Praxiteles (;
Greek: Πραξιτέλης, etymology:
he who finishes his works) of
Athens, the son of
Cephisodotus the Elder, was the most renowned of the
Attic sculptors of the 4th century BC. He was the first to sculpt the
nude female form in a life-size statue. While no indubitably attributable sculpture by Praxiteles is extant, numerous copies of his works have survived; several
authors, including
Pliny the Elder, wrote of his works; and coins engraved with
silhouettes of his various famous statuary types from the period still exist.