The article analyses the specifics of the perception of ancient motifs and images in the literary heritage of Ukrainian neoclassicists of the early 20th century, M. Zerov and M. Rylsky in particular. The poetry of Neo-Classicism representatives is considered in cultural and literary aspects. The article proves that in spite of the common for neoclassicists attraction to kalokagathia as an aesthetic ideal of an ancient culture, which included the harmony of senses of a rational sphere, physical and spiritual roots, high culture of thinking and the discipline of poetic speech, the aesthetic platform of Zerov and Rylsky does not come down to the principles of “pure classicism”, the interpretation of classical forms and principles as universal and unchanging norms.
