Standards of beauty in history. The standard of beauty

Beauty at all times was deified by people, aroused admiration and inspired feats. Each era had its own idea of female beauty, which evolved over time. The standard of female beauty has changed since the appearance of man on earth. Views on femininity and attractiveness were based on an unstable basis, which depended on religious and moral foundations and the trend of cultural values. In the days of Ancient Greece, the beauty of the human body was built almost into a religious cult. She was worshiped, idolized and considered the greatest gift and talent.

The concept of beauty in the historical aspect

The ancient Greeks evaluated the female body according to parameters close to modern ones. They considered beauty to be the highest manifestation of the generosity of the gods - a beautiful person, both a man and a woman, enjoyed no less popularity and reverence than a famous commander or statesman. The most beautiful people made up a special stratum in society, were highly respected and respected inspirers of poets and creative people. Poems, songs were dedicated to them, sculptors sculpted statues from them.

Since the time of Ancient Greece, the history of the creation of one of the statues of the goddess of beauty and love - Aphrodite has been preserved. It turns out that, one of the most talented creators of graceful sculptures of the human body, made her in the image of his beloved. For this, he was accused of sacrilege and summoned to court, because according to the laws of that time it was forbidden to sculpt gods from a human image, and even more so, to associate a goddess with a mortal woman. It was believed that the celestials could be angry with a person for such oversights, and in righteous anger destroy all the inhabitants of the city.

As a defense, the sculptor brought his beloved Phryne to court. Having undressed her in front of all those present, Praxiteles asked why they were not happy with her body and considered that it was not divine? Convinced of the irresistibility of Phryne's body, the judges could not make arguments and were forced to release the master to freedom.

The concept of beauty in men has also been clearly defined. A sporty, toned body was respected, because the Greeks were great adherents of a healthy lifestyle. The Olympic gods were a role model for them - they were a priori considered an ideal to strive for. It was customary for young men to shave their faces cleanly, to wear long wavy hair tied with a hoop or silk ribbon. As they grew older, they got the right to wear a beard, the hairstyle became shorter.

Aphrodite of Milo - the standard of female beauty

The ideal of attractiveness in the period of antiquity was considered to be absolutely proportional, athletic body. For a woman, high growth, deployed shoulders, a wasp waist, a slightly expanded pelvis, a vertical line of the abdomen (flat tucked up abdomen) and slender legs were considered a great advantage. The combination of blond hair, blue eyes, a straight nose with a small hump and a high forehead was considered very beautiful. It is under this description that another famous statue falls - Aphrodite of Milo. She was the ideal of beauty and personified the highest perfection of nature. The statue depicts a slender woman with a graceful posture. Her height is 164 cm, and the volumes of the chest, waist and hips are 86, 69 and 93 cm, respectively. The Greeks paid great attention to the symmetry and proportionality of the face.

An impeccably beautiful face could conditionally be divided into three even parts along the lines of the eyebrows and the tip of the nose. Blondes with blue eyes were considered beautiful, whose hair was collected in an elegant, low-set bun.

In search of the ideal standard of beauty, the Greeks tried to apply a scientific approach, which turned out to be quite fair. But, in addition to this, the study of the impeccability of the female body laid the foundation for new concepts and directions, such as harmony and aesthetics.

According to the main canons that define the Greek idea of beauty, a woman with a straight nose, large, wide-open eyes, the distance between which should be at least the size of one eye, was considered attractive. The size of the eyes was skillfully emphasized by rounded arches of the eyebrows. All this splendor was framed by the smooth lines of the nose, chin and low forehead. The hair was not cut off, but was put into a neat hairstyle, tied with a silk ribbon at the back of the head. Even to this day, this technique is used in hairdressing, and was called the "ancient knot".

Given the love of the Greeks for geometry and mathematics, all parameters of attractiveness and received an accurate definition in relation to proportions. Artists and sculptors developed personal canons and modules, using them in their creations.

It should be noted that among the ancient Greeks it was not customary to depict a completely naked female body - this was considered obscene and humiliated the dignity of a woman. Most of the sculptures are only partially naked, and are covered with design elements carved from stone - imitation of drapery from fabric, parts of clothes, etc. Aphrodite of Milo and Aphrodite of Praxiteles are rather rare exceptions to this rule. In order not to secure their reputation as obscene works of art, the statues depict women during preparation for bathing - so their authors managed to avoid public condemnation.

