In classical archaeology, portraits are still regarded as a realistic genre of Greek art, distinguished by individual features from so-called ideal images. But is this distinction truly justifiable? Othmar Jaeggi reexamines the question of individuality in portraits. The Greek portrait is a representation of the human form that typically conveys a representative or political statement. Individuality has so far been considered a crucial characteristic for defining the portrait genre and a prerequisite for interpreting likenesses in content. However, such interpretative attempts often fall into the trap of projecting contemporary notions onto ancient monuments. A number of Greek portraits exhibit neither individual traits nor do they formally differ from so-called ideal representations. What does this mean?.