Gargoyle, << GAHR goyl, >> is a decorated waterspout that projects from the upper part of a building or tower. To protect building walls from rain water running off the roof, ancient Greek architects often attached terra cotta or stone lion heads to building cornices. A hollow channel inside the heads directed the water safely clear of the building.
During the Middle Ages, gargoyles became a familiar part of Gothic buildings. Gothic architects adopted the ancient Greek design and created fantastic, carved downspouts. The figures were part animal and part human. The largest ones extended as much as 3 feet (91 centimeters) from the walls of the building.
The term gargoyle is sometimes incorrectly used to refer to all sculptures of grotesque beasts on medieval buildings. When they are not used for drains, such creatures are more properly called chimeras.