Beauty for all time

Female beauty was revered at all times by all peoples, but the attitude of the Greeks towards her has always been special. It was they who gave beauty the character of a cult. One Greek sage and poet, before his death, called his daughters and gave them a life parting word. It said that a woman can be smart (if she needs it), kind (if she wants to), but she must always be beautiful. This life credo is still relevant today.

Greek standard of female beauty in many ways similar to modern ideas about the attractiveness and perfection of the female body. During the time of the Olympian gods, natural beauty was valued, and decorative cosmetics were practically not used. The body had to be toned, slender and athletic, which is no less appreciated today. Of course, every woman does not have to be a blue-eyed blonde with the proportions of Venus or Aphrodite to be the standard of beauty. But a woman should try to live in harmony with her body, emphasizing its dignity.

In ancient culture, there was a separate concept for the designation of beauty - kalokagatiya. It singled out a special, harmonious combination of the external beauty of a person and his moral virtues. The Greeks believed that a beautiful person by default cannot be evil or bad, since the gods reward attractive features only to those who are worthy.

The cult of female beauty is so firmly entrenched in the minds of people of the era of antiquity that with the advent of Christianity, propagandizing its modesty and detachment from everything bodily, a fierce struggle began against all manifestations of femininity. Beautiful Greek and Roman statues were destroyed, ancient books and scrolls were burned. During the rampage of the Inquisition, a beautiful woman could easily be suspected of complicity with the devil. Only with the beginning of the Renaissance, the cult of harmony and naturalness began to return.

How do the Greeks imagine the ideal woman now?

Modern Greeks are only partially descendants of the ancient Hellenes who inhabited this territory many centuries ago. For more than two millennia, there has been a mixture of different peoples - many migrants from the East and North Africa arrived on the territory of the Balkan Peninsula, which led to a change in the national composition. The current Greeks belong to the peoples of the southern type, and are distinguished by a quick temperament, a good sense of humor and friendliness. In women, they value, above all, intelligence and the ability to cheer a man. Unlike their neighbors from Turkey, the Greeks show respect for women, consider them equal to themselves.

Greek attitude to beauty evolved over many centuries, but the concepts of aesthetics and spiritual attractiveness have always been at the forefront. A woman and a man, according to ancient philosophers, were one whole, and should harmoniously complement each other in all respects.

Kastoria

Kastoria is one of the most beautiful resort towns in Greece, which is located in a picturesque place. On the one hand, the city is adjacent to the beautiful mountain Vigla, and on the other - to the pearl lake Orestiada. In the evening, on the shore of the lake, you can see a huge number of people, including romantic couples, artists, poets, musicians and just those who are able to enjoy and appreciate the bohemian beauty of Orestiada.

Mystras (Mistras), in the past possibly Mizitra, evolved from a fortress to the capital of the Morea, a city whose streets the last emperor of Byzantium walked. This city was constantly doomed to death, because it was constantly on the line of confrontation between crusading Europe and Byzantium, which would be replaced by the Ottoman Empire a little later.

A peninsula in northeastern Greece, the eastern ledge of the Halkidiki peninsula, which is about 80 km long and about 12 km wide, extends far into the emerald waters of the Aegean Sea, is called Holy Mount Athos. It is a mountainous area covered with forest and numerous rocky ravines. The southeastern part of the Holy Mountain is occupied by Mount Athos, which raised its peak to 2033 m above sea level.

Volcanoes of Greece

Marrying a Greek: does it make sense and what to prepare for?

Good, decent, loving. Every woman dreams of finding such a husband. Is it possible to find him among the Greeks? Marrying any man, no matter what nationality he is, the girl hopes to live happily ever after. But often you have to put up with some features of the spouse or his shortcomings. And he, in turn, has to yield. It is in all cultures. Features of Greek life quite strongly influence the family way of life. You need to get used to it.

Guys, we put our soul into the site. Thanks for that
for discovering this beauty. Thanks for the inspiration and goosebumps.
Join us at Facebook and In contact with

All the girls in the world are undoubtedly beautiful. And each country has its own views on female beauty.

1. France - naturalness

Marina Vakt

In France, natural beauty is preferred. A minimum of make-up and slight carelessness when styling hair, impeccable style and effortless elegance - this is a truly French approach to female beauty.

2. Australia - athletic figure

Michelle Jenneke

In Australia, the general attitude towards the beauty standard is to be athletic to look good in a bikini. And, unlike in Asia, it is imperative to have a tan. And this is due to the fact that the country has many beaches and islands.

