Perception And Practice Of Body Beauty In Classical Greece

In ancient Greece,the worship of physical beauty is a common cultural phenomenon.The ancient Greeks had a very unusual comprehension of the beauty they possessed,meanwhile,they had an extraordinary perception of the proud ecstasy brought by physical beauty.The ancient Greeks integrated the external physical form and the internal spiritual form of human beings into one,thus getting a more comprehensive understanding of human body.According to the general usage,body is a vocabulary with modern character,and it is largely equal to the flesh in daily life.However,the body in ancient Greek culture is not a pure physiological concept,it also involves the invisible soul and spirit,and it is a community composed of flesh and soul,in which the vital function of soul is particularly emphasized.On the one hand,the flesh is the condition for soul development,and the soul can only associate with the world in the flesh;on the other hand,the soul dominates human beings,and the practices of the flesh are decided by the soul.The flesh and the soul have different functions,but they are not diametrically opposed,they affect and depend on each other and together constitute human body.Based on this,the ancient Greeks' perception of physical beauty included two parts,external beauty and internal beauty.The ancient Greeks' understanding of the external beauty of human body is carried with obvious naturalism,which emphasizes the natural development of somatic function.The ancient Greeks regarded physical beauty as a flawless natural beauty with harmonious proportion,they regarded well-built body as the goal of education to carry out intensive training.Robust men had prominent advantages in survival and war,and represented strong survival ability.Therefore,whether it is in literary works or artistic works,masculine strength was highly regraded;the physiological dominance of healthy and plump women was considered as abundant fertility and became a symbol of the female physical beauty.These body images reflect the historical landscape that the ancient Greeks highly praised specific bodies.The physical beauty is manifested as healthy,strong and well-developed body.Thedevelopment and shaping of physical beauty conform to the natural physiological law of human beings,and reflect a healthy and positive concept of physical beauty.From the perspective of the ancient Greeks,physical beauty not merely refers to the beauty of the body,but also the beauty of soul contained by the body.The ancient Greeks' cognition and practices of physical beauty reflect their pursuit of the harmonious development of body and mind.Since the Homer era,the ancient Greeks had appreciated beautiful and noble people.Such ideal beauty is intensively embodied in the vocabulary Kalokagathia and expresses the combination of external fitness and soul excellence,it integrally exists in the human body and reflects the ancient Greeks' ideal of harmony and unity.The unity of beautiful appearance and beautiful soul is the highest ideal of physical beauty,and external beauty and interior quality are integrated into a harmonious whole.Generally speaking,the ancient Greeks developed a natural,comprehensive and positive culture of physical beauty,with the exploration and guidance of beauty,they introduced the research of beauty into the pursuit of beautiful life.The ancient Greeks' idea of physical beauty affected their unique way of life,in turn,their unique lifestyle practices their unique concept of physical beauty,or the practice of the concept of physical beauty.They shaped the body of ancient Greeks,and regulated the artistic expression of the body in ancient Greece.This practice presents the characteristics of harmonious development of spirit and flesh,emotion and body.The classical Greece emphasized equilibrium in the shaping of body beauty,especially internal and external equilibrium,and being accomplished with both the pen and the sword.In their opinion,the human body and soul are closely linked,the external beauty is inseparable from the spiritual goodness,the spiritual beauty is embodied and identified in the external beauty.The highest ideal of the ancient Greeks is the beauty of both body and soul,and they held that ideal figures should not only be well-developed,robust and well-proportioned in body,but also be equipped with outstanding rationality and noble character.The ancient Greeks integrated this kind of inner beauty training into their daily lives.Physical training became an important part of children's education and normal life,music training also played a particularly important role in children's education,and drama performances and ritual worship became a special field of moral mission.As a result,gymnasiums,arenas,theaters,strong,sunny human statues,etc.have become special living landscapes of ancient Greece.