The Kouros and it’s significance in Greek history

The Greeks have been able to engrave themselves in arguably the most recognised and elite place of the art world, protruding themselves among their contemporaries. It is no wonder then that the nation gave great significance to burial practices and the exceptional beauty of which commenced especially in the Archaic period. The Greek marked the graves of their dead in two ways — through richly decorated vases, which encompassed in themselves geometric designs and figures, and the Kouroi statues, which were more restricted to the graves of the nobility. Marble was and continues to be, a difficult stone to cut, which during the Archaic age would have required exceptional skill to carve a work such as the Anavysos Kouros, a marble Kouros found in Attica. Although only the nobility could afford the statues, the kouri would not simply fulfill the function of a gravestone, but likewise portray the views of the Greeks on the splendid virtues of the individual.

The ancient civilization showed great significance to inhumation. The Anavysos Kouros, currently in the Archeological Museum of Athens but carved out approximately in 530 BCE, is the later example of the development of Greek art in the sphere of burials during the Archaic period. Kouros, is synonymously translated to “youth” or “boy (especially of the noble class)” from Greek, fully portraying the identity of the figure. Most likely the Greeks had interactions with the arts of Egypt, as the North African Civilization illustrates bodies of similar stature, but usually they would be attached to a back wall to support the weight of the figure. The Kouros figures range from around 590 BCE to around 530 BCE. The earlier Kouros is more divided into separate parts and is more stiff, while the later figures, such as the Anavysos Kouros, become more life-like and more anatomically correct. Anavysos Kouros is well rounded with smoothly flowing lines thus giving an impression of greater three dimensionality. The relatively later carving that is slightly larger than a life sized man, of an ideal young male. The statue, as its predecessors, has its foot stretched forward, noting a slow walk forwards, but has an absence of any additional surroundings, focusing the observer on the simple perfection of the body. The arms are firmly on the sides, clenched at the fists, and attached slightly with a small sort of bridge to the corpus. There are traces of paint pigments of the colour red in the hair, taenia, iris, and pubic hair areas. The formula of the stature was used by Greek artists in the 6th century BCE.

The Kouroi generally had several purposes, ranging from cemetery uses to temple offerings. The Anavaysos Kouros specifically is believed to be a statue of a burial site. Near the figure an inscription of the same period was found, which some archeologists consider to belong to the statue. If the understanding is true, the Anavysos Kouros stated the identity of the figure of nobility which it represents. The custom of burial marks of Archaic Greece was to specify the deceased and the reason of death, hence the engraving describes a fallen young warrior named Kroisos who died in battle in an inscription below. The inscription reads “Stop and show pity beside the marker of Kroisos, dead, whom, when he was in the front ranks, raging Ares destroyed”. A short poem of sorts, the inscription further introduces the admiration the Greeks had for the therefore admirable noble figure and his interaction with the looked up upon position of a soldier. The physique of the statue itself which would be the pain tomb marker, in no way represents the authentic look of the deceased young man, nor would the Kouroi generally depict realism. The stature would serve the specific function of the depiction of the aristocratic minority, and its wish for remembrance in the most idealized way possible.

Anavysos Kouros serves great importance in the development of burial art in the Archaic period. It served as a crucial paveway towards classical Greece that is so widely recognizable in the modern day. The artists progressed gradually from more sharply cut marble stones and flat representations of the human body towards greater realism, seen even in the “archaic smile” found on Anavysos Kouros. The Archaic style can be subdivided into burial practices, which praised the famously epic and romanticised mythology of the prior Mycenaean civilization. Such trends of the time were an important factor of influence seen even in the Anavysos Kouros. As stated above, the inscription below the statue signified that the deceased had died in battle, which was considered the most honorable way to die, as would be observed in The Iliad by Homer. Resulting in the most influential class of the time, that being the aristocracy, highlighting themselves as close resemblances to gods and their likeness even after death. The manner developed even further the Greek strive towards perfection found in the immortalized gods, which the nation so eagerly placed on human beings, especially those with a higher status of nobility. Certainly Kouroi were not art pieces in the modern sense, but fulfilled their function in Greek society. Yet a subject as simple as a tomb marker, could bring out the inner desire of the community to reach perfection, both in the simple geometric shapes found in vases, and grand life like statues of young men and women.

Greeks forged their history as a magnificent nation, through their endeavor to bring to life the incredible epics of the past both during their lifetime and after their passing, in the marking of themselves as admirable and perfect figures, especially noted in the Archaic burial sites. The use of statues, specifically the Anavysos Kouros, showed the progression in art techniques, ways of carving, and the resemblance to life-like bodies. On the other hand, the ‘young man’ intimately introduces its audience to the mentality of the Archaic Greeks, and their view on moving events — that history is to be created into an epic, whether in the life of one individual, or of a whole nation.