http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalos_kagathos
Kalos kagathos (καλός καγαθός) is an ancient Greek ideal which existed at least since the time of Herodotos who uses the phrase. It was also used by many other notable writers, such as Plato and Aristotle.
It is a phrase which is made up of two terms, kalos (which means good, beautiful) and agathos (that means ethical, virtuous, kind). Together they form the idea that an ideal human being would be both somatically beautiful and have a virtuous world of thought.
While this is sometimes juxtaposed to Socrates, who was known to be very ugly, and himself once argued that he is equally ugly on the inside, the ideal of perfect somatic and mental beauty is a common motif in Greek art. The Greek statues depicting perfect human forms (such as the Lykeios Apollo) present beings which are of ideal beauty and of superior intelligence- Apollo was also the patron God of Logic.
There are numerous examples of figures in ancient Greece who rose to prominence in part due to their very good looks, and then due to their intelligence. Socrates at one of the dialogues introduces Protagoras, the philosopher and grammatician from coastal Macedonia, as one who should be deemed as beautiful, due to having a very refined world of thought.
Although many times in Greek mythology those who strive to be exceedingly beautiful commit hubris, and the Gods destroy them, the ideal was always popular and somatic beauty does not appear to have been largely associated with anything negative at that ancient era (Christianity seems to be heavily influencial in the polemic against beauty of the form, rendering it something almost antagonistic to its own proposed beauty of the mind).
I would have wanted to post some images of statues which have this theme, but sadly almost all are utterly naked (part of the point), so i guess they would not be allowed :(
So here is a painting of the empress Theodora, who was said to be extremely beautiful, although not really virtuous, given that she started her career as a sexual dancer:
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Kalos kagathos (καλός καγαθός) is an ancient Greek ideal which existed at least since the time of Herodotos who uses the phrase. It was also used by many other notable writers, such as Plato and Aristotle.
It is a phrase which is made up of two terms, kalos (which means good, beautiful) and agathos (that means ethical, virtuous, kind). Together they form the idea that an ideal human being would be both somatically beautiful and have a virtuous world of thought.
While this is sometimes juxtaposed to Socrates, who was known to be very ugly, and himself once argued that he is equally ugly on the inside, the ideal of perfect somatic and mental beauty is a common motif in Greek art. The Greek statues depicting perfect human forms (such as the Lykeios Apollo) present beings which are of ideal beauty and of superior intelligence- Apollo was also the patron God of Logic.
There are numerous examples of figures in ancient Greece who rose to prominence in part due to their very good looks, and then due to their intelligence. Socrates at one of the dialogues introduces Protagoras, the philosopher and grammatician from coastal Macedonia, as one who should be deemed as beautiful, due to having a very refined world of thought.
Although many times in Greek mythology those who strive to be exceedingly beautiful commit hubris, and the Gods destroy them, the ideal was always popular and somatic beauty does not appear to have been largely associated with anything negative at that ancient era (Christianity seems to be heavily influencial in the polemic against beauty of the form, rendering it something almost antagonistic to its own proposed beauty of the mind).
I would have wanted to post some images of statues which have this theme, but sadly almost all are utterly naked (part of the point), so i guess they would not be allowed :(
So here is a painting of the empress Theodora, who was said to be extremely beautiful, although not really virtuous, given that she started her career as a sexual dancer:
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
