During the 4th century, the portrait began to retreat in favor of an idealized symbol of what that person looked like. The art of the portrait flourished in Ancient Greek and especially Roman sculpture, where sitters demanded individualized and realistic portraits, even unflattering ones. Although the appearance of the figures differs considerably, they are considerably idealized, and all show relatively young people, making it uncertain whether they were painted from life. These are almost the only paintings from the classical world that have survived, apart from frescos, though many sculptures and portraits on coins have fared better.
Some of the earliest surviving painted portraits of people who were not rulers are the Greco-Roman funeral portraits that survived in the dry climate of Egypt's Fayum district. 2144–2124 BC, show a consistent appearance with some individuality, although it is sometimes disputed that these count as portraits. The 28 surviving rather small statues of Gudea, ruler of Lagash in Sumeria between c. Nonetheless, many subjects, such as Akhenaten and some other Egyptian pharaohs, can be recognised by their distinctive features. Most early representations that are clearly intended to show an individual are of rulers, and tend to follow idealizing artistic conventions, rather than the individual features of the subject's body, though when there is no other evidence as to the ruler's appearance the degree of idealization can be hard to assess. Roman-Egyptian funeral portrait of a young boy
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