Ancient Greek and Roman statues and architecture were, in their original form, painted in vivid polychrome colors. These bright colors, which decorated every aspect of 3D art in antiquity, largely faded by the time of a renewal in interest in classical art, during the eighteenth century. As such, many enlightenment-era figures wished to preserve the "pristine," but inauthentic, look of unpainted marble.

The piece Nike Adjusting Her Sandal is Classical Greek, as it comes from the temple of Athena Nike on the Athenian Acropolis, built in the fourth century. You can see the proportions of the figure clearly, as well, which is a hallmark of the period.

The key feature of ancient Greek sculpture was the monumental size of most of their pieces, as well as the dramatic depiction of heroes and gods. The statues therefore needed to be made of an extremely sturdy and dependable material. Marble proved the most durable and popular material among ancient Greek sculptors not just for the mentioned reasons, but because of its abundance in Greek lands.

The Geometric and Protogeometric were periods of Ancient Greek pottery. Sculpture in Ancient Greece consisted of three periods: the Archaic, the Classical and the Hellenistic periods. The first period of Ancient Greek sculpture, the Archaic period, is known as the period in which the Ancient Greek first began to sculpt and carve in stone.

If you compare ancient Roman and ancient Greek sculpture and architecture, you will be able to observe that there are an overwhelming amount of similarities. Some scholars have even accused the ancient Romans of being narrow-minded and limited in imagination, due to their reliance on copying ancient Greek art. In fact, many exact copies of ancient Greek sculptures were crafted by the ancient Romans.

Nearly every—if not every—ancient Roman temple housed at least one statue of a deity. Although Roman temples often had many similar characteristics, the divine statues were the most important attribute, as they were to be worshiped and revered. Divine statues were followed closely in importance only by the ancient Roman altar.

In comparison to earlier examples of kouroi and korai, the Anavysos kouros and the "Peplos" kore (both made c. 530 BCE) are much more naturalistic in their depictions of the human body, especially evident in the softer facial features and the more fleshy musculature.

The breastplate on the Augustus of Prima Porta is a classic Roman cuirass, a specific type of highly decorated armor worn by generals. Augustus’ cuirass depicts a wide range of his military accomplishments, showing his strength as a commander and leader of troops. This more orderly and earthly element is intentionally placed with more divine attributes, such as the sculpture portraying Augustus barefoot.

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The work shown here is a sarcophagus, an earthenware box built to contain human remains. The Sarcophagus of the Spouses was an Etruscan funerary monument, built to depict the married couple whose cremated remains were forever placed together in the work of art. The Etruscan sculptural tradition was highly influential on Roman sculpture, particularly portraits to honor the deceased.

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Roman sculptures were mainly realistic and individualistic during the Republican Time period. During this period, the Romans overthrew the previous Roman kingdom. The focus on individuals represented the changing focus away from the idea of a royal kingdom towards the focus of the real individuals in the kingdom fighting for freedom. The fantasy world of the royals was quickly replaced by a very real Republic filled with individuals concerned about their rights. Their art at the time reflected these feelings.