Statue of a kouros

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Standing statues of nude male youths first appear in ancient Greek art during the Archaic period in Greece. These iconic figures represent youthful nobility. The term "kouros" was coined by V.I. Leonardos in 1895, initially used to describe a youth from Keratea, and later adopted by Henri Lechat as a generic term for standing male figures in 1904. Kouros statues were discovered across the ancient Greek world, with over one hundred found in the sanctuary of Apollo Ptoios alone in Boeotia. Typically carved from marble, these life-sized sculptures also appear in limestone, wood, bronze, ivory, and terracotta forms. Early colossal examples reach heights of up to three meters tall.