<P> The Doryphoros (Greek Δορυφόρος Classical Greek Greek pronunciation: (doryphóros), "Spear - Bearer"; Latinised as Doryphorus) of Polykleitos is one of the best known Greek sculptures of classical antiquity, depicting a solidly - built, well - muscled standing warrior, originally bearing a spear balanced on his left shoulder . Rendered somewhat above life - size proportions, the lost bronze original of the work would have been cast circa 440 BCE, but it is today known only from later (mainly Roman period) marble copies . The work nonetheless forms an important early example of both Classical Greek contrapposto and classical realism; as such, the iconic Doryphoros proved highly influential elsewhere in ancient art . </P> <P> The renowned Greek sculptor Polykleitos designed a sculptural work as a demonstration of his written treatise, entitled the "Kanon" (or Canon, translated as "measure" or "rule"), exemplifying what he considered to be the perfectly harmonious and balanced proportions of the human body in the sculpted form . </P> <P> Sometime in the 2nd century CE, the Greek medical writer Galen wrote about the Doryphoros as the perfect visual expression of the Greeks' search for harmony and beauty, which is rendered in the perfectly proportioned sculpted male nude: </P>

Who created a statue of the idealized male thus creating the greek canon of proportions