PART II.

_MYRON AND PHEIDIAS._

Three great names represent the early prime of Greek sculpture,

namely, Myron, Pheidias, and Polycleitos of Argos. These three are

thought to have been fellow pupils of the Argive sculptor Ageladas.

The present part of the catalogue deals with Myron and Pheidias. The

third part deals first with their immediate successors in Attica,

and then turns to Polycleitos of Argos and the sculptures of the

Peloponnese; and next to the special class of Greek reliefs.

MYRON.

MYRON of Eleutherae in Attica worked at Athens in the first half of

the fifth century B.C. Although he had not entirely abandoned the

archaic style (notably, in his rendering of hair, Pliny, _H. N._

xxxiv., 58), he was distinguished for his skill in representing

life. His power lay partly in the rendering of vigorous movement

in sculpture, as in his athletic statues, and partly in a realistic

imitation of nature, as in his famous cow.

No original works of Myron are extant. His best known work, the

Discobolos, is preserved in copies, one of which is described below.

The bronze statuette of Marsyas in the Bronze Room may be studied

after a group of Athene and Marsyas by Myron.

[Sidenote: =250.=]

Graeco-Roman copy of the bronze Discobolos of Myron. A young athlete

is represented in the act of hurling the disk. He has swung it back,

and is about to throw it to the furthest possible distance before him.

The head, as here attached, looks straight to the ground, but in the

original it looked more backwards as in a copy formerly in the Massimi

palace at Rome. (Cf. Lucian, _Philopseud._ 18.) Compare a gem in the

British Museum (Fig. 5; _Cat. of Gems_, No. 742, pl. G), which is

inscribed [Greek: HYAKINTHOS]. According to a judgment of Quintilian,

the laboured complexity of the statue is extreme, but any one who

should blame it on this ground would do so under a misapprehension of

its purpose, inasmuch as the merit of the work lies in its novelty

and difficulty. "Quid tam distortum et elaboratum, quam est ille

discobolos Myronis? si quis tamen, ut parum rectum, improbet opus,

nonne ab intellectu artis abfuerit, in qua vel praecipue laudabilis

est ipsa illa novitas ac difficultas?"--Quint. _Inst. Orat._, ii., 13.

10.--_Found in 1791 in Hadrian's Villa at Tivoli._ _Townley Coll._

[Illustration: Fig. 5. [Greek: HYAKINTHOS](=Hyacinth)]

Marble; height, 5 feet 5 inches. Restorations:--Nose, lips, chin,

piece in neck, part of disk and r. hand; l. hand; piece under r.

arm; pubis; r. knee; a small piece in r. leg, and parts of the

toes. _Specimens_, I., pl. 29; _Mus. Marbles_, XI., pl. 44;

Clarac, V., pl. 860, No. 2194 B; Ellis, _Townley Gallery_, I.,

p. 241; _Guide to Graeco-Roman Sculptures_, I., No. 135;

_Stereoscopic_, No. 149; Wolters, No. 452.

PHEIDIAS AND THE SCULPTURES OF THE PARTHENON.

The sculptures of the Parthenon illustrate the style of Pheidias, the

greatest of Greek sculptors.

PHEIDIAS, son of Charmides, the Athenian, was born about 500 B.C.

He was a pupil of the sculptor Ageladas, of Argos, or, according to

others, of Hegias or Hegesias, of Athens. His youth was passed during

the period of the Persian wars, and his maturity was principally

devoted to the adornment of Athens, from the funds contributed by the

allied Greek states during the administration of Pericles.

Among the chief of the works of this period was the Parthenon, or

temple of the virgin Goddess Athene. The architect was Ictinos, but

the sculptural decorations, and probably the design of the temple,

were planned and executed under the superintendence of Pheidias. The

building was probably begun about B.C. 447 (according to Michaelis,

B.C. 454). It was sufficiently advanced to receive the statue of the

Parthenos in B.C. 438, and was probably completed either in that year

or a little later. It stood on the Acropolis of Athens, on a site

which had been already occupied by a more ancient temple, commonly

supposed to have been an ancient Parthenon, which was burnt on the

sacking of Athens by the Persians, B.C. 480. Recently, however,

the foundations of an early temple have been discovered between the

Parthenon and the Erechtheion. It has been thought that this is the

Pre-Persian Parthenon, and that the traces of an older foundation

below the existing Parthenon only date from the time immediately

following the Persian wars. A building is supposed to have then been

begun, on a plan somewhat different from that which was carried out by

Ictinos and Pericles.

The Parthenon was of the Doric order of architecture, and was of the

form termed _peripteral octastyle_; that is to say, it was surrounded

by a colonnade, which had eight columns at each end. The architectural

arrangements can be best learnt from the model, which is exhibited in

the Elgin Room. See also the plan (fig. 6.) and elevation (pl. iv.).

The principal chamber (cella) within the colonnade contained the

colossal statue of Athene Parthenos (see below, Nos. 300-302).

Externally the cella was decorated with a frieze in low relief (see

below, p. 145). The two pediments, or gables at each end of the

building (see below, Nos. 303, 304) were filled with figures

sculptured in the round. Above the architrave, or beam resting on the

columns, were metopes, or square panels, adorned with groups in very

high relief, which served to fill up the spaces between the triglyphs,

or groups of three vertical parallel bands, representing beam ends.

All these sculptured decorations were executed, like the architecture,

in Pentelic marble.

[Illustration: Fig. 8.--Plan of the Parthenon. (From Michaelis.)]

