"The Greeks studied the movement of the body, how weight is carried, and how a shift in stance could affect the placement of limbs, torso, and head. After 480 BCE, the first marble sculpture displaying the qualities of 'contrapposto," or weight shift, appeared in the Kritios Boy" ("Classical Greek Sculpture: Background," Greek Sculpture, 1998). This is why classical sculptures are more atomically naturalistic. This is particularly evident in the facial expression, which is usually serene, proportional, yet not as vacant as archaic sculpture, because of the more naturalistic facial structure of the statues. More individuation is shown in the bodies of men and women, and gods, goddess, and idealized figures of heroes and athletes are typical subject matter. It is unsurprising, perhaps, that the greatest statues of this period were of gods and goddesses in temples of worship, like the figure Athena that once graced the Parthenon, and in terms of the mortal pantheon, muscular statuses commemorating and commending athletes and warriors seemed popular, such as the famous "Discus Thrower" of the 6th century. It is during the Hellenistic period however, where Greek philosophical comprehension of human emotion, the greater diversity of the Greek empire, and the technical...

During this period, all varieties of human beings are figured in sculpture, young and old, as well as the young, athletic, and physically 'perfect' (Hill 2006). The classical awareness of the human form becomes less ostentatious, and figures that show human sorrow, like the "Dying Gaul" mark the era as well as the soft, yielding stance of "Venus de Milo." Even though a goddess, Venus stands in a more relaxed position than the erect postures of Venuses of classicism, and she seems more human, not merely the incarnation of an ideal. Thus, during the archaic period, even mortals were as standardized as religiously inspired ideals, but by the Hellenistic phase of sculpture, even the divine ideal of beauty was humanized.
Works Cited

Classical Greek Sculpture: Background." Greek Sculpture. 26 Aug 1998. 15 Apr 2008. http://library.thinkquest.org/23492/data/history.htm

Hill, Suzanne. "Three Periods of Greek Art." Art History. Suite 101.

26 Aug 2006. 15 Apr 2008. http://arthistory.suite101.com/article.cfm/three_periods_of_ancient_greek_art

Kerr, Minott. "Kouroi." Reed College. Hum 110. 15 Apr 2008. http://academic.reed.edu/humanities/110Tech/kouroi.html