Zoophorus (Ancient Greek: ζῳοφόρος) and Zophorus (Ancient Greek: ζῳφόρος), meaning "bearing animals",[1][2] was the Ancient Greek term for a decorated frieze between the architrave and cornice, typically with a continuous bas-relief. A zoophoric column is a pillar supporting the figure of an animal. The word is rarely used in modern English architectural writing.[3]

French Romanesque example

References

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  1. ^ * Harry Thurston Peck, Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities (1898), Zophorus
  2. ^ Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, Zoophorus
  3. ^ Cyril M. Harris ed., Illustrated Dictionary of Historic Architecture, Dover Architecture, p. 580, 1983, reprint Courier Corporation, 2013, ISBN 0486132110, 9780486132112