The statue of the Parthenos is known to have been in existence about

430 A.D.; but not long after this date the figure was removed, and the

Parthenon was converted into a Christian church, dedicated at first to

Santa Sophia (or the Divine Wisdom), and afterwards to the Panagia (or

Virgin Mary). For the purposes of the church, an apse was built at the

east end of the cella, and the entrance was moved to the west end. The

building was also given a vaulted roof, which covered the cella alone.

In consequence the frieze was exposed to the weather, and the east

pediment was much destroyed. From 1206 to 1458, during the period of

the Frankish Dukes of Athens, the Parthenon was a Latin church.

Athens was taken by the Turks in 1458, and the Parthenon was again

an Orthodox Greek church for two years. In 1460, however, it was

converted into a Turkish mosque. From this date it probably suffered

little until 1687, when Athens was taken by the Venetian General,

Morosini. In the course of a bombardment of the Acropolis, the

besiegers succeeded in throwing a shell into a powder magazine in the

Parthenon, and caused an explosion that destroyed the roof and much of

the long sides of the building. Further injury was done by Morosini,

who made an attempt to take down the central group of the west

pediment, which was still nearly complete.

Fortunately, many of the sculptures had been drawn by a skilful artist

before the explosion. In 1674 Jacques Carrey, a painter in the suite

of the Marquis de Nointel, French ambassador at the Porte, made

sketches of large portions of the frieze and metopes, and of the then

extant portions of the pedimental compositions. These drawings are

preserved in the French Bibliotheque Nationale, and are constantly

referred to in discussions of the Parthenon sculptures.

In 1688 Athens was restored to the Turks, and from this date to the

end of the last century the sculptures of the Parthenon were exposed

to constant injury. Some of them were made into lime, or built into

walls by the Turkish garrison; others were mutilated by the travellers

who from time to time obtained admission to the Acropolis, and broke

off portable fragments of the sculptures.

In 1749, when the west pediment was drawn by Dalton, many figures

still remained in position which had disappeared before the time of

Lord Elgin. Several portions also of the frieze, which were seen by

Stuart, had disappeared at the beginning of the present century. On

the other hand, the east pediment, being inaccessible, suffered no

important change between 1674 and 1800.

In the years 1801-3 many of the sculptures of the Parthenon were

removed to England by the Earl of Elgin, then British ambassador at

Constantinople, by means of a firman obtained from the Porte (see p.

6). The Elgin Collection, which includes other marbles obtained from

Athens and elsewhere, together with casts and drawings, was purchased

from Lord Elgin by the British Government in 1816 for L35,000. Several

portions of the sculptures of the Parthenon have been discovered since

the time of Lord Elgin on the Acropolis and its slopes, or in various

parts of Europe, to which they had been taken by travellers. These are

represented as far as possible in the British Museum by plaster casts.

The following aids to the study of the Parthenon will be found in the

Elgin Room:--

Model of the Athenian Acropolis, showing its condition in the year

1870. Presented by Prof. Adolf Michaelis.

Model of the Parthenon. The model was made by R. C. Lucas, on a scale

of a foot to 20 feet, and represents the state of the temple in

1687, after the explosion, but before Morosini had attacked the west

pediment.

Carrey's drawings of the pediments. Photographic reproductions of the

originals are exhibited.

A restored view of the Athenian Acropolis. By Richard Bohn.

_Bibliography of the Parthenon._

The work of Michaelis, _Der Parthenon_ (Leipzig, 1871), collects

the material for the study of the Parthenon, and contains an

excellent digest of all that had been written on the subject up to

the year 1871. For later writers, see below _passim_, and Wolters.

For the chronology of Pheidias, see Loeschcke, in _Untersuchungen

A. Schaefer gewidmet_, p. 25; for the question as to his master,

see Klein, _Arch.-Epigr. Mittheilungen aus Oesterreich_, VII.,

p. 64; Murray, _Greek Sculpture_, 2nd ed., p. 186. For the older

temple on the site of the Parthenon, see Doerpfeld, in _Athenische

Mittheilungen_, XII., p. 45; Harrison, _Mythology of Anc. Athens_,

p. 467. The plan given above is taken from Michaelis. Important

modifications have been proposed by Doerpfeld, _Athenische

Mittheilungen_, VI., pl. 12, p. 283; Harrison, _loc. cit._, p.

464. For the mediaeval history of the Parthenon, see Laborde;

_Athenes aux XV^e, XVI^e, et XVII^e Siecles_ (Paris, 1854);

Gregorovius, _Athen im Mittelalter_ (1889). Facsimiles of Carrey's

drawings are in the British Museum, and have been partially

published in the works of Laborde, _Le Parthenon_ (Paris, 1848).

For photographic copies of the drawings of the pediments,

see _Antike Denkmaeler_, I., pls. 6, 6a. Dalton's views of the

Acropolis were published in 1751, but the remains of Athens were

little known till the appearance of _The Antiquities of Athens_,

by James Stuart and Nicolas Revett. (London: vol. I., 1762; vol.

II., 1787; vol. III., 1794; vol. IV., 1816; vol. V., 1830).

A second edition, with additional matter, but having inferior

illustrations, was issued in 1825-1830. The original drawings,

made for this work by Pars, were presented to the British Museum

by the Society of Dilettanti. The official inquiry into the

proceedings of Lord Elgin is contained in the _Report from the

Select Committee of the House of Commons on the Earl of Elgin's

Collection of Sculptured Marbles; &c._ (London, 1816).

STATUE OF ATHENE PARTHENOS.

The colossal statue of Athene Parthenos by Pheidias was placed within

the central chamber of the Parthenon. The figure was made of gold

and ivory, and was, with its base, about 40 feet high. Athene stood,

draped in chiton and aegis. In her left hand she held her spear and

shield. Between her and her shield was the serpent Erichthonios.

