Taken in a short trip to Athens, this is the stoty A caryatid (Greek: Καρυάτις, plural: Καρυάτιδες) 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 Karyae", an ancient town of Peloponnese. Karyai had a famous 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" (Kerenyi 1980 p 149). Some of the earliest known examples were found in the treasuries of Delphi, dating to about the 6th century BC, but their use as supports in the form of women can be traced back even earlier, to ritual basins, ivory mirror handles from Phoenicia, and draped figures from archaic Greece. The best-known and most-copied examples are those of the six figures of the Caryatid Porch of the Erechtheion on the Acropolis at Athens One of those original six figures, removed by Lord Elgin in the early 1800s, is now in the British Museum in London. The other five figures, although they are damaged by erosion and replaced onsite by replicas, are in the Acropolis Museum. Thanks Wikipedia
Excellent image txules... the statues looks perfect, the marble texture looks well with very good details because of the good contrast and the very good lighting conditions, plus the dramatic sky, very well viewed in greyscale my friend. Best regards!
Oh yes I saw these beautiful ladies/columns when being in Athens in May. I think this photos is stunning seing them so close and also with the background and composition adding indeed something mythical, mysterious and grand to them- timeless herds of time. A favourite.
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