acrolith, statue, especially ancient Greek, in which the trunk of the figure was of wood and the head, hands, and feet of marble. The wood was either gilded or covered by real or metal drapery. Acroliths are known from the descriptions of Pausanias, a 2nd-century-ad Greek geographer and traveller, who mentions, for example, Phidias’ acrolith of Athena at Plataea. This form of sculpture was practiced at least as late as the 4th century bc.