On her outstretched right hand was a winged Victory, six feet high,

holding a wreath. The helmet of the Goddess was adorned, according

to Pausanias, with a Sphinx and Gryphons. From detailed copies of

the head (_Athenische Mittheilungen_, viii., pl. 15; _Cat. of Gems in

B. M._ 637, 638) we learn that the Gryphons were on the cheek-pieces,

and that there was a figure of Pegasos on each side of the Sphinx.

There was also a row of small horses at the front of the helmet. All

available space was covered with reliefs. A battle between Greeks and

Amazons (see below, Nos. 301, 302) was seen on the exterior of the

shield, and one between Gods and Giants on its interior. On the base

was a representation of the birth of Pandora (see No. 301) and on the

edges of the sandals was a battle between Centaurs and Lapiths.

The statue disappeared from view with the fall of paganism. Nos.

300-302 afford some of the materials for its reconstruction. Rough

reproductions of the figure also occur on Attic reliefs, such as Nos.

771-773.

The statuette, No. 300, is of service for the details of the

composition, although it is artistically a poor copy. The Lenormant

statuette, No. 301, though rough and incomplete, is of more value for

its rendering of the features.

The column beneath the hand of Athene (in No. 300) presents some

difficulty, as it is not mentioned in descriptions of the statue and

seldom occurs in reproductions of it. It is seen in an Attic relief

(_Michaelis_, pl. 15, fig. 7) on a lead ticket (_Zeitschr. fuer

Numismatik_, x., p. 152) and, in the form of an olive tree, on a

Lycian coin of the time of Alexander (_Zeitschr. fuer Num._, _loc.

cit._; Murray, ii., pl. 11). It is more probable that an existing

support should be omitted in reliefs, than that it should be inserted

if non-existent. It is possible, however, that the support was not

a part of the design of Pheidias, but was an addition, found to be

necessary before the time of Alexander.

[Sidenote: =300.=]

Cast of a statuette, copied from the Athene Parthenos. The Goddess

wears a helmet, aegis, chiton with diploidion girt round the waist,

bracelets and sandals; her left hand rests on her shield, which stands

on its edge at her side. In the centre of the outside of the shield

is a mask of Medusa, and inside a serpent; the right hand of Athene

is extended in front and rests on a column with the palm open upwards,

holding a figure of Victory, in whose hands are remains of what is

thought to be a garland. The head of the Victory is wanting. On the

centre of the helmet of Athene is a Sphinx, and at each side has been

a Pegasos.

The statuette was found in a shrine in a private house. Compare the

vision of Proclos, who was bidden to prepare his house for Athene,

when her statue was being removed by the Christians from the

Parthenon, about 430 A.D. (Marinus, _Proclos_, 30; Michaelis, p. 270.)

The original, which is of Pentelic marble, is in the National

Museum at Athens. Height, with plinth, 3 feet 5 inches. Found in

1880, _near the Varvakion in Athens. Athenische Mittheilungen_,

VI., pls. 1, 2, p. 56; _Journ. of Hellen. Studies_, II., p.

3; Schreiber, _Athena Parthenos des Phidias_, pl. 1; Brunn,

_Denkmaeler_, Nos. 39, 40; Waldstein, pl. 14; Harrison, _Mythology

and Monuments of Anc. Athens_, p. 447. For literature see

Waldstein, _Essays_, p. 270; Wolters, No. 467.

[Sidenote: =301.=]

Cast of a statuette, copied from the statue of Athene Parthenos.

Athene wears a helmet, aegis, and chiton with diploidion girt round the

waist; her right hand is extended in front with the palm open upwards

as if to hold out the figure of Victory. In this part the statuette is

unfinished, the marble underneath the right arm not having been hewn

away. The left hand of the Goddess rests on her shield, which stands

on its edge at her side; inside the shield is a serpent; outside are

reliefs representing the battle between Greeks and Amazons, which

is seen in more detail in No. 302. Among the figures, we recognise

several which occur on No. 302. The figure of Pheidias (_a_, see No.

302) is near the top of the relief, and holds a stone, as described by

Plutarch. Next him perhaps is Pericles (_b_) separated from the fallen

Amazon (_c_), which is at the bottom of the shield, as in No. 302. The

group of the Greek seizing an Amazon (_d_) is seen on the right as in

No. 302. The fallen Amazon (_e_) with hands above her head is high

up, on the left of the relief. In place of the group of an Amazon

supporting her companion (_f_) which is in No. 302, we have here the

same subject, but differently treated. The Gorgon's head is roughly

indicated near the middle of the shield. From the manner in which the

rest of the figure corresponds to the chryselephantine statue, it has

been assumed that the rude outlines of figures in relief on the base

of the statuette represent the composition of Pheidias, of which the

subject was the birth of Pandora (Paus., i., xxiv., 7.)

The original of this statue, which is of marble, is in the

National Museum at Athens. Height 1 foot 4-3/4 inches. Found in

1859 _near the Pnyx, at Athens_. Lenormant, _Gazette des Beaux

Arts_, 1860, VIII., p. 133; Jahn, _Pop. Aufsaetze_, p. 215, pl.

1; Michaelis, pl. 15, fig. 1, p. 273; Overbeck, _Gr. Plast._, 3rd

ed., I., p. 253, fig. 54; Brunn, _Denkmaeler_, No. 38; Wolters,

No. 466; Harrison, _Mythology and Monuments of Anc. Athens_, p.

449. For the Pandora relief, see Puchstein, in _Jahrbuch des Arch.

Inst._, V., p. 113.

