akroteria

(noun)

Architectural ornaments placed on a flat base and mounted at the apex of the pediment of a building in the classical style.

Related Terms

Examples of akroteria in the following topics:

  • Etruscan Temples

    • Instead, they placed terra cotta statues called akroteria along the roof's ridge pool and on the peaks and edges of the pediment.
    • These akroteria figures were generally built slightly larger than life-sized and were connected thematically.
    • The Apulu of Veii is one example of an akroteria and is part of a sculptural group that depicted the story of Herakles and the Ceryneaian Hind.

  • Etruscan Sculpture

    • Apulu, the Etruscan equivalent of Apollo, is a slightly larger than life-size terra cotta akroteria figure the Portonaccio Temple at Veii, an Etruscan city just north of Rome.
    • The figure was part of a group of akroteria that stood on the ridgepole of the temple and depicted the myth of Heracles and the Ceryneaian hind.
    • Of the akroteria figures from this temple, Apulu is the most intact surviving statue.