Antefix
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The antefix (from Latin antefixus ) or the front tile is a figuratively or ornamentally decorated clay or stone tile.
The antefix was attached to the lowest roof tile layer of the eaves in Roman , Etruscan and Greek temples and secular buildings and thus closed the front opening of the cover tiles ( imbrices ). For this purpose, the antefix was usually made in the form of the roof tiles in the rear part and painted in multiple colors on the decorated face.
Front tiles usually appear on the long sides when no lateral sima was used in the architecture ( Parthenon ), on the narrow sides they can only be found in the Etruscan temple with an open gable field. In the Greek region, antefixes were preferably made from marble in the form of a palmette , figurative examples are relatively rare. In the old Italian region, on the other hand, the clay variants, especially terracotta, dominate . The choice of motifs is varied: the heads of mythical creatures or gods ( Medusa , Maenade , Silenus and Juno ), as well as the bodies of animals (lions, deer) and hybrids ( centaurs ) were depicted.
literature
- Herbert Koch : Roof terracottas from Campania . Berlin 1912
- Arvid Andrén: Architectural terracottas from Etrusco-Italic temples . Lund 1940/41
- Peter Danner: Western Greek firstante fixtures and equestrian calypters . Mainz 1996
- Marina Castoldi: Le antifisse dipinte di Gela . Milan 1998
- Gottfried Gruben : Greek temples and sanctuaries . Munich 2001