[Sidenote: =302.=]

Fragment of shield supposed to be a rough copy from the shield of the

statue of Athene Parthenos. Pliny (_H. N._, xxxvi., 18) and Pausanias

(i., 17, 2) state that the outside of the shield was ornamented with

the representation of a battle between Greeks and Amazons. Plutarch

adds (_Pericles_, 31) that one of the figures represented Pheidias

himself as an old bald-headed man raising a stone with both hands,

while in another figure, who was represented fighting against an

Amazon, with one hand holding out a spear in such a way as to conceal

the face, the sculptor introduced the likeness of Pericles. This

story is probably of late origin, and invented to account for two

characteristic figures on the shield. A head of Medusa, or Gorgoneion,

encircled by two serpents, forms the centre of the composition on the

fragment. Below the Gorgoneion is a Greek warrior (_a_, cf. No. 301),

bald-headed, who raises both hands above his head to strike with a

battle-axe. This figure has been thought to correspond with that of

Pheidias in the original design. Next to him on the right is a Greek

(_b_) who plants his left foot on the body of a fallen Amazon (_c_)

and is in the act of dealing a blow with his right hand; his right

arm is raised across his face and conceals the greater part of it.

The action of this figure again presents a partial correspondence

with that of Pericles as described by Plutarch. To the right of the

supposed Pericles are two Greeks: the one advances to the right; the

other (_d_) seizes by the hair an Amazon falling on the right. Above

this group is an Amazon running to the right and a Greek striding to

the left. His shield has the device of a hare. Above him are three

armed Greeks, and the remains of another figure. On the left of the

figure described as Pheidias is a Greek who has fallen on his knees.

Further to the left is a fallen Amazon (_e_) who lies with her head

towards the lower edge of the shield. Near her is a wounded Amazon

(_f_) supported by a companion of whom but little remains. The lower

part of a third figure, probably that of a Greek, is also seen. All

the Amazons wear high boots and a short chiton, leaving the right

breast exposed; their weapon is a double-headed axe. Red colour

remains on the two serpents which encircle the Gorgon's head, on

the shield of one of the Greeks and in several places on the

draperies.--_Obtained by Viscount Strangford from Athens._

Pentelic marble; height, 1 foot 4-3/4 inches; width, 1 foot 6

inches. Conze, _Arch. Zeit._, 1865, pls. 196, 197; Jahn, _Pop.

Aufsaetze_, p. 216, pl. 2, 1; Michaelis, pl. 15, fig. 34. Overbeck,

_Gr. Plast._, 3rd ed., I., p. 255, fig. 55; Mitchell, p. 313;

Mansell, No. 729; Wolters, No. 471; Harrison, _Mythology and

Monuments of Anc. Athens_, p. 453. There is a fragment of a

similar shield in the Vatican, Michaelis, pl. 15, fig. 35.

EASTERN PEDIMENT OF THE PARTHENON.

[Sidenote: =303.=]

We know from Pausanias (i., 24, 5) that the subject of the composition

in the eastern pediment had relation to the birth of Athene, who,

according to the legend, sprang forth, fully armed, from the brain

of Zeus. As all the central part of this composition was already

destroyed when Carrey made his drawing of the pediment, we have no

means of ascertaining how the subject was treated; and whether the

moment immediately after the birth was represented, as has been

generally supposed, or, as has been also suggested, the moment

immediately before the birth.

A relief surrounding a _puteal_ or well-head, now at Madrid, has been

thought to throw light on this question. There Zeus is enthroned,

looking to the right; Athene is before him, armed, and advances to the

right. A Victory flies towards her with a wreath. Behind the throne of

Zeus is Hephaestos, who has cleft the skull of Zeus with his axe, and

starts back in astonishment. On the extreme right of the composition

are the three Fates (Schneider, _Geburt der Athena_, pl. 1; Mitchell,

p. 350, fig. 157). Unfortunately the subordinate figures have not

a sufficient resemblance to those which are still extant of the

Parthenon pediment, to allow us to assume a direct connection between

the pediment and the relief. Some such composition, however, seems

more consonant with the dignity of Athene than the scheme which occurs

on vases and Etruscan mirrors (_e.g._ on a vase in the British Museum,

No. B. 53; _Mon. dell' Inst._, iii., pl. 44) where the Goddess is

represented as a diminutive figure, above the head of Zeus. This

conclusion is confirmed by Sauer's recent examination of the ground

of the pediment. It is now proved that the middle of the east pediment

was occupied by two figures of equal importance, and not by a single

central figure of Zeus, such as is required, if we suppose that the

subject was treated according to the tradition of the vase painters.

It is further shown to be probable that Zeus was seated on the left of

the centre, seen in profile and turned to the right, and that Athene

stood on the right of the centre, holding a spear in her outstretched

right hand. The whole group between the figures G and K is thought,

from the indications on the pediment, to have consisted of the

following figures, in order from the left:--Standing figure, stepping

inwards (cf. Hermes of the west pediment); standing figure; seated

figure in profile to the right; figure standing immediately behind

Zeus; Zeus and Athene; Hephaestos (H); seated figure in profile to

the left; standing figure; standing figure turned to the left (J);

standing figure turned outward (compare G).

If we confine our attention to the extant pedimental figures, we find

wide differences of opinion as to their interpretation. The figures in

the angles are the only ones as to which there can be no doubt. On the

left the sun-god, Helios, rises from the ocean, driving his car, and

on the right the moon-goddess Selene sets beneath the horizon.

These two figures may be interpreted as marking the boundaries either

of Olympos or of the universe. It has also been suggested that they

indicate the hour at which the birth took place. This, according to

Attic tradition, was at sunrise.

