A Caryatid (‘maiden of Karyai’, an ancient town in Peloponnese) is an architectural element in form of female statue whose function is to support on its head an entablature (superstructure of mouldings and bands).
On the Acropolis of Athens, 6 marble Caryatids formed the southern porch of the Erechtheion, a temple dedicated to the legendary Greek hero Erechthonios. None of the Caryatids went destroyed or lost; today 5 of them are in the New Acropolis Museum of Athens and 1, which stood second from the left on the front of the porch, is in the British Museum of London.
In an ancient temple the frieze is the central band of a superstructure lying horizontally above columns and capitals. The Parthenon’s frieze, 160 metres long, rested above the perimetral wall of the temple’s cell. The marble frieze, sculpted in low relief, depicts the procession held during the Panathenaic festival.
The frieze of the Parthenon was formed by 115 panels. Of the 94 preserved 36 are in the New Acropolis Museum of Athens, 56 in the British Museum of London and 1 plus some fragments of others in the Louvre Museum of Paris. Further fragments of the frieze are also in the Vatican Museums of Rome, the Kunsthistorisches Museum of Vienna and the Glyptothek of Munich.
A pediment (triangular gable) formed by all-round marble statues crowned each of the two short sides of the Parthenon. The eastern pediment represents the birth of Athena from the head of Zeus, while the western depicts the contest between Athena and Poseidon over the patronage of Attica, Athens region.
Of the 28 statues preserved, 9 are in the New Acropolis Museum of Athens and 19 in the British Museum of London. A head from the pediments is in the Louvre Museum in Paris; some other fragments are in the Vatican Museums of Rome.
The east pediment of the parthenon is known to have protrayed the birth of Athena out of her father, Zeus's head. The central carving, probably showing Athena striding away from her father, is now lost and these three, peripheral figures are all that remains. They are thought to represent the goddesses Hestia, Dione and Aphrodite and are remarkable for their naturalistic quality and the sense of movement suggested in the folds of their garments.
