Anthemion (Ανθέμιον)

Origin: Ancient Greece  |  Era: 6th century BC – Roman period  |  Category: Floral / Architectural

The Anthemion is a radiating floral ornament inspired by the honeysuckle blossom and the palmette. The Greeks adapted earlier Egyptian and Near Eastern lotus and palmette motifs, refining them into a more elegant, symmetrical form. Rather than the lotus petal used in Egypt, Greek artists used the curling petals of the honeysuckle (anthemon means "flower" in Greek).

Originally used to decorate the necks of pottery, the Anthemion quickly migrated to architecture — appearing as a continuous border on friezes, on the antefixes (ornamental blocks) at the edges of roof tiles, on grave stelae, and on decorative pedestals. The running anthemion — alternating upright and inverted palmettes connected by a flowing scroll — became one of the definitive ornamental borders of classical antiquity.

Where it appeared

• Neck and shoulder bands on Greek painted pottery
• Architectural friezes on temples and public buildings
• Antefixes along the edges of temple roofs
• Funerary stelae (grave markers)
• Moldings and borders in floor mosaics