Caryatid

kar-i-at'id, a figure of a woman in long robes taking the place of a column in architecture. The Greek plural, the Caryatides, is the name of a remarkable series of six marble figures of this sort employed to uphold the roof of the porch of a temple adjoining the Parthenon in Athens. Just what motive the Greeks had in employing female figures is not known. It has been suggested that they represent slaves taken in war; but the grace and dignity of these sculptured forms precludes the thought of their being introduced as a mark of subjection or slavery. They are about seven feet in height. The originals still stand, and form one of the most beautiful portions of the remarkable ruins on the Acropolis. The use of caryatides was not uncommon in Greece and Rome. Male figures used for the same purpose were called atlantes. See Parthenon