Through the gorgeous medium of marble the Greeks and later the Romans created an archetype of beauty for the human body. Brilliant sculptors such as Praxiteles elevated the art to an almost divine level, depicting the body as sensuous, seductive and sacred. This very lovely torso follows in this tradition, and represents the classic Greek influence of pure elegance as the flower of Hellenism. In the wake of Alexander the Great's army an even larger number of artisans, intellectuals, poets and painters spread Greek culture throughout the Mediterranean, and in the process created their own culture. However, only a rare few sculptors were able to master the chisel to produce a sculpture of this quality. It is a study of graceful curves flowing from the arms, down to the delicate ripple of the waist, around the legs and branching off at the groin as if it is all one continuous, never-ending line. The carving is so delicate the marble seems like flesh; vibrant and virile, the body of young boy on the verge of manhood.