The Porch of the Caryatids

The Porch of the Caryatids is the south porch of the Erechtheion on the Acropolis of Athens, where six marble female figures stand in place of columns and carry the roof. The figures on the monument today are replicas. Five of the originals are displayed in the Acropolis Museum in Athens, and the sixth is in the British Museum in London. The porch is included in the standard Acropolis ticket, which costs €30 full and €15 reduced.

What the Porch of the Caryatids is

The Erechtheion is the smaller Ionic temple on the north side of the Acropolis, facing the Parthenon. The Official Athens Guide dates it to around 420 BC, describes it as a temple dedicated to both Athena and Poseidon, and singles out the row of Caryatids on its southern porch as its best-known feature. The Acropolis Museum dates one of the original figures, Kore B, to 420-415 BC and records the material as marble from Penteli, the mountain northeast of Athens that supplied much of the marble for the Acropolis buildings.

The six figures are arranged with four across the front and one behind each end. Each stands on a low base and carries a basket-like capital on her head, which takes the weight of the roof. The vertical folds of their drapery echo the fluting of a column, so the figures read as sculpture and as structure at the same time. They were designed as load-bearing supports from the start rather than added to the building as decoration.

You will see two names for the figures. “Caryatid” is the architectural term for a draped female figure used as a support, and the porch is often called the Porch of the Maidens. The Acropolis Museum refers to each figure as a Kore, meaning maiden, and identifies them by the letters A to F.

Where the original Caryatids are now

Five of the originals, Korai A, B, D, E and F, are in Greece. The sixth, Kore C, is in the British Museum. The table below sets out how the figures left the porch and where they ended up.

The Greek government does not recognise the British Museum’s claim of ownership over any part of the Acropolis monuments, and the return of the Caryatid is part of the long-running dispute over the sculptures often called the Elgin Marbles or Parthenon Marbles.

How to see the Caryatids in Athens

On the Acropolis, the porch is one stop on the route around the summit, and the replicas are best seen from the open ground between the Parthenon and the Erechtheion. The copies show the porch as it was designed: six figures together, in their original setting, holding up the roof.

To see the originals, go to the Acropolis Museum at the foot of the hill. The Acropolis Museum lists Kore B in the first-floor west gallery, and the five figures are shown together with an empty space for the sixth. You can see details up close that are hard to make out on the rock, including the carved hair falling down each figure’s back and the marble surface revealed by the laser cleaning.

Tickets, hours and location

The details below come from the Ministry of Culture page for the Acropolis and the Acropolis Museum visitor page, checked in September 2026. Prices and hours change, so confirm them before you go.

Local tip: See the porch on the Acropolis first, then walk down to the Acropolis Museum on the same day. Seeing the copies in their setting and then the originals up close is the clearest way to understand the Caryatids. For a view back up to the Erechtheion afterward, Areopagus Hill is free and just west of the Acropolis.

Frequently asked questions