Ancient Greek arts have contributed much to our civilization particularly in the areas of sculpture and architecture. Their art have influenced the world over up to the present although much of their works have been destroyed and only a few survived. Here are the ten most famous surviving Greek sculptures.
Aphrodite de Milos (Venus De Milo)
Image Source
The statue of Aphrodite de Milos is regarded as the most beautiful model of a woman's body. It is at present on display at the Louvre Museum in Paris. It is an ancient Greek statue and one of the most famous works of ancient Greek sculpture. It was created between 130 and 100 BC, it is believed to depict Aphrodite (called Venus by the Romans), the Greek goddess of love and beauty. It is a marble sculpture, slightly larger than life size at 203 cm (6.7 ft) high. Its arms and original plinth have been lost. This contributed to the mystery of the sculpture. It is believed to be the work of Alexander of Antioch
Winged Victory of Samothrace
Image Source
This sculpture is also called the Nike of Samothrace. It is a third century B.C. marble sculpture of the Greek goddess Nike (Victory). Since 1884, it has been prominently displayed at the Louvre and is one of the most celebrated sculptures in the world. The work is notable for its naturalistic pose and for the rendering of the figure's draped garments, depicted as if rippling in a strong sea breeze, which is considered especially compelling.
Laocoon and His Sons
Image Source
The statue of Laocoon and His sons is also called the Laocoon Group. It is another monumental marble sculpture housed in the Vatican Museums in Rome. The statue is attributed by the Roman author Pliny the Elder to three sculptors from the island of Rhodes: Agesander, Athenodoros and Polydoros. It shows the Trojan priest Laocoon and his sons Antiphantes and Thymbraeus being strangled by sea serpents.
Bronze Sculpture
Image Source
This Bronze Sculpture is thought to be either Poseidon or Zeus created about. 460 B.C. It is now housed at the National Archeological Museum in Athens. This masterpiece of classical sculpture was found by fishermen in their nets off the coast of Cape Artemisium in 1928. The figure is more than 2 m in height.
Diadumenos
Image Source
This statue is a copy of Polycitus' Diadumenos located in National Archeological Museum in Athens. The Diadumenos which means diadem-bearer is one of the most famous figural types of Polycitus that present strictly idealized representations of young men in a convincingly naturalistic manner.
Image Source
The Diadumenos is the winner of an athletic contest at a game, still nude after the contest and lifting his arms to knot the diadem, a ribbon-band that identifies the winner and which in the bronze original of about 420 BCE would have been represented by a ribbon of bronze.
Venus Braschi
Image Source
This statue is the so-called Venus Braschi by Praxiteles, a type of the Knidian Aphrodite. It is housed in Munich Glyptothek.
The Marathon Youth
Image Source
The Marathon Youth is another work of art by Praxiteles. This bronze statue was probably created about 4th century BC. It is located at the National Archeological Museum, Athens.
Statue of Hermes
Image Source
The Statue of Hermes is created possibly by Pypsippos. It is currently housed at the National Archeological Museum in Athens.
The Charioteer of Delphi
Image Source
The Charioteer of Delphi in Delphi Archaeological Museum is one of the greatest surviving works of Greek sculpture, dating from about 470 B.C. Part of a larger group of statuary given to the Sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi by Polyzalos, brother of the tyrant of Syracuse, this bronze in the Early Classical style is one of the few Greek statues to retain its inlaid glass eyes.
Statue of Zeus and Ganymede
Image Source
The terracotta statue of Zeus and Ganymede, in Olympia Archeological Museum was found in Olympia and believed to be executed around 470 BC. The terracotta is painted.
Greek sculpture was focused on the human body. The above examples were manifestations that Greek sculptors have perfected human anatomy. Every detail of the body curvature was very well presented.
