When trying to describe something that is beautiful to someone, a common first step is to find an image of the beauty one is trying to describe. In the Greco-Roman world, these images were found in th..
When trying to describe something that is beautiful to someone, a common first step is to find an image of the beauty one is trying to describe. In the Greco-Roman world, these images were found in the artworks, texts, and other forms of expression from the time, and images of human beauty were found in paintings, frescos, and statuary. Unfortunately, due to the Ravages of Time, statuary is the most common surviving medium and therefore our biggest asset in knowing what the Greeks and Romans saw as beautiful. Much like how society today uses models to represent beauty standards and expectations, the people of the ancient world did this with statues. The way these statues portrayed beauty was through pleasing proportions, how well the artwork aligned with societal expectations or gender roles, and through their accuracy in depicting the natural world around them.