The 'Kroisos Kouros' is a marble
kouros from
Anavyssos in
Attica which functioned as a Grave Marker. The free-standing sculpture strides forward with the "
archaic smile" playing slightly on his face. The sculpture is dated to c. 540-515BC and stands 1.95m high. It is now situated in the
National Archaeological Museum of Athens (inv. no. 3851).
The inscription on the base of the statue reads: "Stop and show pity beside the marker of Kroisos, dead, whom once in battle's front rank raging
Ares destroyed."
The Kroisos Kouros is central to the debate on ''
kouroi'' and is thought of as a symbolic representation of a body, not a naturalistic one. It embodies the ideal of the male warrior ''en promachois'' or "in the front line" of battle.
External links
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Anavyssos Kouros