"Peplos" Kore

   

    The “Peplos” Kore is a statue created before the Persian invasion.  I found this statue very interesting along with others like it because of the history surrounding them.  This statue is fairly static much like the Berlin Kore.  It does depict a somewhat more realistic or naturalistic representation of a person, but it is still archaic looking.  The style in which this statue was made is very connected to the interaction of cultures at this time. The person has patterned hair and a smile (the archaic smile) that are very much related to middle eastern styles. This region was not far from the Greek city states and was fairly integrated into "Greek" society through trade.  What is more interesting is that this artistic tradition would end with the Persian invasion of Athens, and a new completely naturalistic (although idealized) artistic tradition would begin.  Pericles began this renewal even though earlier leaders had vowed to never rebuild.  They decided to bury the defaced city monuments, like the “Peplos” Kore, as if they were real people.  You can see that the Persians ripped the arm from the statue, because they too viewed the statues and symbols for real people.  After this event, the archaic smile and patterned hair were no longer incorporated into Athenian styles.  Instead the new style celebrated the human and the capability of man, and was a response to Persian 'barbarism'.