Thus far the interpretation rests upon sure grounds. Of the remaining

figures in the pediment, J has been generally recognised as Victory

greeting the newly born Goddess, and G has been generally taken for

Iris, announcing the news to the world (but see below, G). None of

the remaining figures have been conclusively identified. Most of

the numerous schemes of interpretation that have been proposed are

exhibited in a table by Michaelis, _Der Parthenon_, p. 165, cf. _Guide

to the Elgin Room, I._, Table A. As regards the general principles of

interpretation it is to be observed that the schemes may be divided

into two classes. We may either suppose with the earlier critics that

the space bounded by Helios and Selene represents Olympos, and that

all the figures contained within this space are definite mythological

personages, probably deities, who may be supposed to have been present

at the birth; or we may assume that all the deities present were

comprised in the central part of the pediment, and that the figures

towards the angles belong to the world outside Olympos, to whom the

news is brought. These may be definite mythological persons, or they

may be figures personifying parts of the natural world. Compare the

Homeric Hymn to Athene, and Pindar, _Olymp._, vii., 35.

The best views of this pediment are (1) the drawing of Carrey in

the Bibliotheque Nationale (pl. v., fig. 1). A facsimile in

the British Museum; in Laborde, _Le Parthenon_, and _Antike

Denkmaeler_, I., pl. 6 (exhibited in Elgin Room); (2) sketch by

Pars, engraved in Stuart, vol. II., chap. I., pl. 1. The original

drawing is in the Print Room of the British Museum. For a list of

proposed restorations, see Schneider, _Geburt der Athena_, p. 23,

pls. 2-7; Waldstein, _Essays_, p. 139. For Sauer's examination of

the pediment, see _Athenische Mittheilungen_, XVI., pl. 3, p.

59; _Antike Denkmaeler_, I., pl. 58. The ends of the pediment are

reproduced in figs. 7, 8.

[Illustration: Fig. 7.--The South End of the East Pediment of the

Parthenon (according to Sauer).]

[Illustration: Fig. 8--The North End of the East Pediment of the

Parthenon (according to Sauer).]

[Sidenote: =303 A.=]

Helios, in his chariot emerging from the waves. The head is wanting,

the neck has a forward inclination corresponding with the action of

the arms, which are stretched out in front of the body, holding the

reins by which the upspringing horses of the Sun-god were guided

and controlled. The head of Helios had been already broken away in

Carrey's time; the wrist and hand of the right arm, now wanting, are

shown in his drawing. The surface of the marble on the neck having

been protected from weather by the cornice retains its original

polish. At the back and between the arms are sculptured small rippling

waves to represent a calm sea at sunrise. These waves are treated in

the conventional manner usual in representations of water in Greek

art; their profile shown on the edge of the plinth approximates very

nearly to the well-known wave pattern. The metal reins have been

attached to the upper surface of the plinth under the right forearm,

and also under the right hand, now lost; three dowel holes in this

part of the plinth served for their attachment. The waves were

probably distinguished by colour. It has been noted by Michaelis that

the angle in which this figure was placed is the darkest spot in the

eastern pediment, and that it is only fully illumined by the early

morning sun.

_Mus. Marbles_, VI., pl. 1; Michaelis, pl. 6, fig. 8; Overbeck,

I., p. 303, fig. 61 (with B, C).

[Sidenote: =303 B, C.=]

Two horses of Helios. The team of Helios was represented by four

horses' heads, two of which still remain in position on the temple, at

the back of the pediment. The two which are here are sculptured in the

round out of one block of marble. They are represented emerging from

the waves, the profile of which is sculptured in relief on the neck

of the nearest horse. The head of the horse nearest the eye (B)

looks outwards, and has projected beyond the plane of the pedimental

cornice, so that it must have caught the light. The action of this

horse's head is most spirited, though its effect is greatly impaired

by the loss of the lower jaw, and the injury which the surface of the

marble has received from exposure to the weather. The reins were of

metal, and the points of attachment of reins and bridle are marked by

three dowel holes in the plinth, a fourth behind the right ear, and a

fifth inside the mouth. The head of the other horse on this block (C),

which was advanced beyond the outside head, so as to be visible, is

nearly destroyed; only the neck and back of the head remain.

_Mus. Marbles_, VI., pl. 2; Michaelis, pl. 6, fig. 9;

_Stereoscopic_, No. 105. For the two heads still on the pediment,

see _Athenische Mittheilungen_, XVI., p. 81.

[Sidenote: =303 D.=]

This figure, which is commonly known as Theseus, reclines on a rock

and faces the horses of Helios. He leans on his left arm in an easy

attitude. The right arm is bent, but, as the hand is wanting, we can

only form conjectures as to what its action may have been. It probably

held a spear, or some other long object, the end of which may have

been attached to the left ankle at the place where a dowel hole is

still visible. According to some writers, the hole served for the

attachment of the laced work of a sandal in bronze. (_Ber. d. k.

saechs. Ges. d. Wissenschaften_, 1880, p. 44.) The legs are bent, the

left leg drawn back under the right. The headdress is in the form of

the krobylos (cf. No. 209). The body is entirely nude: over the rock

on which the figure rests is thrown a mantle under which is strewn a

skin, the claws of which are certainly those of some feline animal.

The type and position of this figure present so much resemblance

to the Heracles on the silver coins of Croton in Lower Italy (_Mus.

Marbles_, vi., title-page), that it has been identified with that hero

by Visconti, who supposed the skin on which he reclines to be that

of a lion. This skin, however, seems more like that of a panther, on

which ground the figure has been thought to be Dionysos, who appears

in a very similar reclining attitude on another Athenian work, the

Choragic monument of Lysicrates (No. 430, _1_); compare the statue

in the Louvre, Mueller-Wieseler, _Denkmaeler_, ii., pl. 32, No. 360.

