Philosopher Karl Popper, a refugee from Hitler's Austria, argued that Plato's search for an ideal society and the introduction of idealism into politics were precedents that led to totalitarianism. He wrote that any fixed society will, by definition, be hostile to criticism or to change. Eventually the preservation of the system will be more important than the welfare of the population.
There have been arguments against this linking of Plato's Republic and totalitarianism, yet it is interesting to see the preference for the classical canon in the art of Hitler's Germany. The painting, The Four Elements: Fire, Water, Earth, Air, hung in a place of honor in Hitler's apartment. Critics often point to the banal nature of art approved by the Third Reich. The clarity and simplicity of of the classical canon may be used for a variety of purposes, including propaganda for a method of governing or a way of life. Classical forms have been used in protest art as well.
Compare Hitler's favorite painting to the classical statue of Aphrodite. There is much to be said in terms of the artists' attitude towards women (treatment of their bodies, facial expression), their use of the ideal female form to promote certain attitudes about beauty and the linking of ideal female form to the state. Think about how the classical ideal of femininity is used today in advertising, how its opposite is used (bohemian fashion -gypsy styles, hippy nostalgia, etc.)
