From 500 BC to 323 BC, it was a classical period in Greece, and it was an era of high prosperity in art, literature, philosophy and politics. During this period, it had a serious conflict with two powerful enemies, Persia and Macedonia. The Greeks won the war against Persia, and a spirit of cooperation was aroused in every city-state. At the same time, Athens played a leading role in the post-war city-state alliance, because its army played a role in turning the tide against the so-called barbarians. The further prosperity of social economy and the in-depth development of slave owners' democratic politics promoted the all-round prosperity of Greek culture and art. Greek art, especially sculpture and architecture, constituted the peak of ancient Greek art. The great achievements of ancient Greek sculpture and architecture were closely related to the social system, aesthetic value, aesthetic concept and social fashion of ancient Greece.

First, the social system of ancient Greece

Ancient Greece practiced neither absolute monarchy and strict bureaucracy in the East, nor theocracy and religious rule of Egyptian pharaohs. Instead, it adopted a slave democracy with the city-state as the unit. The citizens' assembly is the highest authority. Noble slave owners, industrial and commercial slave owners and freemen all have the right to participate, speak and vote. The rulers of the polis are democratically elected from the citizens' assembly. This kind of slavery democracy is the most critical and important system of direct democracy, that is, the political, democratic and sovereign rights of the city-state belong to all free people. It does not govern the country by electing representatives to form a parliament or congress, but the freemen directly participate in the governance of the city-state. Because the ancient Greece implemented the system of direct democracy with sovereignty in the people, citizens could listen to politicians' speeches and debates, participate in discussions on domestic and foreign affairs, elect or recall officials, and decide to sacrifice, which also stimulated the development of ancient philosophy and eloquence to some extent. In the eyes of freemen, the country is just a acropolis with many temples, where the remains of entrepreneurial heroes are buried and national gods are enshrined. There are not only gathering squares, entertainment theaters and gymnasiums, but also handsome, simple and brave freemen who are engaged in public affairs or philosophical research, as well as slaves who wait on them and engage in productive labor such as farming. This is everything! The Greek social system embodies the respect for people (though limited), endows citizens with the freedom to create, stimulates each citizen's sense of responsibility and enthusiasm for creation, and is conducive to their own bodybuilding, harmony and all-round development. As winkelmann said in the History of Ancient Art, "Freedom has its throne at any time". Therefore, Greeks can be poets, philosophers, critics, chief executives, priests, judges, citizens, athletes and soldiers at the same time. They are smart and interesting, they can concentrate on one or twenty talents, but they won't let one talent hinder the development of another. Greek freemen live and work for their existence. They emphasize their own perfection and beauty, rather than simply contributing to the emperor. So Greek art also exists for the beautification and joy of life. In the eyes of the Greeks, a person is a real person with both thoughts and will, a lively and agile body. Optimistic and cheerful, they regard life as enjoyment, and even the most serious thoughts and political systems have become pleasant things. Their nature is full of open-minded, cheerful, simple and naive beliefs about nature, life and life. There are no absurd beliefs and superstitions in their thoughts. In their lives, they only enjoy themselves with the gods, show their bodybuilding for them, decorate the polis for them, and create brilliant works with art and poetry, so that people can temporarily escape from real life and share their happiness with them.

Second, the aesthetic value of Greek style

The Greeks provided an ideal model of "classical beauty" for western art. They regarded the universe as a whole and a complete sacred order. The word "universe" itself contained the meaning of "harmony, quantity and order". Pythagoras, an early Greek philosopher, pointed out that number is the same law of music and the operation of celestial bodies in the universe, symbolizing the harmony between music and the universe, and man himself is a harmonious body. Once he meets the harmony of the outside world, he will feel, sing, respond in unison and seek the same spirit. Democritus famously said, "Man is a small universe". In the eyes of the Greeks, good things are produced by the harmonious relationship between the parts of the whole, and the beauty of this harmony comes directly from the human body, which is a small universe and a small order in the big order of the universe. They believe that the human body is beautiful, it is the best unity of truth, goodness and beauty, it embodies the wisdom and order that can be found in the universe and is the source of all goodness and beauty. Therefore, artists extend this concept to architecture, sculpture art and other aspects, and use human sculpture to express the image of God in their minds, thus symbolizing the sacred order of the universe. Ancient Greek sculptors repeatedly explored the standard proportion of human body in order to seek a human body standard that expresses beauty. The sculptor Poliklitos specially studied the proportions of all parts of the human body and wrote the book Rules, which clearly pointed out the proportional symmetry data of all aspects of the human body. For example, the height of a strong human body is seven heads long (7: 1), and the center of gravity of the statue is concentrated on one foot and the other foot is relaxed, which can highlight the tension and relaxation of the muscles and tendons of the whole body and make the whole image more expressive. In Poliklitos' masterpiece The Lancer, he created a noble and solemn ideal human image with a head-to-body ratio of 1:8.