The great kouros of Samos, the largest surviving kouros in Greece (Samos Archaeological Museum)

A kouros (plural kouroi) is a statue of a male youth, dating from the Archaic Period of Greek sculpture (about 650 BC to about 500 BC). The earliest kouroi were made of wood and have not survived, but by the 7th century the Greeks had learned the art of carving stone with iron tools from the Egyptians, and were making kouroi from stone, particularly marble from the islands of Paros and Samos. Download high resolution version (774x1420, 118 KB)Photo taken in Samos in May 2002 by User:Adam Carr This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Download high resolution version (774x1420, 118 KB)Photo taken in Samos in May 2002 by User:Adam Carr This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... The archaic period in Greece is the period during which the Greek city-states developed, and is normally taken to cover roughly the 9th century to the 6th century BCE. The Archaic period followed the dark ages, and saw significant advancements in political theory, and the rise of democracy, philosophy... The Charioteer of Delphi, Delphi Archaeological Museum. ... Centuries: 8th century BC - 7th century BC - 6th century BC Decades: 700s BC 690s BC 680s BC 670s BC 660s BC - 650s BC - 640s BC 630s BC 620s BC 610s BC 600s BC Events and Trends Occupation begins at Maya site of Piedras Negras, Guatemala 657 BC - Cypselus becomes the... Centuries: 7th century BC - 6th century BC - 5th century BC Decades: 550s BC - 540s BC - 530s BC - 520s BC - 510s BC - 500s BC - 490s BC - 480s BC - 470s BC - 460s BC - 450s BC Events and Trends 509 BC - Foundation of the Roman Republic 508 BC - Office of pontifex maximus created... Venus de Milo, front. ... Paros, or Paro (Greek: Πάρος), is an island of Greece in the Aegean Sea, one of the largest of the group of the Cyclades. ... Samos (Greek Σάμος; Turkish Sisam; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is a Greek island situated in the Eastern Aegean Sea, off the coast of Turkey, on what formerly was Ionia. ...

The Ancient Greek word kouros meant a male youth, and is used by Homer to refer to young soldiers. From the 5th century the word referred specifically an adolescent, beardless male, but not a child. Modern art historians have used the word to refer to this specific type of male nude statue since the 1890s. Kouroi were also commonly known as Apollos, since it was believed that all kouroi depicted Apollo. Note: This article contains special characters. ... The Homère Caetani bust at the Louvre, a 2nd century Roman copy of a 2nd century BC Greek original. ... Statue of Apollo at the British Museum. ...

Kouroi were created at a time when Greece was under the cultural influence of Ancient Egypt, as can be seen by their characteristic rigid pose, reminiscent of statues of Egyptian kings. Greeks would have seen these statues when visiting Egypt as merchants or mercenary soldiers hired by Egyptians. Kouroi nearly always stand with their arms at their sides and their fists clenched, although a few show one arm extended forward from the elbow, holding an offering. They always stand with their left leg slightly forward. This was also a common pose in Egyptian statuary. Khafres Pyramid (4th dynasty) and Great Sphinx of Giza (c. ...

Kouroi are always naked, wearing at most a belt and occasionally boots. Their faces and heads show a cultural influence from Crete: they wear their hair long and braided or beaded in the Cretan fashion, and their eyes sometimes have a recognisably Egyptian aspect, which was copied in Cretan art. Kouroi, like their female counterpart sculptures, the Korai, invariably exhibit a restrained smile with closed lips, the so-called "archaic smile". Later kouroi show more naturalistic poses and their hair styles become more typical of mainland Greece. Kouroi always depict young men, ranging from adolescence to early maturity. In cemeteries, they showed the deceased as the Greek ideal of masculinity. Crete (Greek Κρήτη Kriti; called Candia in the Venetian period and Turkish: Girit) is the largest of the Greek islands and the fifth largest in the Mediterranean Sea. ...

In very early times, it is likely that kouroi were thought to possess magical properties, and to be actual representations of the gods. By the 7th century, the earliest period for which sources exist, kouroi had come to serve two purposes. They were presented to temples as devotional offerings by prominent Greeks, as is shown by the inscriptions which frequently appear on their plinths. They were also placed in cemeteries to mark the graves of prominent citizens.

Kouroi, however, were never intended to be representations of actual persons. One of the best known kouroi is the grave-marker of Kroisos, an Athenian soldier. The inscription on his statue reads: "Stop and show pity beside the marker of Kroisos, dead, whom once in battle's front rank raging Ares destroyed." The word "marker" (sema) tells us that this is a symbolic representation of Kroisos, not a portrait. In Greek mythology, Ares (battle strife; in Greek, ????)[1] is the god of war and son of Zeus (king of the gods) and Hera. ...

