When was bikini invented?

"The history of the bikini is a classic tale of the patriarchy at work; suppression, objectification, and constant judgment"

At the turn of the 20th century, women were finally allowed to enjoy public beaches, though the strict dress codes kept many from actually participating in the fun. Multiple layers were required, including pants which women sewed weights into at the bottom in order to avoid showing any leg

Australian swimmer and silent film star Annette Kellerman was the first notable woman to combat these norms by wearing a form-fitting one piece to the beach. The outfit resembled what today we see high school wrestling teams wear. Yet, in the 1900s, it caused such an uproar that the rebel was arrested for ‘indecent exposure’. Because of her case, restrictions were lessened and by 1915 women were wearing one-layered swimsuits across the globe

In May 1946, Parisian fashion designer Jacques Heim released a two-piece swimsuit design that he named the Atome ('Atom') and advertised as "the smallest swimsuit in the world". Shortly after, Louis Réard (another French designer) designed an even smaller swimsuit and named it "le bikini". Both of the names of the designs were inspired by the nuclear war raging around them, although the latter made a larger splash: it was introduced just four days after the US began testing atomic bombs in the Bikini Atoll

The bikini gained increased exposure and acceptance as film stars like Brigitte Bardot, Raquel Welch, and Ursula Andress wore them and were photographed on public beaches and seen in film.

It's a nice story isn't it?

Oh well it's only half true and half of the story, since our Roman ancestors were much more evolved than these 20th century European Taliban. I'm sorry Jacques, bikini was not your invention of the 40s. Mosaics from the fourth century CE of Villa Romana del Casale in Sicily, in the "ten girls' room", show young women practicing various sports indecently dressed, or undressed, as the case may be, and receiving awards. The bikinis they wore are confusingly similar to modern bikinis, so the incorrectly entrenched in school textbooks myth of the bikini being a 20th century invention collapses.

A reconstruction of an ancient Roman bikini supported by the mosaics del Casale in Sicily shows us that the encirclement of our freedom has increased with the modern world.

Reconstruction of an ancient Roman bikini on the basis of a mosaic from Villa Romana del Casale in Sicily.