Makeup and Beauty in Greek Mythology and the Modern World

Beauty is commonly defined as the emotional quality of certain objects that make those objects enjoyable to see. Examples of beautiful objects would be sunsets, sunflowers, landscapes, humans and other works of art. Beauty, along with aesthetic beauty, is possibly the most important topic of aesthetics, probably the most important branch of the humanities philosophy. It is, in fact, often considered to be of equal importance to science, and even used in some ways to define it.

According to some historians, the concept of beauty started during the Later Roman period. Julius Caesar came up with the definition” Marcus est Audience,” which means” Marcus beautiful est.” Some scholars argue that the concept of beauty was derived from the ancient Greek term “kalopia” which means “beauty”. This is because, some researchers think, the term “kalopia” originates from the Greek word “kalpikos” which literally means “the face”.

During the Hellenistic period, beautiful figures and bodily beauty were highly valued. Beautiful women were always highly sought after and statues of them can be found throughout the city. However, during the Renaissance period, the definition of beauty blurred between the desire for beauty and the ability to attain it. Manitos of early renaissance Italian politics for example, can be seen as providing evidence of an era of beauty obsession with women.

For the most part, beauty in the Renaissance was defined by physical attractiveness. Men and women alike were looked at for their physical attractiveness. One way to quantify beauty was through what is known as the four S’s, although there are other measurements as well. A beautiful face for instance, would be defined by the distance between the eyes, the nose, the mouth and the chin.

In the modern age, however, beauty is largely measured by the ability to apply makeup and make-up to one’s face. A flawless face on a woman is considered to be exceedingly attractive. Numerous cosmetics products exist to enhance the appearance of one’s face as well. In fact, cosmetics companies make entire products around attractive face makeup. One of the most popular makeup brands in the world priori that markets skin care products and cosmetics with special formulations meant to enhance the look of the face.

The Greek goddesses are often depicted wearing makeup as well. In the case of Aphrodite, it was her beautiful face that attracted the slaveytus, who was her lover. Similarly, Demeter was often pictured with dark circles under her eyes as she slept. The Demeter brow powder is said to be the first cosmetic product to lighten the darkness of Demeter’s eyes. The popularity of Demeter’s face powder can be attributed to the fact that the goddess of beauty had the power to make people beautiful, no matter what their physical attributes.