In Ancient Greece artists create ideal human figures

The Greek quest to define the ideal proportions of the human body formed the basis of the classical tradition and changed the course of Western art.

Ancient Greece entered a golden age in the fifth century bce. In order to win a lengthy war against the Persians, the Greek states formed an alliance for the first time. This resulted not only in the defeat of their enemies but also in a period of national self-confidence. Athens became the dominant city-state. Democracy was born in this era and the arts flourished. The outstanding intellectuals remain cultural icons to this day: Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, the dramatists; Plato and Socrates, the philosophers; and Herodotus and Thucydides, the historians. This was also the classical period of Greek art and the exceptional work of Greek artists set the standard by which fine art and architecture has been measured in the West ever since. The Greek statue was perhaps the pinnacle of their achievement.

The kouros, nude male figure, and the kore, draped female figure, were already established in Greek sculpture and often used as grave markers. Though beautifully crafted, the poses were rigid and symmetrical. Sculptors of the classical era dramatically improved on these figures and altered forever the way the human form was treated in art. They understood anatomy and how the human body moved, so could make their figures fluid and natural. Yet they wanted to achieve more than mere naturalism. The search for an ideal human form was linked to important philosophical debates in this period. Artists were inspired to analyze and define the nature of ideal beauty, using the human figure as their template.

The high level of intellectual inquiry through philosophy, science, and mathematics affected all areas of the arts in Greece. Major artists such as the influential sculptor Polyclitus of Argos, who was active in the mid-fifth century BCE, contributed as well as reacted to the debates. He wrote a defining treatise

3 Poseidon, Apollo. And Artemis,

Fragment of Relief from The Parthenon

Phidias and unknown artists, c.438-432 BCE