Physical Appearance In Ancient Greece

As every culture does, the Greeks had their own set of values and beliefs. Among these, is the idea that physical appearance is one of the most admired aspect of a person. In other words, how you looked was a reflection of who you were and how you should be treated. So, if a person was “ugly” they would be treated according to that view. There are multiple examples of this concept all throughout Greek mythology, such as; the story of Hephaestus’ birth, the Judgement of Paris, and the story of Pygmalion and Galatea.

When Hephaestus was born, he was not what the gods considered attractive. Hephaestus had an extremely disfigured and ugly appearance. Hera and Zeus took one look at him and threw him off Olympus. However, being immortal he survived the fall, but the moral of the story remains. Appearance was so important to the

Paris was a shepherd and he was asked by three goddesses, Athena, Aphrodite, and Hera, to choose which of them was most beautiful. After listening to each of their bribes, Paris chose Aphrodite. This caused so much of a conflict, that it ended up being the start of the Trojan War. The three goddesses let their vanity and desire to be the most beautiful take control of them. This is yet another time in Greek mythology when physical appearance was proven most important-even more important than the lives of others.

Finally, the story of Pygmalion and Galatea. Pygmalion was a sculpture that absolutely despised women. He devoted his entire life to his work, instead of love. One day, he was making a statue of a woman, and he fell instantly in love with it. Pygmalion called her Galatea. Her beauty had him captivated. This is just another example of how physical appearance was the center of the Greeks culture. It turned a man who had always hated women, to falling in love with a beautiful statue of all things. If a belief can do that, it must be