Polykleitos of Argos (Πολύκλειτος ὁ Ἀργεῖος) was a renowned Greek sculptor of the 5th century BCE, a contemporary of Pheidias [1][2][3]. Born in Argos, he was a student of the sculptor Ageladas and was celebrated for his work primarily in bronze, as well as gold, ivory, and marble [1][2]. His career peaked during the High Classical period, and ancient sources record his creation of a victorious Amazon statue for Ephesus and a chryselephantine statue of Hera for the Argive Heraion [1][2].

His major works include the Diadoumenos (Youth Tying a Fillet) and the Doryphoros (Spear-Bearer), both known through Roman copies [1][3]. He also authored the Kanon, a lost treatise on artistic theory and proportion [1][2][3].

Polykleitos was a central figure in Classical art, famed for his mastery of the male form [1][3]. His greatest significance lies in the Kanon, which systematically defined ideal proportions (symmetria), making his art a theoretical foundation for sculpture; the Doryphoros was its embodiment [2][3]. His principles of balanced contrapposto and mathematical harmony profoundly influenced subsequent Greek and Roman art [1][3].

Sources 1. Encyclopædia Britannica: Polyclitus (https://www.britannica.com/biography/Polyclitus) 2. Perseus Digital Library, Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology: Polycleitus (http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0104%3Aentry%3Dpolycleitus-bio-1) 3. World History Encyclopedia: Polykleitos (https://www.worldhistory.org/Polykleitos/)