Women Holding Up the World
Do you ever feel like the weight of the world is on your shoulders?
Then you can sympathize with the Caryatids. These six sculptures, now on display in the Acropolis Museum in Athens, once were the support structures of the Erechtheion, a 5th century temple located next to the Parthenon in Athens.
Designed by the master sculptor Phidias, the Caryatids are possibly named after women from Karyes of Laconia, who danced in honor of the goddess of the hunt, Artemis. The thick braid down the back of each figure was not only a way to add beauty, but to reinforce the fragile neck of each sculpture.
Throughout antiquity, women have often been seen in the background: while men headed into battle, women stayed behind, making babies, making life happen. There are exceptions, remarkable ones, like Laskarina Bouboulina and Manto Mavrogenous, who fought in the war for Greece's independence, and whose bravery is legend. Fighting for freedom is a part of our history. Yet it is war that makes headlines, raising families does not. And it was primarily women who did the latter.
Many things have changed in the past two thousand years. Women work, have careers, support their families financially. Many serve in the military. Unlike the women of Ancient Greece, they are free to pursue their goals.
These sculptures exemplify the beauty of ancient Greek artistry. They also recall an unspoken, deeply profound headline behind the headlines, that reminds us to honor the women who continue to do the work, as they have done for millennia, of raising families.
Women truly holding up the world.
