caryatid
Sign in to savethumb|260px|right|The caryatid porch of the Erechtheion in [[Athens, Greece. These are now replicas. The originals are in the Acropolis Museum (with one in the British Museum).]] thumb|175px|The caryatid standing in contrapposto, originally part of the [[Erechtheion, was removed by Lord Elgin and is now displayed at the British Museum]]
Article
7 sectionsContents
- Etymology
- Ancient usage
- Renaissance and after
- Gallery
- See also
- References
- External links
thumb|260px|right|The caryatid porch of the Erechtheion in [[Athens, Greece. These are now replicas. The originals are in the Acropolis Museum (with one in the British Museum).]] thumb|175px|The caryatid standing in contrapposto, originally part of the [[Erechtheion, was removed by Lord Elgin and is now displayed at the British Museum]]
A caryatid ( ; ; ) is a sculpted female figure serving as an architectural support taking the place of a column or a pillar supporting an entablature on her head. The Greek term karyatides literally means "maidens of Karyai", an ancient town on the Peloponnese. Karyai had a temple dedicated to the goddess Artemis in her aspect of Artemis Karyatis: "As Karyatis she rejoiced in the dances of the nut-tree village of Karyai, those Karyatides, who in their ecstatic round-dance carried on their heads baskets of live reeds, as if they were dancing plants".