Diverging Concepts of Male Beauty in the Statues of Kouros and Diadoumenos

It is not difficult to see that both the Kouros and Diadoumenos statues represent male figures. This assurance goes even beyond the obvious presence of male genitalia; both figures possess broad shoulders, powerful arms and pectoral region, and a strong neck typical of a male physique. Nevertheless, the differences between the two are striking: Kouros, while not exactly androgynous, possesses numerous characteristics pointing at the feminization, thus representing the idealization the Ancient Greeks' strong erotic interest in male youths; on the other hand, Diadoumenos possesses a more rugged, thick physique emphasizing strength of an adult male body over the more softly curving lines of a youngster.

The feminization in Kouros begins with the hair and proceeds down. The hair is long and braided, swept back from the high forehead and completely uncovering the ears in the process, as well. The braids hang loosely but evenly down the youngster's back. Aside from the hair, the face is probably the most feminine feature, with high arching eyebrows (implying that they are not natural, but rather plucked and painted), large, almond-shaped eyes, thick lips, and soft chin. Even the typically Mediterranean aquiline nose does not detract from the femininity of the face. In fact, it is easy to argue that if the head of Kouros is viewed separately from the rest of the statue, it could be said to belong to a woman just as easily as to a man.

The shoulders, while wide, have no defined musculature. The arms are well muscled, but they are hanging loosely down the length of the statue's body, concealing the power residing in those biceps and forearms. The hands, as well as the feet, are the least-defined body parts in Kouros, implying that the artist gave them little importance, instead concentrating on the head, torso, hips, and upper legs. The pectoral region is well defined, but its bottom curve has more 'dip' in it than the well-muscled male chest would possess (the fact quickly confirmed when looking at the pectoral region of Diadoumenos), thus taking it closer to the appearance of female breasts. The abdominal area is poorly defined, and the waist narrows quickly from under the armpits to the top of the hips - another feminizing feature of the statue.

The juncture between the bottom of the torso and the top of the hips is represented as the two lines narrowing from the hips to come together at the statue's genitalia. This is a quite common visual technique of concentrating the viewer's attention, and in this case, the artist clearly wishes to concentrate attention on the statue's genitalia. That region gives another indication that Kouros is the depiction of a young male, a teenager at best, as signified by the size and shape of the scrotum. Finally, the legs and buttocks are shapely but without strongly defined musculature, which can be viewed either as the accentuating the young age of the male or another feminization feature - or perhaps even both.

In contrast, the statue of Diadoumenos possesses the more rugged, mature features of a male physique. The hair, while thick, is cropped short, more for comfort than for show, and both the forehead and ears are covered. The face is thinner from the front but more filled out in profile, with deep-set eyes, the same aquiline nose, but thinner lips and stronger, more pointed chin. The biggest difference, though, is in the muscle tone. Both neck and shoulder muscles are clearly shown, and biceps on both arms are fairly bulging out. The plain of the pectoral muscles is more rounded from top to bottom than that of Kouros, and the bottom curve is straighter and less emphasized, representing the more realistic rather than idealized appearance of a man's chest. The waist, while narrower than the shoulders, is still thick with muscles, with both the front and side abdominals well defined, and even the muscles covering the ribcage clearly visible.

The two lines representing the juncture between the torso and the hips are irregular, again due to a more accurate portrayal of an actual male physique. This results in less emphasis being made on the genital region, although when the lines do come together there, they do so above the well-developed scrotum, signifying a fully matured adult male. The shape of the legs and the dimples in the buttocks, while attractive, are still more of a natural representation of the body's appearance in contrast to that of Kouros. Finally, both the feet and the hands of the statue are well defined, showing the emphasis on the complete beauty of the body rather than on just certain parts of it.

It is clear from this analysis that the two statues, while both representing the beauty of male physique, have a different understanding of such beauty, due mostly to the cultural differences between the Ancient Greeks of the sixth century BCE and the Ancient Romans of the first century CE. The Greek statue emphasizes beauty in form, while the Roman statue gives more attention to beauty in action. This is further supported by the way the two statues are positioned: Kouros is perfectly straight, with feet barely apart, head held high, and arms hanging down at his sides, while Diadoumenos is caught in the act of tying a fillet around his head.