Sounion Kouros
It is one of the earliest examples that scholars have of the kouros-type[1] which functioned as votive offerings to gods or demi-gods, and were dedicated to heroes.
Archaic sculptors intended to idealize the human form which is made evident by the modeling of the Sounion Kouros.
Kouroi share similarities with Egyptian ka statues, including the frontal stance, arms by the sides and advanced left leg.
The male youth of the Sounion kouros, for example, is nude as he does not wear a skirt, and is free-standing without a supporting structure.
"[1] The stiff body faces frontally, with fists clenched by its thighs, and its wide shoulders contrasting the narrow waist and hips.
Some details are abstracted: the figure has large volute earlobes, oversized almond-shaped eyes, and elongated proportions.
The hair pattern creates a row of shell-like curls which start on the forehead and hang down the statue's back.
In Ancient Greece, idealized figures were simultaneously considered beautiful and to represent strong morality and a virtuous nature.
As it was found near the Temple of Poseidon, it is probable that the Sounion Kouros was considered a beautiful votive offering for the pleasure of the god.
"[1] Sculpted in the beginning of the 6th century BC, the Sounion Kouros is representative of Archaic sculptors' shift to render naturalistic figures: "That interest in pattern and symmetry is characteristic of Archaic sculpture, although it gives way to the apparent attempt to imitate the natural form of the human body during the course of the sixth century BCE.
The figure can be compared to the Assos reliefs which display a "disparity between the size of the waist and leg as an attempt to express expanded muscles.
"[9] For example, in twin kouroi dedicated as funerary monuments to hero brothers Kleobis and Biton in ca 570 BCE "the slightly flexed elbows of the figures seem to recall a tugging motion."
[3] Each side of the kouros was carved separately from the other and little attention was given to seamlessly attach them to create a convincingly three-dimensional form.
It was discovered in a pit with its base alongside fragments of other statues which were all dedicated to Poseidon and probably stood in front of the god's sanctuary.
[1] The Sounion Kouros has suffered considerable damage and was heavily weathered, probably due to being displayed outdoors.
Sculpture in the National Archaeological Museum, Athens, edited by Nikolaos Kaltsas, Ethnikon Archaiologikon Mouseion (Greece), p. 39 "Sounion Kouros."
