fl. fifth century B.C.

Greek sculptor who advanced knowledge and understanding of human anatomy and form. Although none of his artwork is known to have survived, his reputation as a creator of sculptural masterpieces is strongly supported by the large numbers of copies that were made of his famous works, such as The Discus Thrower. A written treatise on human form and proportion, called the Kanon and attributed to Polyclitus, enhances his reputation as a master of expressing proper human proportion and external anatomy in his sculpture. His work illustrates the earliest connection between forms of art that accurately detail the human body and their influence on the study of human anatomy and medicine.