3. Poland - slenderness and a pretty face

Isabella Miko

In Poland, it is not necessary to be tall, the main thing is to have the right proportions in the body: small hips and chest, as well as symmetrical facial features and long hair, straight or wavy.

4. Sweden - northern image

Agnes Hedengard

Sweden is known for its platinum blondes with blue eyes and prominent cheekbones. This is the standard of beauty of northern women. But in addition to appearance, style is also very important, in which exclusive expensive clothes of soft colors and the same make-up should be harmoniously combined. Sophistication and simplicity are the main postulates in Sweden.

5. South Korea - open look and fair skin

Lee Sung Kyung

Big round eyes and pale skin are the main standards of beauty in South Korea. For her sake, many women are ready to go under the knife, even in childhood. In addition, there are many products on the Asian market that can visually change the shape of the face, the fullness of the lips and the shape of the eyes.

6. Iran - the nose of the correct form

Leila Otadi

Despite strict laws in the dress code, Iranian women still have their own standards of beauty. For them, beautiful facial features are of great importance. Therefore, they carefully monitor the line of the eyebrows and the beauty of the eyes. A well-shaped nose is considered one of the statuses of wealth in Iran.

7. USA - all the very best

Jessica Alba

It is not easy enough in America to choose a woman who would suit all the tastes of the men living there, since this country is with a diverse culture. Therefore, it can be both thin and full girl, with large or small breasts, with long or short hair, light-skinned or dark-skinned. Bright makeup is also welcome, if applied appropriately.

8. Brazil - model appearance

Ana Beatriz Barros

In Brazil, the standard of attractiveness is girls with beautiful tanned athletic bodies, blond hair and beautiful eyes. In order to be in shape, they do manicures, massages and hair removal almost daily. Most Brazilian girls look like they are from a magazine picture.

9. Pakistan is the true Snow White

Mehrin Sayed

There are a lot of beautiful women in Pakistan. And their standard of beauty is light skin, long and black hair, light eyes.

10. Thailand - miniature

Davika Horne

In Thailand, light skin tone is also in fashion. Here it speaks of a high status in society. Therefore, many girls purchase special whitening creams, turn to the services of plastic surgeons. In addition, a Thai girl should be petite, and this applies not only to the waist, but also to the chest.

11. Denmark - Barbie Girls

Sessy Marie

In Denmark, as well as in Sweden, the ideal of beauty is fair-haired girls. They also like smokey ice, although they generally prefer simplicity.

12. Malaysia - pearl skin tone

Maya Karin

Light skin is valued in Malaysia. And the lighter, the better. And even better if the complexion has a pearly white tint. In addition, the girl should be slim, thin and with small breasts.

13. Serbia - strict standards

Ana Mihajlovic

Serbia has very clear standards of sexual attractiveness: olive complexion, plump lips, a small neat nose, large bright eyes, very thin and high cheekbones. Blimey! Serbs really know what they want.

14. Russia - white-faced, black-browed ...

Svetlana Hodchenkova

The main thing that distinguishes Russian beauties from no less beautiful foreign women and their concepts of ideals is sincerity and sincerity. Well, as for external beauty, these are light, blond or brown hair, light eyes (gray, light green, blue), fair skin, regular or close to correct facial features, the face itself should be oval or moderately round shape.

In the past, everything was extremely simple: certain canons of beauty existed for centuries and changed very slowly. Antiquity glorified the harmony and athleticism of bodies, the Middle Ages - painful thinness and pallor, the Renaissance - lush physicality, the Victorian era - miniature and grace.

Left: Anna Pavlova On right: Marilyn Monroe

But the 20th century began to proclaim new fashion icons almost every decade.: slender ballerina Anna Pavlova, appetizing Marilyn Monroe, asthenic Audrey Hepburn, teenage girl Twiggy, athletic Jane Fonda, aggressively sexy Madonna, perfectly proportioned Claudia Schiffer, androgynous Kate Moss, strong and athletic Angelina Jolie ...

Left: Audrey Hepburn On right: Claudia Slate

Reference parameters of fashion models“90-60-90” has been globally transformed over the course of a century:

And what do we have today? What body is now considered perfect, beautiful and fashionable? There is no unequivocal answer to this question, because “checking harmony with algebra” is very difficult. Although the rules of the "golden section", the divine measure of beauty, of course, no one cancels.

The distance from the crown to the floor refers to the distance from the crown to the navel as 1,618:1. This is the famous golden ratio.

