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Kallos:
The Ancient Greek Ideal for Beauty

Date 17 January 2022

The ancient Greek word " Kallos " means "beauty" and is
associated with both women and men. However, the meaning of
" Kallos " in its ultimate dimension, is not just a word that means
only "beauty". It is an ideal that developed in ancient Greek
thought, was expressed through the epic (8th century BC) and
lyric (7th - 6th century BC) poets and was gradually crystallized
in the texts of the philosophers of the 5th / 4th c. BC. who, from
then on, referred to it as a combination of physical appearance
and the virtues of the soul.

Marble statue of Artemis, Roman copy of an original work of the 4th c. BC. (ancient Messina, ca 2nd c. BC.) - Photo credit: Irini Miari / Ephorate of Antiquities of Messinia

Archaic and classical beauty

"Kallos " as a concept that includes natural beauty and mental virtues begins to crystallize in ancient Greek
philosophical thought during the Archaic period (6th century BC) and then during the Classics (5th - 4th
century BC) and Hellenistic times (3rd - 2nd century BC). Through a series of works of exceptional art, mainly
sculptures, of the Archaic and Classical period, the rendering of the human form and its ethos is given. The
statue of a Kore, the Kore of Chios, stands out, among others, as well as the bust of a female figure from a
burial monument of Rhodes.

Statue of the Kore of

Chios
ca 510 BC, marble
from Paros island

Divine kallos
Beauty always derives from the gods, who possess it to the absolute degree. Even the most beautiful mortals
are considered equal in beauty to the gods and are never superior to them. Also, each god has his own
feature in Greek mythology and is attributed with it to the works of antiquity: Zeus the magnificence, Hera
the solemnity, Aphrodite the beauty of the face and body, Athena the wisdom, Ares the vigor, Poseidon the
power of nature, Apollo the serenity, Artemis the austerity…

Marble head of a
supernatural statue of
Dionysus
From the sanctuary of
Dionysus in Thassos
island, second half of
the 4th c. BC
Kallos of mortals
Kallos thrives and declines with age. Beauty withers away and strength gives way to weakness. However,
according to ancient Greek thought, the kallos of humans is inherent in every age, and thanks to this, many
mortals became immortal. Such examples are mythical and real figures of antiquity, well-known for their
natural beauty, like Adonis or Helen of Troy on the one hand, and Alexander the Great on the other.

Xenophon reflects this perception, saying that "we should not underestimate kallos because it disappears
quickly. Because as we recognize beauty in a boy, so we do in a teenager, an adult or an elderly person."
Similarly, Aristotle, who states that "beauty is different from age to age."

The praise of the natural beauty of young people, men and women of everyday life in ancient Greece by
their contemporaries is given through inscriptions engraved on vases or written in color on stone
architectural members, etc.

Marble head of a
statue of Alexander
the Great
Source: Museum of
Cycladic Art

Kallos in sports
The athletic kallos is about the physical and mental strength and vigor that makes humans capable of
coping with the hardships and demands of the competitions, in combination with their noble rivalry and
their wonderful achievements in the stadium.
 Two athletes wrestling
Source: Museum of
Cycladic Art

Heroic kallos
This is about the spirit of self-sacrifice for the sake of the common good, acts of heroism in war and peace,
sometimes in combination with natural beauty. The heroes are one level above the common mortals and
often become demigods. Such examples are the greatest hero of ancient Greek mythology, Hercules, the
hero of Troy, Achilles, but also Atalanta, the famous and beautiful hunter, or the great female warriors, the
Amazons.

Hercules fighting the

Nemean Lion for his
1st labor
Scene from an Attic
black figure neck
amphora, ca. 510-500
BC

Abductions in Greek Mythology due to kallos

The attraction from the beauty of beautiful mortal people leads gods and heroes to chase them and abduct
them, for sexual encounters or to have them as their own forever. There are many references to myths in
such cases: Zeus and Ganymede, Theseus and Antiope, etc.
 The abduction of
Antiope by Theseus
Archaic period, 510 -
500 BC, found in
Eretria, at the temple
of Apollo
Daphnephoros

Divine beauty competitions

Paris, prince of Troy, is called upon to decide who is the most beautiful goddess and to give her an apple as
a reward for her victory (the famous ‘apple of discord’). The competition is won by Aphrodite, the goddess of
beauty, who promises Paris to give him the most beautiful mortal woman, Helen, queen of Sparta. This
decision laid the foundations for the events that would lead to the Trojan War.

See about: The Apple of Discord and the Fairest of Them All

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30 of the Most Famous Tales from Greek Mythology

Women in ancient Greece The role of women in the Classical Period
Featured photo: Marble head of a supernatural statue of Dionysus (from the sanctuary of Dionysus in
Thassos island, second half of the 4th c. BC) - Photo credit: Orestis Kourakis / Ephorate of Antiquities of
Kavala.

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