Kouros statues were inspired by Egyptian sculpture. Greeks who went to Egypt for trade took the style and adapted its detail but kept the enigmatic smiling expression, stiff walking pose and stylised hair. They also kept the function of grave markers and votive (prayer) offerings.
 
Egyptians believed that after death the ka or spirit would operate through the statue, even if the body was destroyed. The style is always similar as it represents the human as spirit. The inscription identifies the owner and reinforces their prayer of intent or gratitude to the divine.
 The smile of the Kalymnos kouros can represent for us the bliss of being pure spirit. It invites us to awaken to our spiritual nature and know that we are all one as humans and with the entire natural world. The pose reminds us that we are each a beautiful soul that has chosen to walk through the adventure of human existence until we return to pure spirit.  The androgynous look invites us to integrate the masculine and feminine aspects of our being and to hold each half of humanity and all its peoples in equal value and respect.

The enigmatic Archaic smile has been linked with Mona Lisa and the Buddha, who also reflects human awakening to our spiritual selves. Early Buddha statues are almost contemporaneous with kouroi and the Silk Road between China, India and the Mediterranean was an effective conduit for knowledge and ideas.

The serene look has also been said to express the well-being of an Arcadian content that preceded humanity's downfall and current distress. The smile speaks of a lost golden paradise.

In the Aegean, this paradise was almost certainly Minoan Crete, whose joyous, artistic, egalitarian culture flourished until about 1500 BC. Kalymnos probably shared this culture as Minoan remains and local copies have been found on the island.

One of the earliest kouros statues, a female kore, was made in Crete in about 640 BC. She is known as the Auxerre goddess because her right arm is held across her breast in the pose that indicates a priestess or goddess. Like all kore statues, she is clothed. 

The Find - Archaeology
The Temple of Apollo