The Anavysos kouros, which the Getty kouros resembles closely, was originally the grave marker for a man named Croesus. He was killed in battle, and the inscription on the statue's base implores the viewer to "stop and mourn beside the tomb of…
One of the latest kouroi in the collection, the Aristodikos kouros displays a high level of naturalism. Its musculature is much more softly rendered, leaving behind the straight, surface-level lines of early kouroi. Its arms bend at the elbows,…
This fragmentary piece is part of the little that remains of this once gigantic statue. From c. 580 BCE on Delos, this enormous statue originally stood over ten meters tall and would have been taller than any of the surrounding buildings in the area.…
This fragmentary imitation kouros, originally discovered by Jeffrey Spier in 1990, was once thought to have been carved by the same artist as the Getty kouros. A known fake, it was used as evidence to also prove the Getty kouros as a forgery.…
The Getty kouros was purchased by the J. Paul Getty Museum in 1984 after it underwent fourteen months of extensive legal and scientific testing. Supposedly originally from the collection of a doctor from Geneva, more recent evidence about the…
This colossal statue was dedicated at the Heraion of Samos. It originally stood next to the sacred way. On his thigh is an inscription reading "Isches son of Rhesis dedicated [me]." Its forms are smooth and rounded, showing the Samian preference for…
Most archaic kouroi are unique, but Kleobis and Biton are exact twins. They represent the mythical brothers Kleobis and Biton, the two pious sons of a priestess to Hera. One day, the priestess was waiting for the family oxen to come home from the…
This kouros was originally from Actium. The statue is missing its heads, its lower legs, and its left forearm. Straight lines at ninety degree angles delineate the abdomen muscles on the torso, oddly juxtaposed with the delicately modeled pectorals…
This kouros was found at Korrhesia on Kea, and was most likely another grave marker. The Getty kouros also resembles the Kea kouros, especially in the treatment of the hair and the proportions of the face. However, the Kea kouros has a much stockier…
This kouros was found at the Asklepieion, or temple of the healing god Asklepieos, at Paros. The statue is missing its lower legs and right arm. It has very broad shoulders and a wider waist. The hair is held back from the child-like face with a thin…