In ancient Greece, beauty was extremely important for both men and women. But according to ancient Greek standards, who can be regarded as a true beauty? Are their aesthetic standards very different from ours?
Numerous artworks depicting the human form and ancient philosophical essays exploring the essence of beauty show that beauty was widely admired in ancient Greece.
In fact, the ancient Greeks believed that a person’s external beauty and internal beauty had a direct relationship, that is to say, a good-looking person has a good moral character, while a “ugly” person in the eyes of people has a bad character.
Beautiful ancient Greeks, especially men, are often described as “kaloskagathos”, which is an adjective that combines “kalos” (meaning beautiful or handsome) and “agathos” (meaning good or good in character).
However, when it comes to feminine beauty, the concept becomes more complicated.
In Greek mythology and literature, stunning women, even ordinary women, are usually either “bad” people or at best morally ambiguous characters.
The most beautiful woman in the world, Helen of Troy, is a typical example of this image.
Although scholars may argue whether Helen voluntarily left her husband Menelaus and plunged into the arms of Paris, which led to the Trojan War, there is no doubt that she was not a favorite in ancient Greek literature. figure.
It seems that beauty is doomed to fail from the beginning. The ancient Greek poet Hesiod, who was contemporary with Homer, described the first woman as “kalonkakon” in his work “The Book of Gods”, which means something beautiful and evil. This work tells the story of the Greek gods. origin.
The discussion of the essence of beauty was a topic of constant debate in ancient Greece. Ancient Greek philosophers, mathematicians and artists have launched endless explorations on this topic.
Lianxinmei originated from the pursuit of symmetry in ancient Greece
As we all know, the talented mathematician Pythagoras proposed the golden ratio, which is a geometric formula that links balance and symmetry with beauty—not only in humans, but in all things. According to this ratio, the symmetrical face is the most beautiful.
This obsession with symmetry even extends to the eyebrows. In ancient Greece, people with connected eyebrows, that is, those with “connected eyebrows”, were considered more symmetrical and more beautiful.
Those who don’t have long eyebrows will use kohl, an eyeliner that can draw black shadows, to fill the gap between the eyebrows. Ancient Greek women also used it to outline eyeliner and deepen the color of eyelashes.
Although many aesthetic standards in the past are very different from ours now, some of them remain the same.
According to Pythagoras’s golden ratio, supermodel Bella Hadid is the most beautiful woman in the world, even if she doesn’t even have an eyebrow.
What Pythagoras said may have some truth. Neurological and psychological tests have shown that humans do tend to like symmetrical faces, but not absolutely.
The standard of beautiful men in ancient Greece
Like today, beauty pageants were very popular in ancient Greece. However, at that time, many beauty pageants were held exclusively for men.
However, in Lesbos and Tenedos, there are also records of women participating in beauty contests.
These beauty contests are very important and are often associated with the Olympic Games. They are either held at about the same time or at the same location.
The focus of masculine beauty is on body shape. Athletes with round, strong muscles and low fat content are considered the most attractive.
Men with golden red hair, plump lips and shiny tan skin were considered the most beautiful in ancient Greece.
Puffy hips were popular in ancient Greece
In ancient Greece, whether a man or a woman had a full buttocks would be praised.
The famous statue AphroditeKallipygos (ie Venus with broken arm), which literally means “Aphrodite with beautiful buttocks”, shows the image of the goddess (although some people think she may be a mortal) showing off her round buttocks.
Although some might say that this is similar to our current Kardashian-inspired and obsessed with giant butt aesthetics, in ancient Greece, the perfect female body usually has more fat.
In today’s era, women tend to pay more attention to breasts and fat buttocks in pursuit of figure, hoping to avoid excess fat in other parts of the body, while ancient Greeks prefer women with slightly bulging abdomen and some fat on the waist.
Many statues of Aphrodite, the god of love, are examples. Her lower abdomen has obvious fat, and her hips are large, but not completely round.
Until modern times, the excess fat in the body of a woman was considered very attractive, because it showed her class origin.
Thin women are likely to be slaves or coolies, doing manual labor all day long, and always can’t get enough food.
White was beautiful in ancient Greece
Similarly, in ancient Greece, pale skin was also highly sought after. This seems to be an aesthetic standard that is difficult to achieve, and it is very different from our current pursuit of radiant, dark skin.
In a country known for its extreme heat and bright sunshine all year round, it is not difficult to imagine that it is difficult for ancient Greek women to keep their skin white, especially considering that people with Mediterranean skin tones are easy to tan.
However, with the exception of slaves and low-class women, most women lived deep at home, especially in Athens. Many of them will leave their homes only on special holidays or other important occasions.
Slaves and low-class women tend to go out more often, so their complexion will be darker.
Otherwise, women are always trapped at home, which means that they are rarely exposed to sunlight. Naturally, this makes their complexion paler, but it also makes their complexion dull and unhealthy.
There are countless ancient documents suggesting that women apply lead-based powdery white cosmetics on the skin to keep the skin pale and cover facial blemishes at the same time.
In fact, in ancient times, lead was one of the most commonly used substances in cosmetics. Lead is known today to cause severe developmental delays, infertility and dementia. At that time, lead was made into a paste, just like today’s foundation, which can whiten the complexion and make women look younger.
They often use blushes and lipsticks made from natural sources such as beets and berries to add a touch of color to their faces.
The golden red hair color is the most beautiful
Generally, the most popular features are those that are least common. In ancient Greece, blue eyes and golden-red hair were considered extremely beautiful.
Considering the great genetic similarity between modern Greeks and ancient Greeks, it can be safely assumed that ancient Greeks are similar to the current Greek inhabitants, where blue eyes and light-colored hair are still uncommon.
Even heroes are often portrayed as images with blue eyes and golden red hair. This is related to the ancient Greek concept of linking external beauty with internal beauty. Menelaus, King of Mycenae, was a vital figure in the Trojan War, and he was described as “red-haired” in the Odyssey.
His wife, Helen of Troy, is considered the most beautiful woman in the world. According to ancient Greek poets, she has a white complexion, long golden red hair, and blue eyes.
Some scholars believe that the description of blonde or golden red hair in ancient Greek literature may be different from the strawberry blonde hair we can think of today.
It is more likely to be a light brown hair color, showing a golden red luster in the Mediterranean sun.
The women wore long wigs and treated their hair and skin with olive oil.
In terms of hairstyles, the upper class women in ancient Greece had long hair, often braided and combed into complicated hairstyles. If they do not have long enough and thick enough hair, women often wear wigs.
Slaves and low-class women were generally not allowed to have long hair, and their hair was always cut very short.
Ancient Greek women used olive oil to care for their hair and skin. Of course, only women who could afford olive oil would do so.
Blue eyes are very rare and highly sought after in ancient Greece, as are large brown eyes with thick eyelashes.
In Homer’s “Iliad”, Hera is described as having “cow-like eyes.” From today’s point of view, this description seems very offensive, but it is highly praised in ancient times. This refers to those large, round brown eyes with thick eyelashes, which are more common than blue eyes, but are equally striking in ancient Greece.
