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An acroterion, acroterium, (pl. akroteria)<ref name=":0" /> is an architectural ornament placed on a flat pedestal called the acroter or plinth, and mounted at the apex or corner of the pediment of a building in the classical style.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> An acroterion placed at the outer angles of the pediment is an acroterion angularium ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}} means ‘at the corners’).
The acroterion may take a wide variety of forms, such as a statue, tripod, disc, urn, palmette or some other sculpted feature. Acroteria are also found in Gothic architecture.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> They are sometimes incorporated into furniture designs.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
EtymologyEdit
The word comes from the Greek Template:Transliteration ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}} 'summit, extremity'), from the comparative form of the adjective ἄκρος, ("extreme", "endmost") + -τερος (comparative suffix) + -ιον (substantivizing neuter form of adjectival suffix -ιος). It was Latinized by the Romans as {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}.<ref>Template:OED</ref> Acroteria is the plural of both the original Greek<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and the Latin form.<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>
According to Webb, during the Hellenistic period the winged victory or Nike figure was considered to be "the most appropriate motif for figured akroteria.”<ref name=":0">Template:Cite book</ref>
GalleryEdit
- Winged Nike at Samothrace Archeaological museum.jpg
Ancient Greek marble acroterion in the form of Nike, Archaeological Museum of Samothrace, Samothrace, Greece
- Ancient Greece Marble Statue (28207918510).jpg
Ancient Greek acroterion of a Nereid on horseback, Template:Circa380 BC, marble, National Archaeological Museum, Athens
- Marble akroterion MET DT259543.jpg
Ancient Greek akroterion, 350–325 BC, marble, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
- Marble akroterion of the grave monument of Timotheos and Nikon MET GR97.jpg
Akroterion of the grave monument of Timotheos and Nikon, 350–325 BC, marble, Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Artemis Temple, akroteria, 330-300 BC, AM of Epidaurus, 202546.jpg
Ancient Greek acroteria from a temple of Artemis, 330-300 BC, marble, Archaeological Museum of Epidaurus, Epidaurus, Greece,
- Agios Athanasios, Ancient Macedonian Tomb - II (36979099971).jpg
Ancient Greek acroteria of the Tomb III, Agios Athanasios, Greece, 325-300 BC
- Βronze inscribed plaque with an honorary decree of the Eleians for the Olympic victor Demokrates from the island of Tenedos, written in the Eleian dialect, from the Sanctuary of Zeus at Olympia, 300-250 BC (28382489002).jpg
Simplified Ancient Greek acroteria of the pediment on an honorary decree, Template:Circa300-250 BC, bronze, National Archaeological Museum, Athens<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- . Statue sur le toît de l'église Saint Pierre et Paul.jpg
Romanesque acroterion of the Église Saints-Pierre-et-Paul de Rosheim, Rosheim, France, unknown sculptor or architect, Template:Circa1150
- 06-Villa-Rotonda-Palladio.jpg
Renaissance acroteria of the Villa La Rotonda, outside Vicenza, Italy, designed by Andrea Palladio, 1566-1590s<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- Lyon 5e - Cimetière de Loyasse - Allée 7 - Tombe Lupin-Roux - Façade principale.jpg
Neoclassical acroteria with mascarons on the Grave of Lupin-Roux family, Loyasse Cemetery, Lyon, sculpted by Pierre-Marie Prost, Template:Circa1830
- Blumenberg Fenster.jpg
Neoclassical acroteria of a window of the Großer Blumenberg, Leipzig, Germany, designed by Albert Geutebrück mid-19th century
- Grave of Alexandrina Grejdanescu and Barbu Grejdanescu in the Bellu Cemetery in Bucharest, Romania (02).jpg
Neoclassical pediment with acroteria of the Grave of Alexandrina Grejdanescu and Barbu Grejdanescu, Bellu Cemetery, Bucharest, Romania, unknown architect or sculptor, Template:Circa1871
- Sphinx-University of Athens.jpg
Greek Revival sphinx acroterion of the Academy of Athens, designed by Theophil Hansen, 1885
- COUVERTURES EN TUILES AU JAPON Amortissements divers.png
Japanese acroterion, illustrations by Abel Guérineau, 1887
- Soleil collège Franklin.jpg
Beaux Arts acroterion of the Collège Franklin (Boulevard Louis-XIV no. 5), Lille, France, unknown architect or sculptor, Template:Circa1900
- 14 Strada Grigore Cobălcescu, Bucharest (07).jpg
Beaux Arts acroterion above a window of Strada Grigore Cobălcescu no. 14, Bucharest, unknown architect or sculptor, Template:Circa1900
- 2 Strada Bocșa, Bucharest (02).jpg
Beaux Arts acroterion above a window of Strada Bocșa no. 2, Bucharest, unknown architect or sculptor, Template:Circa1900
- Art Nouveau polychrome tiled stove in the Mița the Cyclist House, Bucharest (04).jpg
Art Nouveau acroterion of a stove in the Mița the Cyclist House (Strada Biserica Amzei no. 9), Bucharest, possibly designed by Nicolae C. Mihăescu,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> 1908
- Bucharest, Gara de Nord (15483566168).jpg
Art Deco acroterion of the Dinicu Golescu Entrance of the Northern Railway Station, Bucharest, designed by Victor Gh. Ștephănescu, 1935<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- Chicago (3392204396).jpg
Postmodern acroterion of the Harold Washington Library, Chicago, by Hammond, Beeby & Babka, 1991<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- HoustonChildrenMuseum.JPG
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- Maitland Robinson Library, Cambridge.jpg
New Classical acroteria on the pediment of the Maitland Robinson Library, Downing College, Cambridge University, Cambridge, UK, by Quinlan Terry, 1992