SCULPTOR

Polykleitos

450 BC - 500 BC

Photo of Polykleitos

Icon of person Polykleitos

Polykleitos (; Ancient Greek: Πολύκλειτος) was an ancient Greek sculptor, active in the 5th century BCE. Alongside the Athenian sculptors Pheidias, Myron and Praxiteles, he is considered as one of the most important sculptors of classical antiquity. The 4th century BCE catalogue attributed to Xenocrates (the "Xenocratic catalogue"), which was Pliny's guide in matters of art, ranked him between Pheidias and Myron. He is particularly known for his lost treatise, the Canon of Polykleitos (a canon of body proportions), which set out his mathematical basis of an idealised male body shape. None of his original sculptures are known to survive, but many marble works, mostly Roman, are believed to be later copies. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Polykleitos is the 6th most popular sculptor, the 65th most popular biography from Greece (down from 60th in 2019) and the 3rd most popular Greek Sculptor.

Polykleitos is most famous for his statue of the "Doryphoros" or "Spear-Bearer."

Memorability Metrics

Loading...

Page views of Polykleitos by language

Loading...

Among SCULPTORS

Among sculptors, Polykleitos ranks 6 out of 258. Before him are Auguste Rodin, Phidias, Praxiteles, Camille Claudel, and Benvenuto Cellini. After him are Lorenzo Ghiberti, Antonio Canova, Lysippos, Alberto Giacometti, Constantin Brâncuși, and Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi.

Most Popular Sculptors in Wikipedia

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Contemporaries

Among people born in 450 BC, Polykleitos ranks 2. Before him is Alcibiades. After him are Malachi, Diotima of Mantinea, Cleon, Amyntas III of Macedon, Nectanebo I, Amyrtaeus, Archidamus II, Pelopidas, Theramenes, and Diagoras of Melos. Among people deceased in 500 BC, Polykleitos ranks 4. Before him are Esther, Leucippus, and Ānanda. After him are Artemisia I of Caria, Gaius Marcius Coriolanus, Diogenes of Apollonia, Myron, Hippasus, Rāhula, Himilco, and Xanthippus.

Others Born in 450 BC

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Others Deceased in 500 BC

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

In Greece

Among people born in Greece, Polykleitos ranks 65 out of 1,024. Before him are Xanthippe (-500), Constantine II of Greece (1940), Pope Eleutherius (171), Ptolemy II Philadelphus (-308), Ptolemy III Euergetes (-284), and Pyrrho (-365). After him are Nikos Kazantzakis (1883), Alcaeus of Mytilene (-620), Epaminondas (-418), Pope Dionysius (200), Demetrius of Thessaloniki (270), and Isocrates (-436).

Others born in Greece

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Among SCULPTORS In Greece

Among sculptors born in Greece, Polykleitos ranks 3. Before him are Phidias (-490), and Praxiteles (-395). After him are Lysippos (-390), Myron (-500), Scopas (-395), Leochares (-400), Paeonius (-500), Alcamenes (-500), Chares of Lindos (-400), Ageladas (-600), and Antenor (-590).

Greek born Sculptors

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous