For most people there is no more satisfying expression of Greek art than its sculpture. Its influence, through Rome and the Renaissance, is felt to the present day. It was the first, the only ancient art to break free from "conceptual" conventions for representing men and animals, and to explore consciously how art might imitate nature or even improve upon it. The first stages of this discovery, from the semi-abstract beginnings in the eighth century BC to the fuller awareness of what was possible in representational art of the early fifth century, are explored in this handbook. It describes the development in terms of styles and regions, tracing foreign influences and defining the contribution of native genius.