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Definition 2024


kouros

kouros

English

The "Getty kouros", a statue of a kouros in the collection of the Getty Villa in Pacific Palisades, California. Made of marble, it either dates to c. 530 BCE or might be a modern forgery.

Noun

kouros (plural kouroi)

  1. A sculpture of a naked youth in Ancient Greece, the male equivalent of a kore.
    • 1974, Guy Davenport, Tatlin!:
      A redstone kouros from Sounion, this strapping young Amsterdammer, translated into the slenderer grace of the modern graminivore.
    • 1990, Camille Paglia, Sexual Personae:
      The smiling kouros is the first fully free-standing sculpture in art.