan of the Apes, who without benefit of any moral training whatever does, in the final analysis, do the right thing; you might think back of those days when Plato, Aristotle, and Socrates, fountainheads of philosophical thought, got together and went down to the stadium to watch and wink at their boyfriends; ogle the virgins; gather to watch, aroused almost beyond belief, as agonized Olympians break each other's bones; laugh through drooling lips as the half-naked virgins ran down the track; then go back home, take a sip of bottled sweat, and while buzzed by the muddy excretions generated by some hulking bi-sexual, sit around and talk about; and/or sit down and write; those passages which have been the basis of much of our philosophical discourse throughout history.

Judge not the ape-man.

Tarak