Unknown Statuette of Socrates, 2nd-1st centuries BCE, Marble Height: 275 mm; Width: 115 mm; Depth: 80 mm The British Museum, London |
Socrates is described as being notoriously ugly, and the portraits of him that survive from the ancient world show him in a similar manner to the statuette above: pot-bellied, with a broad flat nose and balding head. To what extent this was an accurate representation — and whether or not Socrates was in fact as ugly as he was said to be, or if this was an early example of the classic opposition between brains and beauty — we will unfortunately never know.