It would be very difficult for a visitor to Nashville to decide which
group of sculptures on the Parthenon is the loveliest. Each general
group fits so harmoniously into its own particular place that a choice
of one could not avoid being unfair to the others. Viewing the west
pediment first, one essaying judgment might exclaim, "What could be more
beautiful!" Yet on leaving it and looking at the east pediment he might
easily be found saying, "Here is the answer." The presence on the east
pediment of the three Fates, the Heracles, and the steeds of Selene
probably gives the east pediment the advantage over the other groups,
especially in the eyes of the artists.
The story of the east pediment is very beautiful and tells of the birth
of Athena and of her reign. In the beginning Zeus, the father of the
gods, the king of the gods, had a very severe headache and could find no
relief. He had long wanted a child born of the intellect. It is said
that he was so disappointed at having a son, Hephaestus, born maimed
that he threw him out of Heaven and it took a whole day for him to fall
to the earth. Hephaestus was the god of fire, the god of metals, the
blacksmith of the gods, and he forged the thunderbolts that Zeus used in
his battles of Heaven. Hephaestus sent word to his father that if he
would restore him to his rightful position among the gods, he would cure
him of his headache. Thereupon Zeus assembled the gods on Mount Olympus
and from somewhere, in a thundercloud, came Hephaestus. He struck his
father in the back of the head with an axe and from the wound, giving
Zeus his wish, sprang Athena, fully grown, clothed, and armed. She was
announced and crowned goddess of wisdom by Nike, goddess of victory. It
is said that at this event the earth groaned, Mount Olympus trembled,
and the gods stood in amazement at the miracle that had been performed.
These four figures form the highest pinnacle of the east pediment of the
Parthenon.
At the extreme south end of the pediment, representing the beginning of
the reign of Athena, in the morning is seen Helios, the god of the sun,
the god of the morning, coming up out of the sea driving his four steeds
representing the four seasons. As the horses come bounding out of the
sea, Helios can scarcely restrain them, so eager are they to mount the
skies.
Heracles, the next figure on the pediment, is shown with his club on his
shoulder, nonchalantly looking at the horses, paying no attention to
what is taking place on Mount Olympus. He is looking at the sun as it
rises. Heracles was known as the favorite of the gods. In his early
manhood they had permitted him to choose between virtue on the one hand,
and vice on the other, both very attractively arrayed. He chose virtue
rather than vice, and thus became their favorite. He did many heroic
deeds in Grecian history, and was the national hero of Greece. Heracles
was himself made a god; Zeus was his father, his mother was a mortal.
Next, on the pediment, may be seen the figures of Demeter, the sister of
Zeus, and her daughter Persephone. Demeter was the goddess of the
seasons. Ceres was her Roman name, and her daughter, Persephone, was the
goddess of the underworld. She became the goddess of the underworld in
this wise: One day when Persephone was in the fields plucking violets
with her maidens, suddenly the earth opened and through it, in a
chariot, came Pluto, the god of Hades. He saw her, fell in love with
her, seized her, took her back to Hades, and made her his queen. Her
mother grieved sorely and would not be comforted. She had powerful
influence with the gods. She sent plagues on the earth and worried the
gods, until Zeus was forced to compel Pluto to bring Persephone back to
her mother. Thereafter, it is said, under a compromise agreement,
Persephone spent six months of each year with her mother among the gods,
and six months with her husband, Pluto, in Hades.
The next figure on the pediment is that of Iris, the female messenger of
the gods, the rainbow goddess. She is represented on the pediment as
being poised, ready to go at a moment's notice, to tell the story of the
birth of Athena to the world. This is the first figure seen among the
fragments as the visitor enters the Parthenon door, and is often
confused with the Winged Victory of Samothrace. The confusion arises
from the fact that in the fragment of the Parthenon figure of Iris,
located in the west room, she is holding her scarf at arm's length in
her hands and the fragment is broken through the scarf and through the
arms, causing it to look as if it might be a wing, when, as a matter of
fact, it is the fragment of a scarf and not a wing; and the figure is
not the Winged Victory, but is Iris, the female messenger of the gods,
the rainbow goddess.