Another well-known work is the double kouros known as Kleobis and Biton, found at Delphi. These statues date from about 580 BC and are representations of two semi-mythical heroes of Argos in the Peloponnese. Although an inscription identifies them as Kleobis and Biton, they are typical kouroi, representing the Archaic Peloponnesian virtues of filial piety and physical strength rather than actual persons. Kleobis and Biton Kleobis and Biton is the name conventionally given to a pair of lifesize Archaic Greek statues, or kouroi, which are now in the Archaeological Museum at Delphi, Greece. ... The theatre, seen from above Delphi (Greek Δελφοί — Delphoi) is an archaeological site and a modern town in Greece. ... Centuries: 7th century BC - 6th century BC - 5th century BC Decades: 620s BC - 610s BC - 600s BC - 590s BC - 580s BC - 570s BC - 560s BC - 550s BC - 540s BC - 530s BC Events and Trends 589 BC - Apries succeeds Psammetichus II as king of Egypt 588 BC _ Nebuchadnezzar II of... Argos (Greek: Άργος, Árgos, IPA argos) is a city in Greece in the Peloponnese near Nafplio, which was its historic harbor, named for Nauplius. ... Though Peloponnese is used to refer to the entire peninsula, the periphery with that name includes only part of that landmass. ...

Kouros in the National Archaeological Museum, Athens

Side view of a kouros in the National Archaeological Museum, Athens, showing the characteristic archaic hairstyle

Head of a kouros in the Thebes Archaeological Museum

In the 6th century kouroi grew larger as the Greeks became richer and more confident with marble sculpture. Some were three or even four times lifesize. Some of the largest were made for the Heraion of Samos, a great sanctuary of the goddess Hera on Samos, which was lavishly endowed by the tyrant Polycrates. One of these giant kouroi, at five metres tall the largest ever found, was unearthed in 1981 and is now in the Samos Archeological Museum, which had to be rebuilt to accommodate it. An inscription on its left thigh tells us that the statue was dedicated to Hera by an Ionian nobleman called Isches. Download high resolution version (668x1181, 96 KB)I took this myself This image has been (or is hereby) released into the public domain by its creator, Adam Carr. ... Download high resolution version (668x1181, 96 KB)I took this myself This image has been (or is hereby) released into the public domain by its creator, Adam Carr. ... Download high resolution version (641x882, 78 KB)I took this myself This image has been (or is hereby) released into the public domain by its creator, Adam Carr. ... Download high resolution version (641x882, 78 KB)I took this myself This image has been (or is hereby) released into the public domain by its creator, Adam Carr. ... Download high resolution version (1200x1600, 236 KB)I took this myself File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Download high resolution version (1200x1600, 236 KB)I took this myself File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... In the Olympian pantheon of classical Greek Mythology, Hêra (IPA pronunciation: ; Greek or ) was the wife and sister of Zeus. ... Samos (Greek Σάμος; Turkish Sisam; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is a Greek island situated in the Eastern Aegean Sea, off the coast of Turkey, on what formerly was Ionia. ... This article or section is missing references or citation of sources. ... Polycrates, son of Aeaces, was the tyrant of Samos from 535 BC to 515 BC. He took power during a festival of Hera with his brothers Pantagnotus and Syloson, but soon had Pantagnotus killed and exiled Syloson to take full control for himself. ... 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Ionia (Greek Ιωνία; see also List of traditional Greek place names) was an ancient region of southwestern coastal Anatolia (now in Turkey) on the Aegean Sea. ...

Kleobis and Biton, Archaeological Museum, Thebes

Most kouroi were commissioned by aristocrats as offerings to temples, or by the families of aristocrats to place over their graves. Marble sculpture was very expensive and only the wealthiest could afford to pay sculptors to create these works. Kouroi are therefore a representation of the wealth and power of the Greek aristocratic class, and as this class lost its power in the 6th century, so the kouros went out of fashion both politically and artistically. Download high resolution version (965x1310, 219 KB)I took this myself File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Download high resolution version (965x1310, 219 KB)I took this myself File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...

By the end of the 6th century, the kouroi were giving way to naturalistic sculptures of living people. Among the earlier representations of real people are the statues of Harmodius and Aristogeiton, erected in Athens in about 500 BC. These figures (see the illustration at the Harmodius and Aristogeiton article) still show some of the formality of the kouros tradition, but are generally more lifelike. It is significant that these statues were a memorial to the establishment of Athenian democracy. They thus represent the replacement of both the kouros and the system of aristocratic rule which it represented. Statue of Harmodius and Aristogeiton, Naples. ... Athens (Greek: Αθήνα, Athína (IPA: )) is the capital of Greece and one of the most famous cities in the world, named after goddess Athena. ... Centuries: 7th century BC - 6th century BC - 5th century BC Decades: 550s BC - 540s BC - 530s BC - 520s BC - 510s BC - 500s BC - 490s BC - 480s BC - 470s BC - 460s BC - 450s BC Events and Trends 509 BC - Foundation of the Roman Republic 508 BC - Office of pontifex maximus created... The speakers platform in the Pnyx, the meeting ground of the assembly where all the great political struggles of Athens were fought during the Golden Age. Here Athenian statesmen stood to speak, such as Pericles and Aristides in the 5th century BC and Demosthenes and Aeschines in the 4th...

See also

• Greek art
• Biton and Kleobis

The Charioteer of Delphi, Delphi Archaeological Museum. ... Kleobis and Biton Kleobis and Biton is the name conventionally given to a pair of lifesize Archaic Greek statues, or kouroi, which are now in the Archaeological Museum at Greece. ...

External links

• Samos Archaeological Museum

• Uncertain Provenance: The Getty Kouros