Compare also the figure of Dionysos reclining, on a relief on an

_askos_ in the British Museum, No. G. 281 (see fig. 9). The figure,

however, differs greatly in character, not only from the figure on the

monument of Lysicrates, but also from the figure sometimes supposed to

be Dionysos on the frieze of the Parthenon. (East side, No. 38.) More

recently Brunn has interpreted this figure as the mountain of

Olympos illumined by the first rays of the rising sun, and it must be

acknowledged that the attitude and type of the so-called Theseus

is very suitable for the personification of a mountain. Compare the

figures of mountains from reliefs, collected by Waldstein (_Essays_,

pp. 173, 174).

[Illustration: Fig. 9.]

_Mus. Marbles_, VI., pls. 3, 4; Baumeister, _Denkmaeler_, p. 1180,

fig. 1370; Michaelis, pl. 6, fig. 10; Overbeck, _Gr. Plast._, 3rd

ed., I., p. 304, fig. 62; Murray, II., pl. 5; _Stereoscopic_,

No. 105; Waldstein, _Essays_, pl. 6; Brunn, _Ber. der k. bayer.

Akad., Phil. hist. Cl._, 1874, II., p. 14. The correct position

of the figure in the pediment has been ascertained by Sauer (_cf._

fig. 7).

[Sidenote: =303 E, F.=]

Two female figures, seated on square seats. They both wear a

sleeveless chiton, girt at the waist, and a diploidion. Over it is a

mantle thrown over their lower limbs in a rich composition of folds.

On the right wrist of the figure nearest the angle (E) is a dowel

hole, probably for the attachment of a bracelet. Her companion (F),

who wore metal fibulae on each shoulder, extends her left arm towards

the figure, which is advancing towards her. Her head has been broken

off at the base of the neck, but it has probably been turned towards

her companion, who rests her left arm affectionately on her shoulder,

and who probably looked towards her, perhaps as if listening to the

news brought by Iris. The seats, on which are laid folded carpets, are

carved out of the marble with great care and delicacy of finish, the

regular geometrical lines being valuable in opposition to the varied

undulations of the drapery. In the sides and backs of both seats are

oblong sunk panels, in one of which several archaeologists have tried

unsuccessfully to read the name of an artist (see Michaelis, p. 174;

Brunn, _Griech. Kuenstler_, i., p. 104). Most of the writers on the

Parthenon, from Visconti downwards, have named this group Demeter and

Persephone, two deities, whose cult in Attica ranked second only to

that of Athene herself. This attribution would be strengthened if the

reclining male figure could be identified with Dionysos, a deity whose

worship in Attica was closely connected with that of the Eleusinian

goddesses. The composition of the group has suggested to other

archaeologists a sisterly rather than a filial relation between the

figures. Broendsted (_Voyages et Recherches_, ii., p. xi.) suggested

that these two figures, with G, were the three Horae or Seasons,

worshipped in Attica under the names Thallo, Auxo and Karpo. Brunn

(followed by Waldstein) supposes that the two figures are Horae, but

that they must be viewed as the warders of the gates of Olympos (Hom.

_Il._, v., 749) rather than as Attic deities. On this theory the

position of figure G, if it represents Iris, would indicate that she

is on the point of reaching the boundary of Olympos and passing to the

outer world.

_Mus. Marbles_, VI., pl. 5; Michaelis, pl. 6, fig. 11; Murray,

II., pl. 4; _Stereoscopic_, No. 106; Rayet, _Monuments_, No. 32;

Waldstein, _Essays_, pl. 7; Mitchell, _Selections_, pl. 6; Brunn,

_Ber. der k. bayer. Akad., Phil. hist. Cl._, 1874, II., p. 15.

[Sidenote: =303 G.=]

Iris (?).--This figure is moving rapidly to our left, the right knee

bent. The left arm was probably extended; the right was bent nearly at

a right angle. Both hands probably held parts of the mantle, of which

a remnant floats behind, bellied out by the resistance of the air

to the rapid movement of the figure. The feet are wanting from the

instep. The figure was let into a socket about two inches deep, on the

floor of the pediment. It seems to be exactly in the same condition as

when Carrey saw it, except that in his drawing rather more of the neck

appears than now remains. The dress is a Doric chiton, _schistos_,

open down the left side, except for the girdle. Over this falls a

diploidion. The arms of this figure are small in proportion to the

strength of the lower limbs, and the breasts undeveloped like those

of a young girl. This would be consistent with the type of Iris as the

messenger of Zeus and Hera, trained to swift movement. The head may

have been half turned back towards the central group, but too little

remains of the neck to make this certain. From the rapid movement

of the figure in a direction turned away from the centre of the

composition, archaeologists have been nearly unanimous in thinking that

the figure is Iris on her way to announce the event of the birth to

the world outside Olympos. But the action is not that of a steady

flight through the air, for which the Nike of Paionios (No. 192)

should be compared. It is rather that of a person starting aside in

alarm. Moreover, the figure has not the wings of Iris, and on these

grounds she has been called Eileithyia (Murray, ii., p. 71), Hebe

(Brunn, _Ber. d. k. bayer. Akad. Phil. hist. Cl._, 1874, ii., p. 19),

or simply a terrified maiden (Wolters, p. 254).

_Mus. Marbles_, VI., pls. 6, 7; Baumeister, _Denkmaeler_, p. 1183,

fig. 1373; _Stereoscopic_, No. 106; Michaelis, pl. 6, figs. 12,

12_a_; Murray, II., pl. 4; Mitchell, _Selections_, pl. 6.

