Which term describes sculpted female figures used as architectural supports?

• A. Caryatids
• B. Atlantes
• C. Pediments
• D. Friezes

Answer: (A)

Sculpted female figures used as architectural supports are called caryatids. They function as load-bearing elements, standing in for columns to carry the weight of an entablature or roof. The best-known example is on the Erechtheion’s Porch of the Maidens on the Acropolis. The name comes from Caryae, a Greek town, and it highlights the distinctive female form repurposed as a structural support.

By contrast, atlantes (or telamons) are male figures serving the same architectural role. Pediments are the triangular spaces at the top of a façade, often filled with sculpture, not figures acting as columns. Friezes are horizontal bands of relief sculpture along the façade, running above the columns, again not life-sized supports.