“Wonders are many in the world, and the wonder of all is man.

With his bit in the teeth of the storm and his faith in a fragile plow,

Far he sails, where the waves leap white-fanged”

Chorus from Antigone by Sophocles (496-406 B. C. E.)

The history and ideas of the Greek and Roman societies (known as the Classical World) have had a great and enduring impact on the development of the Western World.  The focus on the human condition that is the legacy of the Ancient Greek and Roman cultures continues until the present day.

In the visual arts the Greeks focused on the human figure as the major subject matter.  Even the Gods were depicted in human form, free of the supernatural features seen in images of gods and goddesses of the Ancient Near East and Egypt.  Greek artists developed a keen awareness of the human body and observed the figure very closely from nature in order to capture more naturalistic (realistic) details.

From the Geometric, Orientalizing, Archaic phases onwards the stylistic trend in Greek art was to become increasingly anatomically correct. However, it was not only a quest for realism that prompted these early experiments with the depiction of the human body. The Greeks placed value on the idea that the human being was potentially perfectible. The Greek quest to realize that ideal state of humanity was reflected in works of art that represented the ideal human being. At the peak of Classical Greek art, artistic standards of perfection were developed.  For the classical Greeks it was more important to project an ideal, generalized image of the human being rather than a specific depiction of the unique characteristics of a particular person. In this male centered world, the male nude was the favored, heroic vehicle for the expression of this ideal type.

In the Late Classical and Hellenistic ages new cultural environments (social, political and economic) emerged. The works of art made during these periods, though continuing the focus on the human condition, emphasized very different qualities from those of the earlier Classical era.  In the Hellenistic age particularly, emotion was a valued component of art and there was a new interest in the individual details of the subjects of art as well as more generalized ideals.