[Sidenote: =303 H.=]

Cast of a torso of Hephaestos or Prometheus. Powerful male torso, from

the neck to the groin. The action of the shoulders, and of the muscles

of the ribs and back shows that the arms were raised. Perhaps both

hands held an axe above the head, as if about to strike. This is the

only fragment besides No. 303 J. which has any claim to be assigned

to the central group of the eastern pediment. Though we have little

knowledge of how the central group of this pediment was composed, we

may suppose that the personage would not have been omitted through

whose act of cleaving the head of Zeus with an axe the birth of Athene

was accomplished. In the most generally diffused version of the

myth this was done by Hephaestos, but Attic tradition preferred to

attribute the deed to Prometheus. The original, which was discovered

on the east side of the Parthenon in 1836, is at _Athens_.

Michaelis, pl. 6, figs. 13, 13_a_.

[Sidenote: =303 J.=]

Nike, or Victory. Torso of a female figure, moving rapidly to the

front, and to our left, with the right arm extended in the same

direction. The figure wears a short sleeveless chiton with a

diploidion which is confined under the girdle, to facilitate rapid

motion. A piece of bronze, which is fixed in the marble about the

middle of the left thigh, may have served for the attachment of a

metallic object, perhaps a taenia held in the left hand. At the back

the drapery is tied together, so as to leave the shoulder-blades bare.

On each shoulder-blade is a deep oblong sinking, which can only have

served for the insertion of the wings, which must have been attached

by dowels in the holes pierced round the sinkings. It may be inferred

from the size of these sinkings that the wings were of marble, not

metal.

It has generally been taken for granted, that this figure belongs to

the eastern pediment, and it has been inferred from its height that it

was not placed much nearer the centre than its present position.

This depends, however, on the original position of the wings. If they

were raised above the head, the figure must have occupied a place

nearer to the centre than it does at present. But it should be

observed, that in Carrey's drawing of the eastern pediment this figure

is not given, and, though Visconti states that it was found lying on

the ground below the front of the temple, it has been contended that

he may have been misinformed on this point, and that the figure so

closely resembles one in the western pediment as drawn by Carrey

and Dalton that it is probably the same. (See plate v., fig. 2, N,

Michaelis, p. 175, pl. 7, fig. N, and _Hilfstafel_, fig. N.) This

resemblance may be admitted; but if, on this ground, we identify

the torso of Nike with the figure in the western pediment (N), which

stands by the car of Amphitrite, we have a Victory associated with the

side of Poseidon, which seems inconsistent with the entire conception

of the western pediment. Moreover, the figure in Carrey's drawing has

a scarf hanging from the left arm, which seems not in character with

the type of Victory; and, further, Carrey gives no indication of

wings. On the other hand, the composition in the eastern pediment

would be incomplete if Nike were not present to welcome the new-born

Athene. On the whole, therefore, there is strong reason for leaving

this torso in the pediment to which it was originally assigned by

Visconti. In recent years two valuable additions have been made to

this figure. The right thigh was identified and added in 1860, and

the left knee in 1875. The figure is placed by Sauer in profile to the

left.

_Mus. Marbles_, VI., pl. 9; Michaelis, pl. 6, figs. 14, 14_a_;

Baumeister, _Denkmaeler_, p. 1182, fig. 1372.

[Sidenote: =303 K, L, M.=]

Group of three female figures (or, perhaps, a group of two, with a

third figure less closely associated, the figure K being made of

a different block from L and M). The figures are seated on rocks,

levelled on the top, and in the case of L, M, cut in step form to suit

the composition. The rocks are covered with draperies. These three

figures are considerably more complete in Carrey's drawings than now,

and the motives can best be understood with the aid of the drawings.

The figure K half turned her head towards the central scene. The right

arm was bent at the elbow towards the front of the body. The figure

L was headless in Carrey's time. The right arm, according to Carrey's

drawing, was bent towards the right shoulder, as if the action had

been that of drawing up the edge of the mantle with the right hand.

The body of this figure is bent forward and the feet drawn far back,

as would be the case with a person wishing to spring up. This motive

forms a contrast to that of the reclining figure (M), whose right arm

rests in her companion's lap, and whose tranquil attitude and averted

gaze, shown by Carrey's drawing to have been directed towards the

angle of the pediment, seem to indicate that the news of the birth has

not yet reached her. K wears sandals, a chiton with diploidion, and a

mantle of thick substance which passes across the knees, and over the

left shoulder, above which it may have been held with the left hand.

L wears a fine chiton, confined with a cord beneath the arms, and a

mantle covering the back and passing across the knees. M wears a fine

chiton, confined at the waist by a girdle, and has a mantle wrapped

about her legs. She appears to have worn a bracelet on the right arm.

On comparing the composition of this triad with that of the triad

placed next to Helios in the opposite half of the pediment a curious

analogy of treatment may be observed. The so-called Theseus (D), like

the reclining figure (M), seems to be quite unconscious of the great

event which is being announced, and they are turned as by law of

attraction to the groups of Day and Night which bound the scene

on either side. The central figure on either triad seems only half

aroused, while on either side the figure nearest the central action

appears to have heard the news of the birth. If the triad near Selene

are the Three Fates, as Visconti and many of his successors have

supposed, their place would more naturally be in the central part of

the composition, or at least they might be supposed to be more on the

alert with respect to what was passing. By others it has been argued

that the place of this triad in immediate succession to Selene, and

the direction in which the figure nearest to the angle (M) is turned,

would point to some mythic connection between these three figures and

the Goddess of the Moon. Such a connection is suggested by the names

given to the group by Welcker, who saw in them the three daughters of

Cecrops, Aglauros, Herse, and Pandrosos, mythic impersonations of the

Dew, who have a conspicuous place in Attic legend, though Pandrosos

alone of the three seems to have been honoured with worship at Athens.

