What makes something beautiful? In this engaging, elegant study, David Konstan turns to ancient Greece to address the nature of beauty.

Though she's in love with Andreas, her gorgeous Greek boss, Beth Farley feels he views her as just another piece of office furniture. But Andreas's brother, the arrogant, wealthy Theo Kyriakis, has a plan. If Beth pretends to be his lover, Andreas will surely want what he can't have…. One makeover later, Beth has gone from sensible secretary to sensational bombshell! Now she'll show her beloved boss what he's been missing! But Beth soon realizes she wants someone else to initiate her into the world of pleasurable abandon far more…Theo!

Greek sculpture is full of breathing vitality and yet, at the same time, it reaches beyond mere imitation of nature to give form to thought in works of timeless beauty. For over 2000 years the Greeks experimented with representing the human body in works that range from prehistoric abstract simplicity to the full-blown realism of the age of Alexander the Great. The ancient Greeks invented the modern idea of the human body in art as an object of sensory delight and as a bearer of meaning. Their vision has had a profound influence on the way the western world sees itself. Drawing on the British Museum's outstanding collection of Greek sculpture - including extraordinary pieces from the Parthenon and the celebrated representation of a discus thrower - and through a number of themed sections, this richly illustrated book explores the Greek portrayal of human character in sculpture, along with sexual and social identity. In athletics, the male body was displayed as if it was a living sculpture, and victors were commemorated by actual statues. In art, not only were mortal men and women represented in human form but also the gods and other beings of myth and the supernatural world. In a series of lively introductory chapters, written by a selection of academics, historians and artists, it is revealed how the Greeks themselves viewed the sculpture (which was vividly enhanced with colour), and how it was regarded and treated in later pagan antiquity. The revival of the Greek body in the modern era is also discussed, including the shock of the new effect of the arrival of the Parthenon sculptures in London at the beginning of the nineteenth century.

Love and beauty reign supreme in empowering, high-interest narrative text telling the story of Greek mythology's Aphrodite. Core legends show Aphrodite's matchmaking as well as her own lovers among gods and mortals. Fascinating myths also uncover Aphrodite's past, detailing her creation and how she fits into the family of deities. Further explore Aphrodite's role in Greek culture through her signature powers, symbols, and attire. Additional facts and historical information connect the goddess's influence through popular culture today.

Helen of Troy engages with the ancient origins of the persistent anxiety about female beauty, focusing on this key figure from ancient Greek culture in a way that both extends our understanding of that culture and provides a useful perspective for reconsidering aspects of our own.

LONGLISTED FOR THE ANGLO-HELLENIC LEAGUE RUNCIMAN AWARD 2022 ‘Peter Fiennes’s road trip around Greece [is] engagingly described’ Mary Beard, TLS ‘Fiennes is a brilliant and generous guide through Greece’ Observer What do the Greek myths mean to us today? It’s now a golden age for these tales – they crop up in novels, films and popular culture. But what’s the modern relevance of Theseus, Hera and Pandora? Were these stories ever meant for children? And what’s to be seen now at the places where heroes fought and gods once quarrelled? Peter Fiennes travels to the sites of some of the most famous Greek myths, on the trail of hope, beauty and a new way of seeing what we have done to our world. Fiennes walks through landscapes – stunning and spoiled – on the trail of dancing activists and Arcadian shepherds, finds the ‘most beautiful beach in Greece’, consults the Oracle, and loses himself in the cities, remote villages and ruins of this storied land.

Introduces the Greek goddess Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, who had no mother or father, but arose from the sea.