Final answer:
The aquiline nose is not traditionally considered the Greek standard of beauty; instead, the ancient Greeks and Romans valued facial harmony and mathematical proportions with a straight nose being the ideal. Polykleitos and Renaissance works like the Vitruvian Man reflect the enduring influence of these ancient standards.
Step-by-step explanation:
The aquiline nose, characterized by a prominent bridge, giving it the appearance of being curved or slightly bent, is not traditionally considered the Greek standard of beauty. Rather, the Greeks idealized a straight nose; as they associated facial harmony and proportion with beauty. According to Sharon Romm, the Western origins of the establishment of the standards of beauty have their roots around 2,400 years ago in Greece and Rome.
Greek and Roman standards of beauty emphasized harmony in facial features and proportions, a concept which is echoed in artistic depictions such as statues with mathematically calculated proportions. The Greek sculptor Polykleitos devised mathematical rules to sculpt the human form, aiming for ideal proportions that were deemed beautiful and lifelike. This idea of beauty continued to be influential, as seen during the Renaissance with Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man, which investigated ideal human proportions.
Furthermore, other characteristics that the Greeks found beautiful included perfect eyebrows, low foreheads to represent youth, and blonde hair, which was the most prized color. While certain attributes like the Archaic smile added a level of realism to sculptures, these did not typically include the aquiline nose as part of the Greek beauty ideal.
Beauty standards evolved over time, with the Romans building upon Greek ideals. During the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, beauty standards were permeated with a renewed focus on specific attributes, including blonde hair and grey eyes. These criteria were disseminated widely through art, serving as universal benchmarks of human aesthetics.