Tvář a její význam v nejstarších řeckých pramenech

Abstract

This paper explores what was meant by the face in various genres in antiquity from the earliest times to the beginning of Hellenism. The face originally represented a place where strong feelings were expressed, especially grief, shame and disgrace. If the face was somehow damaged or questioned, it diminished a person‘s value in life and after death and brought with it shame for the person and those close to him. Descriptions of the face were for a long time only very brief and general, but they still served to make aesthetic and moral judgments or to suggest how one‘s face should look in a particular situation. This prescriptive aspect was intensified in physiognomy, which, however, concentrated only on some partial features of the face (especially the eyes), while the face itself or as a whole was given little consideration. Physiognomists did not strive to depict the individual as faithfully as possible, but rather tried to identify him or her with one of a limited number of character types and to determine his or her proximity or distance to ideal values and models. Similar efforts and practices can also be observed in Greek portraiture and theatre, probably not only due to the influence of physiognomy. Although the Greeks gradually began to create more realistic and individualised portraits, they were generally more interested in typological features of the face and character.