Part 47 (2/2)

[Sidenote: =407.=]

So-called Caryatid, or Canephoros, [Greek: kanephoros] (fig. 19).

One of the six female figures which served as columns in the southern portico of the Erechtheion. In the survey of the building these figures are called _Korae_, ”maidens.” They have been called Canephori (see p. 149) by Visconti (_Memoirs on the Sculptures of the Earl of Elgin_, p. 122), and others. It is true that the maidens here represented are such as those represented on the Parthenon frieze. But there is nothing that specially connects them with the Canephori, or persons who bore the sacred vessels on their heads. By some writers they have been called Caryatids, on account of a statement of Vitruvius (i., chap. 1) that women of Carya, a town of Arcadia, were represented as architectural supports--a punishment which they incurred for betraying the Greeks to the Persians.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 19.--Caryatid of the Erechtheion.]

The figure here described wears a long chiton, which is drawn up under the girdle, falling in rich folds, and is fastened on each shoulder by a circular brooch. Attached to this is the diplodion, which falls down before and behind. In front it falls to the waist; behind it would trail on the ground, if a part were not looped up to the shoulders, so as to make a deep fold, falling as low as the hips.

The hair from the back of the head falls in a thick ma.s.s between the shoulders, tied together with a band. The hair gathered from the forehead is woven into tresses. Two fall on each shoulder; the others are twisted round the head in the form of the _krobylos_ (cf. p. 87).

The arms are wanting from above the elbows. The right hand probably hung by the side, where the surface of the drapery is seen to have been protected from corrosion. The left hand has drawn from behind one corner of the diplodion.

The head supports a capital, consisting first of a pad or cus.h.i.+on [Greek: tyle], such as was, and still is, used to support weights.

(Compare the east frieze of the Parthenon, Nos. 30, 31.) From this the transition to the square abacus is effected by an egg and tongue and a bead and reel moulding.

This statue is admirably designed, both in composition and drapery, to fulfil its office as a part of an architectural design. While the ma.s.siveness of the draped figure suggests the idea that the support for the superimposed architecture is not structurally inadequate, the lightness and grace of the pose suggest that the maiden bears her burden with ease.

The original position of the figure is marked A on the plan. Four figures and part of a fifth still remain on the Acropolis. They are uniform in their general design, but differ slightly in pose and arrangement of drapery.

Pentelic marble; height, 7 feet 7 inches. Stuart, II., ch. II., pl. 19. _Mus. Marbles_, IX., pl. 6. Rayet, _Monuments_, No. 40; Mitch.e.l.l, _Selections_, pl. 7; Murray, II., pl. 17; Wolters, No.

810; _Stereoscopic_, No. 115.

ARCHITECTURE OF THE ERECHTHEION.

[Sidenote: =408.=]

Ionic column from the north end of the eastern portico of the Erechtheion (B on plan). This being a column from an angle of the building, the volutes occur on two adjacent sides, so as to present themselves both to the east and north view.

Height, 21 feet 7-1/2 inches. _Synopsis_, Nos. 125-7, 110; Stuart, II, ch. II., pls. 4, 5, 6.

[Sidenote: =409.=]

Capital of one of the pilasters (_antae_) and part of necking or wall-band from the east wall of the Erechtheion (C, C, C on plan). It is to be observed that the frieze on the pilaster, though a.n.a.logous to that on the walls, differs from it in details which heighten the richness of the effect, and which a.s.similate the pilaster to the columns of the east portico, while the walls resemble the capitals of the north portico. Moreover, on the pilaster the carving of the frieze is raised above the surface of the courses, while on the wall it is set back from the wall face.

The slab on the right must be from the north-east angle of the Erechtheion. The three slabs next to it might belong to the east, north, or south sides, as regards the form and design. But the excellent preservation of the surface, as compared with that of the unprotected north-east angle, seems to show that these slabs are derived from the east wall, where they were protected by the portico.

It is interesting to note the numerous repairs in the series of slabs.

They probably date from the time of the construction of the building, and were meant to make good what was broken by accident in the course of construction. On the north side of the pilaster, seven inches of the bead and reel moulding immediately surmounting the anthemia have been skilfully inserted in a groove and fastened with lead. On the east side of the pilaster one of the beads of the lower bead and reel moulding was attached by a plug, of which the hole remains. On the next slab on the left one bead of the upper bead and reel moulding was similarly added. On the second slab from the left, one tongue of the egg and tongue moulding, one piece of spiral connecting the anthemia and one bead were let into the marble. Traces of red colour remain in the upper part of the frieze on this slab.--_Elgin Coll._

Height, 1 foot 7-1/2 inches. The slab containing the capital of the pilaster is 6 feet in length. Of the other slabs, two are each 4 feet 3 inches in length. The fourth is broken on the right-hand joint, and measures 4 feet 1-1/2 inches. _Synopsis_ Nos. 252-255 (127-130). _Greek Inscriptions in Brit. Mus._, I., p. 89, _e_, pl.

3, fig. 8. Stuart, II., ch. II., pl. 5. Inwood, _Erechtheion_, p.

110.

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