Agasias of Ephesus

Step into the world of Agasias of Ephesus, the 1st-century BC sculptor who basically dropped the mic with one stunning statue and then—poof!—vanished from the historical record. His masterpiece, the *Borghese Warrior*, is a breathtaking study of a man in combat, so dynamic you can almost hear the grunts. This magnificent sculpture, signed by Agasias, son of Dositheus, now resides in the Louvre. Rumor has it that Agasias was perpetually annoyed by his cousin, also a sculptor from Ephesus named Agasias, and created the *Warrior* just to show him up at the annual family get-together. Another (completely unsubstantiated) tale whispers that he spent the rest of his days lounging on a beach, insisting, "Perfection cannot be improved upon," whenever someone asked for another statue.