Throughout history, civilizations have admired the beauty that the world has presented, but isn't beauty reserved for the gaze of the beholder? The word can be used to describe various things. It can describe places, animals, objects, people and even ideas. However, the only beauty our society embraces today is human beauty. Because the perception of beauty differs from person to person, different ideas of beauty have developed throughout history, which in turn have formed standards for human beauty, and these standards have had a considerable impact on today's society.History of BeautyBeauty has long played an important role in history. It has been fought for, envied and reshaped again and again. The Greeks found beauty fascinating, and so the philosophers of the time devoted their time to trying to define what made a person beautiful (Feng). Plato was able to invent "golden proportions" which stated that for a person to be considered to have beauty, the width of an ideal face would be two-thirds of its length and that a nose should only not be longer than the distance between two-thirds of its length. eyes (Feng). The Greeks were close to finding the answer that symmetry is inherently what attracts the human eye (Feng). Plato attempted to use proportions, but science now proves that it is the symmetry between the left and right sides of the face that shapes our perception of someone (Feng). Although Plato can be considered the true creator of aesthetics, he also believed that beauty had a deeper meaning than skin and bones. (Feng). He considered beauty to be an ideal beyond human perception, like truth or goodness, and was therefore eternal (The Arts). For him, visible beauty that could change over time and eventually deteriorate was a reflection...... middle of paper ...... Works Cited "THE ARTS". World History International: Essays in World History from Prehistory to the Present. Ed. RA Guisépi. Internet. November 24, 2011. "Dove Campaign for Real Beauty | Teachable Moment." Media Awareness Network | Media Education Network. Media Awareness Network. Internet. November 25, 2011. .Feng, Charles. “Looking good: the psychology and biology of beauty.” » The Journal of Young Investigators: JYI.org. December 2002. Web. November 25, 2011. .Saltzberg, Elayne A. and Joan C. Chrisler. “Beauty is the Beast: The Psychological Effects of the Search for the Perfect Body.” Women: a feminist perspective. Mayfield Publishing Company, 1995. web. November 25. 2011.