Next is seen on the pediment the figure of Poseidon, the god of the sea;
Neptune was his Roman name. Poseidon was the brother of Zeus, one of the
chief deities of the Greeks, and is represented on the east pediment as
sitting calmly by, looking on at what is taking place.
The next figure beyond Poseidon is that of Aphrodite, or Venus, the
goddess of beauty, the goddess of love. She seems shocked at what she
sees, and shrinks a little; but is comforting Hebe, the goddess of
youth, who is reclining at her feet, by placing her hand on her head.
Then comes the central group, Hephaestus, Zeus, Nike, and Athena, or
Minerva as the Romans called her, illustrating the story of the birth of
Athena.
Next is seen Ares, or Mars, the god of war. He is represented on the
pediment as looking rather sternly past Athena as though he does not
welcome this additional warlike member to the family of the gods.
The next figure is that of Artemis, the twin sister of Apollo. Artemis
is the goddess of the fields, the goddess of hunting; Diana is her Roman
name. She is represented on the pediment as shading her eyes with her
hand from the resplendent glory of the newborn goddess.
Just beyond Artemis is seen Hera, queen of Heaven, also known as Juno,
the jealous wife of Zeus. In addition to her jealousy, it is said that
she was vain and the peacock, seen near by, was sacred to her. Hera was
also the goddess of maternity, and very fittingly was present at the
birth of Athena.
The next figure is that of Hermes, the male messenger of the gods,
corresponding to Iris, the female messenger. Iris usually executed the
commands and carried the messages for Hera, while Hermes performed a
like office for Zeus. He is always represented with a magic wand, or
caduceus, in his hand, which was given to him by Apollo. One day, when
Hermes was a mere child, almost a baby, he was playing in the fields and
captured a tortoise. He placed strings across the shell of the tortoise
and made a musical instrument (we call it the lyre), and presented it to
his brother Apollo. Apollo, who was the god of music, was so delighted
with the precociousness of his baby brother that he gave him the magic
wand, which had the power of putting gods and mortals to sleep at his
will. Hermes is also shown with wings on his ankles and wings on his
cap. He was god of business, and also the god of transportation. His
figure adorns many of the railway stations of the world. His Roman name
is Mercury.
Beyond Hermes, on the pediment, is seen Apollo, the god of music, with
his harp. He was also the god of manly youth and the god of healing.
Esculapius, his son, was the first doctor of Greece, the father of all
the physicians. Apollo was regarded as the most beautiful of the gods.
Reclining on him is seen Ganymede, the cupbearer of the gods.
These were the chief deities of the Greeks. There were others which they
worshiped also. They were as sacred to the ancient Greek as Jehovah is
to us, and it is pertinent to say that they worshiped the beautiful--and
the beautiful is the spiritual.
We are not so much interested in the gods of the Greeks in this
twentieth century, however, as we are in human life; and the next group
of figures to Apollo and Ganymede, the three Fates, brings the Whole
matter closer to us, because it represents the Greek idea of life. The
first figure in the group is Clotho, who is represented as spinning the
thread of life; and as she spins, the second figure, Lachesis, winds it
on a spool, and the third figure, Atropos, clips it at will, typifying
the beginning, the span, and the end of life--the destiny of us all.
Last, in the extreme north angle of the pediment, in the evening, is
seen the gentle Selene, the goddess of the moon, the goddess of the
evening, guiding her tired steeds, so different from those seen coming
out of the sea in the morning, down into the cool, quiet waters of the
deep, typifying not alone the close of the day but the close of the
reign of Athena and the end of time.
The gods of the Greeks are no more. They have no single worshiper left
on all the face of the earth today to pay them homage, yet their deeds
are told in song and story, and their memory is green in the hearts of
those who love the beautiful.