doryphorus

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. In Greek antiquity, and in art and archaeology, a spear-bearer; a man armed with a spear; specifically, a nude figure, or one almost nude, holding a spear or lance: a favorite subject with ancient sculptors. The most noted statue known as a doryphorus was that by the great artist Polycletus, which is regarded as his celebrated canon, or type of what the perfectly proportioned human figure should be.