Description

Caryatis is the name given to the sculpture that has a female form and is used to support buildings. The word Karyatis in ancient Greek means Daughter of Karyes, a city near Sparta. It is a variation of Kore and is used in architecture instead of columns as a decorative support on gates, facades, cornices, friezes, roofs and so on. The corresponding architectural element that has a male form is called Atlas. The Caryatids in the Erechtheum of the Acropolis belong to the art school of the rich style and artistically influenced the architectural decorative art until the end of the 19th century. We often find elements of imitation in Mannerism, an artistic flow of the 16th century. Apart from the Erechtheion we find Caryatids in 525 BC. in the simple temple of the Sifnaean Treasure in Delphi, where two Daughters in Ionic attire support the pediment. Caryatids at the Gate of the Palavicini Palace in Vienna. Caryatids were also found in the small propylaea of ​​Eleusis. The two oversized daughters replaced the columns. One of them is on display at the Eleusis Museum, while the other is at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge. On September 4, 2014, the Ministry of Culture of Greece announced and published photos with two Caryatids in the second vestibule of the tomb on Kasta hill in Amphipolis.