We will get the same result by relating the distances from the top of the thigh to the floor and the distance from the knee to the floor, or the distances from the shoulder to the fingertips and from the elbow to the fingertips, the length of the finger to the length of the phalanx from the tip of the pad to the fold.

But there is an easier way to determine the correspondence of body proportions to the golden ratio. The female body is conventionally divided into eight parts. The measure is the head - so first measure it from the crown of the head to the chin.

The head itself will be the first measure.

Between the chin and the armpit is the second measure.

From the armpit to the waist line - the third.

From the waist line to the line of the base of the body - the fourth.

From the line of the base of the body to the middle of the thigh - the fifth.

From the middle of the thigh to the popliteal cavity - the sixth.

The seventh measure is placed between the popliteal cavity and the base of the gastrocnemius muscle.

From the base of the calf muscle to the heel - the eighth.

So now you can check yourself for compliance with the "golden" ideal and carefully look around - what if the standard of beauty is sitting somewhere next to you?

As a result of dividing the waist by the hips, you should get a coefficient of 0.7. Deviations from the ideal are allowed in the range from 0.60 to 0.72. That is: the volume of a beautiful waist should be approximately 70% of the volume of the hips.

British actress and model Kelly Brook

It is clear that the cherished and so attractive waist-to-hip ratio for men has been haunting them for many years. Here, scientists at the University of Texas, for example, decided to find a beauty with an ideal body using this formula. And they did find it! She turned out to be the British actress and model Kelly Brook - a visual visualization of that same proportion. She has this coefficient equal to 0.70588253. Lush forms and parameters, far from the notorious 90-60-90, Kelly does not interfere at all. Still - after all, the main thing is not the numbers of volumes, but the harmony of the figure.

“I like my body,” she says. - The more I weigh, the more I like my breasts and ass. I'm getting happier!"

And in general, fashion today is not set by ideal beauty, but on the contrary - all sorts of deviations from standards.

But how do you stand out from the crowd? The 21st century answers this question unequivocally - to modify your body! "Modify" in the broadest sense. I'm not talking about radical measures, when a person turns himself into a cyborg - "modify" means to improve, decorate, make it different from others. This is the main trend of modern fashion, which gives rise to the appearance in the fashion sphere of people who dictate new standards of beauty. Let's get to know them and their most fashionable bodies to date closer!

Not a "blank slate"

Left: Australian top model Katherine McNeil. On right: American top model Erin Wasson

- so much so that they ceased to be a sign of unsuitability for professional models. On the contrary, many top models even made tattoos their “competitive advantage”. Previously, “body drawings” were heavily hidden under a layer of foundation or retouched - now they are proud of them and turn their body into a kind of art object with their help.

Is it a girl or...?

Left: successful Dutch model Saskia de Brau. On right:"Androgynous Princess" Dane Freya Beha Eriksen

An androgynous body, as if sexless and equally easy to embody female and male images, is another modern trend. I don’t know how much he is in demand in everyday life, but in the modeling business, androgynes have become stars.

Shadow girls

Left: successful model from Australia Cassie Van Den Dangen, who claims to be perfectly healthy and does not deny herself food. On right: Ukrainian Snezhana Onopka, who was officially proclaimed the thinnest of the catwalk models (her height: 175 cm, weight: 45 kg.)

They are so thin that they look like shadows or ghosts. A few years ago, the fashion world was shaken up by a whole series of deaths of models from anorexia. In response, many designers left the "transparent" models out of work. In Israel, a law against anorexic models has recently come into force. However, for some girls, their painful thinness does not interfere at all, on the contrary. Now, when there are fewer models of this type, they have become even more in demand. As sad as it may be, painful thinness is still in trend.

hourglass girls

Left: Ukrainian model Valeria Lukyanova (waist 47 cm). On right: Romanian model from Germany Joana Spangenberg (waist 38 cm).

Women don’t go to any lengths to make their waist thinner: they wear corsets, slimming underwear, or even remove ribs ... But some are lucky - they claim that nature has given them a thin waist. Is it any wonder that they immediately became fashion stars. Wasp waist is always in fashion!

Girls-"donuts"

Left: Ashley Graham at the lingerie show. On right: model and actress Tara Lynn

There should be a lot of a good person, and even more so a beautiful girl! This began to be understood in the modeling business - it is no coincidence that plus size models are becoming more and more in demand today. Briton Ashley Graham is one of the most successful heavyweight models in the world.

