Doryphoros is the ancient Greek statue by Polykleitos that established idealized human proportion through a spear-bearing athlete.
The title means “Spear-Bearer” in Greek. Polykleitos created the original bronze around 440 BCE, but the original has been lost and is known through Roman marble copies. The figure demonstrates contrapposto, with weight placed on one leg and the body balanced through contrasting positions.
Polykleitos described the proportional system behind the work in a treatise called the Canon, which survives only through later references. The sculpture therefore became associated with mathematical harmony and the Greek search for an ideal human form.
The spear is usually missing from surviving copies, so viewers may not immediately recognize the subject. Doryphoros is not the same as Myron’s Discobolus, whose athlete is captured in the act of throwing a discus.