The sculpted marble statues of young Greek women known as "korai" were created between the seventh and the fifth centuries BC. Katerina Karakasi argues that the majority of earlier research studies on these statues focused narrowly on arranging the korai chronologically and stylistically. In this work, Karakasi explores the meanings and functions of these figures, as well as the historical and cultural contexts in which they were produced. She also points out that only by determining the precise location where each korai stood, combined with studying the history of the site and related literary and epigraphic evidence, is it possible to draw worthwhile conclusions about a statue"s role in cult practice at a given shrine. Illustrating many statues in colour, this volume presents a survey of all the known korai in existence and catalogues valuable information about the korai"s sizes, conditions and materials, as well as the sculptors who made them. Also included is a discussion of the motives and social positions of the patrons who commissioned them.