The use of Classical texts, ideas, images and cultural material in contemporary contexts as a study field has developed over the last twenty years and become categorized as Classical Reception Studies. The human body was perceived in Antiquity as a metaphor and microcosm of the political establishment. This concept increased during the Archaic and Classical periods, and was expressed in images of the body in sculpture and vase painting. Interestingly, certain Israeli contemporary art reveals similar features, as a critical and socio-political art. This course offers a comparative interdisciplinary discussion, employing a methodology relating to sources from Antiquity. The course will discuss concepts such as: Psyche, Soma, Kalokagathia, Kalos Thanatos, Mimesis, Eros, Hedonism, Metamorphosis, Catharsis, Apotheosis and the Sublime. The Classical concepts will be examined in Classical images and comparatively in the work of Israeli contemporary artists with a Classical affiliation, as well as in works by artists who have engaged with body images in various techniques (sculpture, painting, installation and performance), such as: Yigal Tumarkin, Sigalit Landau, Anisa Ashkar, Asad Azi, Adi Ness, Sasha Serber, and others. The course will refer to research literature on Classical art as well as Israeli art, and to ancient sources such as Plato, Aristotle, Plotinus, and others.