A Caryatid is a sculpted female form that assumes the role of an architectural support in lieu of a column. Among the most renowned examples of Caryatids are the pillars of the Erechtheion, the most sacred building on the Acropolis where Athens’ most sacred relic, the Palladium—an olive wood effigy of the goddess Pallas Athena—was housed. The six Caryatids from the Erechtheion are known as "Korai," meaning “daughters” or “maidens” in Greek.

In 1801, one of the Korai was removed from the Acropolis by Lord Elgin and is now held in the British Museum. Over the years, though the Greek authorities have persistently pursued the repatriation of this absent Kore (the singular form of Korai) from the British, the British have refused to return her, at first claiming that there was no safe place for her or other marble pieces taken from the Acropolis to be returned to.

In 2019, the British Museum director, Hartwig Fischer, doubled down on the decision to not repatriate the marbles, claiming, “When you move cultural heritage into a museum, you move it out of context. Yet that displacement is also a creative act.” He argued that "the monument’s history is enriched by the fact that some [parts of it] are in Athens and some are in London where six million people see them every year”.

The Greek government and associations behind the design and build of the Acropolis museum feel, unsurprisingly, very differently and have pushed for the return of all marbles. In an effort to advocate for their return, they made a conscious choice to leave blank spaces throughout the museum for all the missing pieces, including the sixth Kore. These blank spaces in the exhibits also create unarguable safe spaces for the marbles to be returned to.

Having done a bit of long distance dating during the years Nick was in Boston for his PhD, we understand how it feels to be separated from your home, or someone or someplace that feels like it.

The maidens are a symbol of Athens and its history, and in a nod to the missing Kore, and in the hopes that she will soon be returned to her sisters, we've left a space of honor for her on our save-the-date designs.