Benjamin Belovich

Belovich 1

AWU4M-01
Mr. Bryce Petersen
20 November 2014
Unit Three Test: The Classical World
Part B Long Answer Response: Question Seven
Socrates great and inspirational words, know thyself, helped to shape and build the
Greeks understanding of the world around them, as well as their growing knowledge of the
human form, psychological and emotional connections to their lives. These ideologies are also
present in their artworks and architecture from the time known today, as the Classical period in
the ancient world.
The Greeks were known to create their sculptures in a much idealized way. Proportions
of the body such as muscles, check bones, eye shape, hair placement etc., were carved to be more
or less exact and not exaggerated. This way of portraying the human body is known as
naturalism and can be attributed to the Greeks, as the creators of this technique. This directly
relates back to Socrates quote, know thyself. In knowing the qualities of the natural form of
the human body, the Greeks were able to gain a better understanding of themselves. However,
there is an exception to this idealistic and natural form of depicting humans. Gods and Emperors,
people in high positions of authority were often carved with extremely exaggerated features,
such as overly defined muscles and height. When these people are seen in pieces of art with
other, idealized humans, they are often shown larger, taller and in the center of the group. This

technique, seen also in previous eras, but very commonly in Ancient Greece, is known as
hierarchical proportion.
The Archaic Smile is something also pioneered by the earlier Ancient Greeks which they
used to help shape their pursuit in understanding themselves and the human body. It was used
only during the Archaic period by sculptors to possibly suggest to their viewer that their subject
was alive, and was living with a sense of well-being. To viewers in todays modern world, the
smile is flat and quite unnatural looking, although it could be seen as a movement towards
naturalism. One of the most famous examples of the Archaic Smile studied is Kroisos Kouros.
In conclusion, the Ancient Greeks used many techniques and ways of sculpting and
carving their subjects to create a sense of realism and naturalism, which ultimately led to a wider
and more dynamic way of understanding the human body in its natural form, know[ing]
thyself, as Socrates said.