Internal and External Beauty
By: Thomas Kosakowski
October 11, 2011
Period E
Mr. Yim
English II
What is beauty? Some define it as pleasurable qualities that please the eyes, while
others define it as a combination of qualities that please the brain. In Heroes, Gods and
Monsters of the Greek Myths by Bernard Evslin, beauty is viewed as both a moral trait
and a physical trait. Although some of the gods and goddesses, including Aphrodite,
depicted beauty as a quality that pleases the eyes, the wiser gods, such as Athene,
recognized that beauty is more internal than external, meaning that beauty pleases more
than just the eyes. This is the correct depiction of the term because it proves that you can
be blind and still recognize beauty. Beauty is recognized by the brain; it is only absorbed
by the senses.
If the sense of the word beauty just referred to the overall visualizations of
something, then the definition would be rather shallow. Of course one could say that
something looks beautiful, but that is only one aspect of the word. If this were the case,
any person who is blind or has difficulty with their vision is deprived of all of the world’s
beauty. However, because beauty appears in more than one form, one who is blind will
only be deprived of some of the world’s beauty and not all of it. In order to fully
understand this aspect, you must have the ability to empathize in the shoes of someone
who is blind and attempt to view the world from their perspective. If you can do this,
then you will have no difficulty understanding that beauty is more moral than physical.
However, if you cannot do this, then this next point should aid your understanding.
Obviously, when someone first thinks of beauty, they think about good looks. In
the story, Aphrodite is the symbol of beauty for the ancient Greeks. However, beauty can
be found within each of the gods and goddesses. Beauty is within Apollo’s music, as it is
in his skill to yield a bow-and-arrow. Beauty is found more so in a person’s skills than it
is anywhere else. The beauty found in Apollo’s archery and his music is just some of the
many places that it can be located. Beauty is in everything, and everything is beautiful.
Even something that is viewed as ugly by many different societies may be viewed as
beautiful in another. The Minotaur could act as a great example. In Theseus’s opinion,
“The thing was more fearsome than in his worst dreams.” (Evslin 167) However,
Pasiphae, being the creature’s mother, shared love with the Minotaur and gave it all the
nourishment it needed. There was love within the heart of the Minotaur, and there is
beauty found in love. This proves that there is beauty within the Minotaur, as there is in
everything else. If you are still not convinced that beauty is moral, then what comes next
will surely persuade you.
When stating that beauty is internal or moral, one is often referring to personality.
If someone has a beautiful personality, then they are very sympathetic and optimistic.
However, when someone doesn’t have a beautiful personality, they may be very grouchy
and pessimistic. Theseus proves to have a beautiful personality when he says, “I’ll be
glad to wash your feet, sir.” (Evslin 151) The person whom Theseus was talking to was
actually planning to kill him. Even knowing this, Theseus still treated him with the same
respect that he would treat anyone else with. Also, a beautiful personality is also one that
is ambitious. Theseus shows that he is ambitious when he states, “I will not be small and
weak and poor. I will be a king, a warrior…or I will not be at all.” (Evslin 146) He is
ambitious because he decides that he will achieve great obstacles in his life, or he will die
trying to achieve them. This proves to be an excellent example of a beautiful personality.
Beauty is not always physical or external, it can be discovered within someone’s
characteristics and their personality.
Beauty is more than meets the eye. Although some of the gods and
goddesses, including Aphrodite, depicted beauty as a quality that pleases the eyes, the
wiser gods, such as Athene, recognized that beauty is more internal than external,
meaning that beauty pleases more than just the eyes. Along with the visual aspect of
beauty, it can also be found within the other four senses of the body: sound, taste, touch,
and smell. Music can sound beautiful; food can have a beautiful taste; the caress of an
object may feel beautiful; and some flowers may have a beautiful scent. All these
physical traits may be attained by the senses, but it is the brain that discovers the beauty
in them. Even a personality may be beautiful. It would be both joyful and optimistic,
and it would be very ambitious. Beauty is in everyone, and everyone is beautiful. Even
the ugly are beautiful, but beauty is never ugly.