Caryatid from the Erechtheion

myminifactory

This woman stands proudly in a row of four, second from the left. Her resemblance to the girls parading in the east frieze of the Parthenon is striking. As a caryatid, she is a column carved into the form of a female figure. She's one of six caryatids that held up the roof of the Erechtheion. A peplos pins her shoulders, and her hair falls in thick braids down her back. In all likelihood, she carried a sacrificial vessel in one of her missing hands. Her likeness to the women on the east frieze of the Parthenon is unmistakable, given that it was just completed when work began on the Erechtheion. On her head, she bears an architectural capital like a basket. The weight she carries rests on her right leg, encased in perpendicular folds. Her other leg is flexed, with drapery molded to fit perfectly around it.