Plato on Greek and Egyptian art

The Athenian in the Laws, the dialogue's main speaker, claims that the Greeks have much to learn from the way the Egyptians codified artistic styles and stuck to them, as opposed to the restless craving for originality and now styles marking Greek art of his day.



ATHENIAN: Long ago, it seems, [the Egyptians] recognized this priciple of which we are now speaking, namely that the movements, and songs that young people in cities practise habitually should be fine ones. They drew up a list of what these are and what they are like and displayed it in the temples. Painters and others who produce any kinds of forms were forbidden to innovate or invent anything non-tranditional; and it still is forbidden both to them and in the arts in general. If you look, you will find that things painted or sculpted there ten thousand years ago - and I mean literally ten thousand - are not at akk better or worse than what is produced now, but are produced according to the very same skill.

CLEINIAS: It's amazing, what you say.
ATHENIAN: Rather, an exceptional product of legislative and statesmanlike skill.

(laws 656d-657a)



Some of this suggests tha plato had seen Egyptian art; some suggests that he had not. It dose not matter for his point: fixed stylization in art is preferable to a developing tradition valuing originality.