An Analysis of the Kouros
At the beginning of the Archaic Period of ancient Greece, circa 680 B.C.E., several bronze figures of male youths appeared on the artistic landscape and served as the forerunners of later and similar statues known as kouros, based on Egyptian and Mesopotamian figures which were "essentially geometric, with a triangular torso, a narrow waist and bulging thighs" without any concern for anatomical accuracy (Williams, 324). But with the Greek kouros, we find a naked and rather muscular male figure with long braided hair, a tall and slender body and broad shoulders and chest with the arms held tightly against the body and the hands clenched. The most important trait of this statue is its freestanding posture with one foot ahead of the other as if the figure is in the process of walking, known in art history as contrapposto (de la Croix & Tansey, 135). Also, as compared to earlier kouros figures from Egypt and Mesopotamia which were composed of bronze, the Greek kouros figures are composed of marble and are finely-chiseled with much concern for detail and anatomical accuracy. There are two basic kouros figures from the Archaic Period of ancient Greece-the kouros from Tenea, circa 570 B.C.E. and approximately five feet tall, and the
, a free-standing sculpture over six feet tall with a cylindrical shape that could "only have been derived from Mesopotamian figures" some one thousand years earlier (Williams, 327). Of course, this figure is nude and the male genitals are clearly visible; there is also some detail given to the region of the lower abdomen and to the knees which are wrinkled as if the figure was physically bending its knee in real space and time. Williams points out, the artist that created this figure "not only understood the structural parts of the human body and their natural relation to the stone, but also provides" what amounts to a true portrait of a living person (326). These two kouros figures are similar in appearance to what is known as the Hera of Samos, circa 560 B. With the second example, the kouros of Anavysos, is it quite evident that this figure, according to the inscription on its base, is some sort of funerary monument to a young Greek male (Kroisos) "who has possibly died a hero's death on the battlefield" (de la Croix & Tansey, 135). The nose, mouth, ears and hairstyle are all greatly stylized; however, this kouros figure from Tenea is quite un-Egyptian-like in its nudity and in "the more dynamic, half-striding stance" upon its square marble base (Williams, 325). One of the most striking differences in this figure is the face which is much more realistic, due to its prominent eyes, nose, cheekbones, lips and chin. Not surprisingly, this kouros figure symbolizes the evolution of Greek sculpture during the Archaic Period from about 700 to 500 B. The head is geometrically simplified into flat planes with the large eyes staring out at us and somewhat protruding from the orbits. Although both of these kouros figures have been created from basically the same artistic mold and technique, the kouros of Anavysos displays a trait not found in the earlier kouros from Tenea, namely, the sense of power and urgency displayed in its face which one can see by observing the muscles linked to the cheekbones and especially the eyes which although tightly closed gaze straight ahead and into the unknown. kouros or kroisos from Anavysos, circa 530 B. Moreover, this kouros figure is quite slender and elegant and displays the stance of a sprinter or runner as found in the Greek Olympic Games.
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