Acroterion

Etymology

The word comes from the Greek grc (ἀκρωτήριον '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 acroterium. Akroteria or Acroteria is the plural of both the original Greek and the Latin form.

According to Webb, during the Hellenistic period the winged victory or Nike figure was considered to be "the most appropriate motif for figured akroteria.”

Gallery

File:Winged Nike at Samothrace Archeaological museum.jpg|Ancient Greek marble acroterion in the form of Nike, Archaeological Museum of Samothrace, Samothrace, Greece

File:Ancient Greece Marble Statue (28207918510).jpg|Ancient Greek acroterion of a Nereid on horseback, 380 BC, marble, National Archaeological Museum, Athens

Image:Marble akroterion MET DT259543.jpg|Ancient Greek akroterion, 350–325 BC, marble, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York File: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

File: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,

File:Agios Athanasios, Ancient Macedonian Tomb - II (36979099971).jpg|Ancient Greek acroteria of the Tomb III, Agios Athanasios, Greece, 325-300 BC

File: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, 300-250 BC, bronze, National Archaeological Museum, Athens

File:. 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, 1150

file:06-Villa-Rotonda-Palladio.jpg|Renaissance acroteria of the Villa La Rotonda, outside Vicenza, Italy, designed by Andrea Palladio, 1566-1590s

File: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, 1830

file:Blumenberg Fenster.jpg|Neoclassical acroteria of a window of the Großer Blumenberg, Leipzig, Germany, designed by Albert Geutebrück mid-19th century

File: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, 1871

File:Sphinx-University of Athens.jpg|Greek Revival sphinx acroterion of the Academy of Athens, designed by Theophil Hansen, 1885

File:COUVERTURES EN TUILES AU JAPON Amortissements divers.png|Japanese acroterion, illustrations by Abel Guérineau, 1887

File:Soleil collège Franklin.jpg|Beaux Arts acroterion of the Collège Franklin (Boulevard Louis-XIV no. 5), Lille, France, unknown architect or sculptor, 1900

File:14 Strada Grigore Cobălcescu, Bucharest (07).jpg|Beaux Arts acroterion above a window of Strada Grigore Cobălcescu no. 14, Bucharest, unknown architect or sculptor, 1900

File:2 Strada Bocșa, Bucharest (02).jpg|Beaux Arts acroterion above a window of Strada Bocșa no. 2, Bucharest, unknown architect or sculptor, 1900

File: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, 1908

File: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

Chicago (3392204396).jpg|Postmodern acroterion of the Harold Washington Library, Chicago, by Hammond, Beeby & Babka, 1991

HoustonChildrenMuseum.JPG|Postmodern acroteria on the pediment of the Children's Museum of Houston, Houston, US, by Robert Venturi, 1992

File: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

References

References

1. "Acroterian".
2. Harris, Cyril M.. (1983). "Illustrated Dictionary of Historic Architecture". Courier Corporation.
3. "acroterion - architecture".
4. {{OED. acroter
5. "Glossary of architectural terms". Porter-Gaud School.
6. Smith, Philip. (1875). "Acroterium". University of Chicago.
7. Webb, Pamela A.. (1996). "Hellenistic Architectural Sculpture: Figural motifs in western Anatolia and the Aegean islands". The University of Wisconsin Press.
8. (2017). "Pocket Museum - Ancient Greece". Thames & Hudson.
9. (2022). "Reading Architecture - A Visual Lexicon". Laurence King.
10. (2017). "Bucharest Architecture - an annotated guide". Ordinul Arhitecților din România.
11. (2017). "Bucharest Architecture - an annotated guide". Ordinul Arhitecților din România.
12. (2017). "Postmodern Design Complete". Thames & Hudson.
13. Eleanor Gibson. "Seven of Robert Venturi's best postmodern projects".