The human body is the battleground where our most fundamental ideas about the way the world is come into sharp focus.

When we think and talk about the body, we are suddenly very aware of that pattern of thinking which frames concepts in opposition, divides the world up between dark and light, material and immaterial, technology and humanity, invisible and visible, mind and body, body and soul.

In this new ten part series, academic and broadcaster Professor Alice Roberts traces how human knowledge of anatomy has grown and changed over time, and how this changing understanding has in turn affected our understanding of who we are.

Episode 4: Archetype and Anatomy - The body in ancient Greece

Images of ideal bodies are everywhere we look today. We are invited to look, to enjoy, to judge, to compare to these bodies. Can anyone match up to the ideal? This is not a new problem. In ancient Greece idealised images of the human body were everywhere and an explicit connection was drawn between physical and moral beauty. And it was from this society that the first true anatomist emerged – Aristotle. Professor Alice Roberts celebrates his wonderful studies of animal anatomy and the analogies he drew.

Presenter: Professor Alice Roberts
Actor: Jonathan Kydd

A Made in Manchester production for BBC Radio 4 Show less