While watching the Fashion Channel recently, I noticed how Western women's fashion just goes in cycles.

One noticeable trend in women's fashion is clothing that tends to expose their breasts more, compared to before. The current fad seems to veer toward the nude look. See photos.

But it may surprise many readers that there is nothing new in this. In ancient Crete, an island in Greece, the Bronze Age Minoan culture flourished from 3,000 B.C.E. to about 1,100 B.C.E.

The name Minoan is derived from King Minos who ruled Crete and is mentioned in Greek mythology. The Minoans were predominantly matriarchal in their religion. They worshipped a female bare-breasted goddess holding two snakes.

One interesting characteristic or feature of Minoan culture is the way Minoan women wore their dresses. These dresses were always open in front to expose the breasts. No woman in the Philippines would ever wear this type of dress.

Why did Minoan women wear dresses that exposed their breasts? According to one commentator, "They did not do that intentionally; in the mind of a Minoan person, it was so natural for a woman to expose breasts, just like we think it is natural for a woman to expose her face."

"The Minoans did not think of breasts as a sexually stimulating body part, just like some Indian tribes or African cultures. You see women walk around with their breasts exposed and no one minds. They see breasts and think of breast-feeding, no more."

So it seems that Western women's fashion merely goes in cycles.

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