caryatid
Female figure pillar
A caryatid is a sculpted female figure serving as an architectural support, taking the place of a column or pillar.
The draped women of the Erechtheion on the Athenian Acropolis are the most famous examples.
Male equivalents are called atlantes or telamones.
The term extends to any decorative figure bearing weight in architecture or furniture design.
Vertical structural element
- pillarUpright architectural support
- entablatureBeam structure on columns
- pedestalSupport for statuary
- porticoColumned covered entryway
capital · shaft · base · plinth · colonnade · pilaster · peristyle · architrave
Three-dimensional sculpted likeness
- carvedCut to create form
- marbleRecrystallized limestone rock
- stoneSolid earth fragment
- figureOutline or numeral
draped · robed · chisel · bas-relief · artistry · craftsmanship · sculptor · relief
Sustaining structural mass
- supportTo uphold or sustain
- weightMeasure of heaviness
- entablatureBeam structure on columns
- buttressArchitectural wall reinforcement
reinforcement · foundation · bearing · underpinning · functional · engineering · stability · strength
Unmarried young woman
- goddessFemale sacred being
- drapedHung in loose folds
- robedWearing a loose gown
- chitonDraped Hellenic attire
drapery · graceful · priestess · female · woman · stola · flowing · elegant
Fortified hilltop in Athens
- ParthenonAncient Greek hilltop temple
- AthensGreece's capital city
- AthenaGreek wisdom deity
- HellenicOf Greek origin
Pericles · antiquity · classical · Ionic · Doric · Corinthian · temple · marble
Serving to beautify
- acanthusSpiny-leaved ornamental plant
- voluteArchitectural spiral ornament
- scrollworkSpiral ornamental design
- reliefEasing of distress
molding · finial · elaborate · embellished · stylized · architectural · facade · adornment
column
Vertical structural element
- pillarUpright architectural support
- entablatureBeam structure on columns
- pedestalSupport for statuary
portico · capital · shaft · base · plinth · colonnade · pilaster · peristyle · architrave · cornice
statue
Three-dimensional sculpted likeness
figure · draped · robed · chisel · bas-relief · artistry · craftsmanship · sculptor · relief · bust
load-bearing
Sustaining structural mass
- supportTo uphold or sustain
- weightMeasure of heaviness
- entablatureBeam structure on columns
buttress · reinforcement · foundation · bearing · underpinning · functional · engineering · stability · strength · tension
maiden
Unmarried young woman
chiton · drapery · graceful · priestess · female · woman · stola · flowing · elegant · poised
Acropolis
Fortified hilltop in Athens
Hellenic · Pericles · antiquity · classical · Ionic · Doric · Corinthian · temple · marble · mythology
decorative
Serving to beautify
- acanthusSpiny-leaved ornamental plant
- voluteArchitectural spiral ornament
- scrollworkSpiral ornamental design
relief · molding · finial · elaborate · embellished · stylized · architectural · facade · adornment
- sculpturestatue, sculpture, sculptor, sculpting, bronze
- ancient artifactsjade mask, Viking sword, bronze sculptures, antiquities, Roman coin
- columnspillar, column, pillars, shaft, shafts
- ancient GreeceAthens, Sparta, Zeus, Parthenon, Acropolis
- art termspainting, sculpture, drawing, portrait, landscape
- ancient sculptureVenus de Milo, Elgin Marbles, Colossus of Rhodes, marble statue, bronze statue
caryatidDoric column
Simplest Greek order pillar
Ionic column · Corinthian column · pilaster · pillar · pier