Archaic smileGreek sculpture
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![Archaic smile, detail of a kouros (statue of a young man) from Tenea, Greece, c. …[Credits : Hirmer Fotoarchiv, Munchen]](http://media-2.web.britannica.com/eb-media/11/5811-003-EB24954D.gif "Archaic smile, detail of a kouros (statue of a young man) from Tenea, Greece, c. …[Credits : Hirmer Fotoarchiv, Munchen]")
the smile that characteristically appears on the faces of Greek statues of the Archaic period (c. 650–480 bc), especially those from the second quarter of the 6th century bc.
The significance of the convention is not known, although it is often assumed that for the Greeks this kind of smile reflected a state of ideal health and well-being. It has also been suggested that it is simply the result of a technical difficulty in fitting the curved shape of the mouth to the somewhat blocklike head typical of Archaic sculpture.
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