The American model and actress Tara Lynn is in no way inferior to her beauty colleague. In an interview, she admitted that she was fighting to change fashion trends towards women with more realistic sizes.

Ancient Russia

For a man of that century, female beauty was directly related to weight - the higher it is, the better.

A full woman with wide hips and large breasts was more likely to endure, give birth and feed a healthy child. For the men of Ancient Russia, not obese, but well-fed young ladies seemed attractive - as they say, blood with milk.

We can also judge the ideals of facial beauty from Russian fairy tales. The fabulous beauty is always white-skinned, but at the same time ruddy. The girls powdered themselves with terribly harmful lead white and painted a blush with beetroot juice.

Even in Russia, thick eyebrows were adored - therefore they were tinted with various means. Facial features preferred the correct ones: a long straight nose, full lips, a high forehead, and thick hair.

Modesty, slowness and femininity were valued in behavior in Russia. Also, in Russia, the female mind has always been held in high esteem.

A stately, tall, strong girl with rounded shapes and a healthy blush on her cheeks, with a leisurely gait, a timid look, but at the same time smart - here she is, a medieval Russian beauty.

New Time

If before Peter the standards of beauty were the same for the Russian nobility and for the common people, then everything changed dramatically. With innovations in the army and public administration, Peter also brought fashion trends from Europe. But they only influenced the aristocracy and the townspeople, and nothing changed for the peasant majority.

The beauty of the nobility began to become artificial. Aristocratic women painted themselves in the French manner, drew artificial moles for themselves, plucked their eyebrows, and made complex hairstyles. Peter "cut through the window" in the heyday of the Rococo era. The ideal woman of this style is porcelain pallor, lightness and fragility, airiness and playfulness. At the same time, well-fed ladies remained in favor.

Interestingly, in Russia in the first half of the 18th century, the demand for blackness was added to the Rococo standards. We can recall the famous beauty, the last love of Peter I, Marina Cantemir. In this woman, the Russian and European traditions of perceiving female beauty seem to have merged.

We find a similar type in the favorite of the court of Catherine II, Maria Naryshkina, and in the fatal actress Praskovya Zhemchugova. In the 19th century, this dark-haired and black-eyed "burningness" went out of fashion, lighter girls with big sad eyes became in demand. This trend appeared thanks to England that has become terribly fashionable. For example, Natalya Pushkina, the wife of the great Russian poet, who was considered the first beauty of Moscow.

In the 19th century, fullness ceased to be an obligatory attribute of a beauty. At the same time, naturalness returns to fashion. If the 18th century was characterized by tons of powder and painted eyebrows, then in the 19th century girls began to strive not to draw a new face for themselves, but to emphasize the dignity of their natural features.

20th century

At the end of the 19th century, slender girls began to conquer Russia, and fullness almost completely went out of fashion. The natural beauty of the graceful features of fragile and refined girls - that's what was valued in Russia at the turn of the century. An excellent example is Zinaida Yusupova, a sophisticated aristocrat who was considered the most beautiful woman by many people at the court of Nicholas II.

However, right before the revolution, this tradition is replaced by another, also brought from Europe. Silent cinema, jazz and emancipation capture the world. This also affects Russia - unnaturally pale, full-cheeked women with short haircuts and huge bottomless eyes become beauty icons both in New York and in Voronezh. For example, Vera Kholodnaya is an insanely popular Russian actress with a bit of cinema, for the sake of whose films men fought in lines.

In the early years of Soviet power, this type was also very popular. But soon the country cut off all cultural ties with the West and the demand for fullness returned. The icon of beauty in the Soviet Union was a beautiful collective farmer in her simplicity. Elegance and aristocratic pallor give way to strength and a proletarian blush.

However, there were exceptions. For example, Lyubov Orlova, whose appearance was adored in the USSR, but which would certainly have been to the taste of the courtiers of Alexander III.

Beauty is one of the most subjective and changeable categories. What was the standard of female attractiveness just a few years ago, today is not only not so, but may even seem defiant and out of place. How have ideas about beauty changed over time? And what will become the standard in the near future? Let's try to figure it out.

Ancient Egypt (XIII-XI centuries BC)

The real beauties in ancient Egypt were considered girls with long and straight dark hair framing their faces. This is evidenced by the numerous images of the Egyptians that have survived to this day. At the same time, by the way, the first semblance of cosmetics appeared: the Egyptians were the first to learn how to apply black paint around the eyes to give expressiveness to the look.