A Caryatid is a sculpted figure of a human female, used as a decorative column to support the entablature of a temple.
Used in Greek architecture, it became far more common in the Renaissance. One of the most famous uses of Caryatids is on the Porch of the Maidens of the Erechtheion on the Athenian Acropolis.
It is thought that the Caryatids’ representations were taken from the people of Caryae, whose women were enslaved by the Athenians when the people sided with the Persians.
