What does anthemia mean?
Anthemia is the plural of anthemion, a term from classical architecture denoting an ornamental motif shaped like a honeysuckle or palmette flower. These decorations adorned the crowns of Ionic and Corinthian capitals, the edges of cornices, and the tops of antefixes — the upright blocks placed along the eaves of tiled roofs to conceal their terminations. The word derives from the Greek anthēmion, meaning 'little flower', a diminutive of anthos, 'flower', reflecting the ornament's botanical inspiration. In scholarly writing on ancient Greek and Roman buildings, as well as neoclassical revival architecture, anthemia appear frequently in descriptions of sculptural detail, whether carved in marble, molded in terracotta, or cast in bronze and sometimes gilded. Though unfamiliar to most general readers, the term is indispensable for anyone studying classical ornamentation, and the surviving examples give modern observers a vivid sense of how richly decorated ancient sacred and civic buildings actually were.
nounPlural of anthemion: an ornamental design in classical architecture resembling a honeysuckle or palmette flower, typically used on capitals, cornices, and antefixes.
- Decorative floral ornaments in classical architecture, especially honeysuckle- or palmette-shaped designs used on capitals, cornices, and antefixes.
"The temple's cornice was crowned with gilded anthemia that caught the afternoon light."
"The terracotta antefixes along the roofline were each topped with a painted anthemion."
"Restorers carefully recast the weathered anthemia that once crowned the temple's columns."
Anthemia is itself the plural of anthemion and is used with plural verbs and agreement.
"The excavated anthemia were fragments of larger votive monuments."
Those flower-shaped carons crowning Greek temples have a name — anthemia — and it literally means 'little flowers' in ancient Greek.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of anthemia
The word comes from the ancient Greek anthēmion, a diminutive of anthos meaning 'flower', so it literally means 'little flower'. It was adopted into English architectural vocabulary during the period of renewed classical study, describing the floral ornaments seen on Greek temples. It shares its root with words such as anthology (literally a 'gathering of flowers') and chrysanthemum ('golden flower').
Related word forms
How anthemia is actually used
Anthemia is the plural form; the singular is anthemion. The term is technical and appears mainly in art history, archaeology, and classical architecture contexts rather than everyday speech.
Easily confused with anthemia
Anemia is a medical condition involving a deficiency of red blood cells, whereas anthemia are decorative floral ornaments in architecture.
Anthems are choral or national songs, while anthemia are architectural flower ornaments; the two share a distant root in 'flower' only loosely.