The term for an Archaic Greek statue of a young woman is kore. The Greek word means “maiden,” and its plural is korai.
Korai were free-standing female figures produced mainly from about the 6th to early 5th centuries BCE. Unlike kouroi, their youthful male counterparts, korai are normally clothed in carefully carved garments such as the peplos, chiton, and himation. Their rigid, forward-facing stance and restrained “Archaic smile” are characteristic features of the period.
Many korai were dedicated as offerings in sanctuaries, especially to goddesses such as Athena and Artemis. Others served funerary purposes, acting as grave markers or memorial offerings. Their exact identities are often uncertain: a kore might represent a mortal maiden, a donor, a priestess, or a goddess.
The Acropolis of Athens produced a particularly important group. After the Persian sack of Athens in 480/479 BCE, many statues were buried in the Perserschutt, or “Persian rubble,” and later excavated. The terms kore and kouros describe statue types, not necessarily the names of individual people depicted.