What made Greeks rectangular and Romans round?

Today we are used to thinking of the cultures of Greece and Rome (and Graeco-Roman art especially) as the products of the interaction between conscious minds and social and economic realities. Earlier, though, many felt that the unconscious reactions of individuals and groups to geography and climate were equally important. The latest neuroscience sustains their arguments. Indeed, they can be greatly extended, shedding new light on critical aspects of mythology and philosophy, poetry and rhetoric, and art and architecture.

John Onians is Emeritus Professor in the School of Art History and World Art Studies at the University of East Anglia. He has published numerous books on Greek and Roman art (including Classical Art and the Cultures of Greece and Rome in 1999), as well as world art history more generally. He is currently using the latest neuroscience as a tool to answer various long-standing questions in the history of art.