In Archaic Greece it would seem that the whole point of living is to achieve honor in order to obtain an afterlife. Honor leads to songs and statues for those who have earned it. The songs and sculptures are the afterlife of the Greeks. It is how they remember those who did great things. Their stories live on long after they had first gone tentered Hades, which is also a form of afterlife. The Greeks used art, music, and literature to portray the memory of a person they honor such as: the sculpture of Kouros.
The statue of Kouros stands in a perfectly straight frontal stance with the left leg moved slightly forward. It was also made to be in-the-round, meaning you can view the statue entirely around rather than just one side. The sculpture was heavily painted as the Greeks traditionally did to there sculptures. It also had guilding on it which is a very expensive gold. On the base of the sculpture is an inscription saying, "Stop and grieve at the tomb of dead Kroises killed in the front line of battle by wild Ares."
There are many indications that Kouros was an honorable man such as the name Kouros which means male youth. The inscription indicates that he was a warrior which means that he stood as a young man in the front line of battle knowing he was at great risk of death. This displays courage in which is a very honorable trait in any country. The inscription also commands the people passing by the sculpture to stop and grieve for the courageous young man. Warriors in Greece have the utmost respect, but this warrior is different because as the inscription goes on to basically say that man could not kill him so a god had to. Although his strength makes him admirable it is his courage that indeed makes him a hero.
WORD: 318
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