To the ancient Greeks the human body in sculpture was both an object of sensory delight and an expression of an intelligent mind. From the abstract simplicity of prehistoric Cycladic figurines to later realism, sculptors gave form to thought in a rich harvest of artworks that have had a profound influence upon western visual culture. Through stunning new photographs and close-up views, this book explores the subject of the body in ancient Greece, drawing on the British Museum’s outstanding collection of marble, bronze and terracotta sculptures. In the modern popular imagination, mention of the ancient Greeks is likely to conjure up an image of idealised and naked youth, and it is true that the ideal nude, both male and female, is a striking feature of Greek sculpture. However, in later Greek art especially, sculptors and their patrons became increasingly interested in human diversity, experimenting with the representation of ethnicity, age and character. The gods and heroes of Greek myth are conceived in the image of mankind, as supermen and superwomen. Other supernatural beings – centaur and sphinx, satyr and siren – combine human with animal parts as symbols of their otherworldliness. With over one hundred colour illustrations, this book allows the reader to experience the Greek body in its many forms as evidence of both art and thought.

Ian Jenkins was a senior curator at the British Museum, where he had responsibility for the ancient Greek collections. His other books include Greek Architecture and its Sculpture and The Parthenon Sculptures in the British Museum. Victoria Turner was a curator at the British Museum, where she co-curated the touring exhibitions The Ancient Olympic Games and The Body Beautiful in Ancient Greece.