kourai

noun[plural only]1

1. •
   animate statues of beautiful maidens, forged out of gold by the divine smith Hephaistos, who attended the Olympian gods

   • On view from the sixth century B.C. are two small Attic representations of kourai, dressed statues of maidens, said to represent the Athenian aristocracy in rites celebrating the goddess Athena. — 2007