The same desire to connect this triad with Selene has led Brunn (_Ber.

d. k. bayer. Akad. Phil. hist. Cl._, 1874, ii., p. 16) to see in them

personifications of clouds.

Among the writers who have regarded K as separate from L and M, the

most common opinion has been that K is Hestia; L and M have been

called Aphrodite in the lap of Thalassa (Ronchaud), or of Peitho

(Petersen), or Thalassa, the Sea, in the lap of Gaia, the Earth

(Waldstein).

K. _Mus. Marbles_, VI., pl. 10; Michaelis, pl. 6, fig. 15; Murray,

II., pl. 7; Mitchell, _Selections_, pl. 6; _Stereoscopic_, No.

108.

L. M. _Mus. Marbles_, VI., pl. 11; Baumeister, _Denkmaeler_,

p. 1184, fig. 1374; Michaelis, pl. 6, fig. 16; Overbeck, _Gr.

Plast._, 3rd ed., I., p. 308, fig. 63; Murray, II., pl. 7;

_Stereoscopic_, No. 108; Waldstein, _Essays_, pl. 8; Mitchell,

_Selections_, pl. 6.

[Sidenote: =303 N.=]

Selene.--It has been already stated that the horse's head in the

right-hand angle of the pediment belongs to the Goddess of the Moon,

who is represented by the torso cast in plaster (N) which stands next

to it. The original of this torso, now at Athens, was discovered in

1840 on the east side of the Parthenon. The arms and head are wanting,

the body is cut off below the waist, as only the upper part of the

figure was shown on the pediment. The dress is a sleeveless chiton

girt at the waist and fastened on each shoulder. The bosom is crossed

diagonally by two bands which pass round to the back. Two large

dowel holes in the girdle and two others on the shoulders mark where

metallic ornaments have been attached. On the back is a remnant of

drapery extending from shoulder to shoulder; this is probably part of

a peplos, the ends of which may have fallen over the arms.

It has usually been assumed that Selene was driving a chariot, and

this has been conclusively proved by Sauer, who found the heads of two

horses still in position on the pediment, and indications of a fourth

head now lost. A theory recently suggested that Selene rides a single

horse is thereby rendered untenable.

Michaelis, pl. 6, figs. 17, 17a; _cf._ Wolters, pp. 256, 259; C.

Smith, _Journ. of Hellen. Studies_, IX., p. 8; _Stereoscopic_, No.

109; Sauer, _Athenische Mittheilungen_, XVI., pl. 3, p. 84.

[Sidenote: =303 O.=]

Horse's Head.--The head was so placed in the pediment that the muzzle

projected over the cornice; in order to adjust it securely in this

position, a portion of the lower jaw was cut away. The inner side of

the top of the head has also been cut away, in order to give room for

the upper member of the pediment. This head presents, as might have

been expected, a marked contrast in motive to the pair in the opposite

angle. The heads of the horses of Helios are thrown up with fiery

impatience as they spring from the waves; the downward inclination of

the head here described indicates that the car of Selene is about to

vanish below the horizon. In the whole range of ancient art there

is, perhaps, no work in marble in which the sculptor has shown such

complete mastery over his material. The nostrils "drink the air"; the

fiery expression of the eye, the bold, sharply defined outlines of the

bony structure so skilfully opposed to the sensitive flexibility of

the nose, and the brawny tenseness of the arched neck, are so combined

in this noble work that the praise bestowed on it by Goethe is not

extravagant. "This work," he says, "whether created by the imagination

of the artist or seen by him in nature, seems the revelation of

a prototype; it combines real truth with the highest poetical

conception." Behind the ears is a dowel hole; another is on the nose

between the eyes and the mouth, and a third on the inner corner of the

mouth. These show where a metal bridle was attached. On the crest

of the hogged mane are eleven smaller holes, in which some metallic

ornament must have been inserted. Two horses' heads still remain in

the angle of the pediment. See above, 303 N.

_Mus. Marbles_, VI., pl. 12; Michaelis, pl. 6, figs. 18, 18_a_;

Murray, II., pl. 6; _Stereoscopic_, No. 109.

WESTERN PEDIMENT OF THE PARTHENON.

[Sidenote: =304.=]

The subject of the western pediment of the Parthenon according to

Pausanias (i., 24, 5) was the strife of Poseidon with Athene for the

soil of Attica. This contest, according to tradition, took place on

the Acropolis itself. Athene, on this occasion, showed her power by

making the soil produce the olive-tree; Poseidon, striking the ground

with his trident, produced a salt spring, or, according to another

and later version, a horse. The victory in the contest was adjudged

to Athene. The spot where this double miracle took place was marked in

subsequent times by the joint temple of Erechtheus and Athene Polias;

within the precincts of which were the sacred olive-tree produced by

Athene, and the salt spring of Poseidon.

In the time of Carrey, the composition in this pediment was nearly

perfect, and to understand the torsos which remain, reference should

be made to Carrey's drawing (Plate v., fig. 2), or to the large model

of the Parthenon. A few of the early writers on the Parthenon (Spon,

Woods, Leake, Weber) mistook the western pediment for that which

contained the representation of the birth of Athene. If we omit the

archaeologists who were under this misapprehension, we find that,

while there is much difference of opinion as to the identification of

the single figures in the western pediment as drawn by Carrey, it is

generally admitted that the space bounded by the reclining figures in

the angles represents the Acropolis between the two rivers of Athens,

and that the figures to the left of Athene are Attic deities or

heroes, who would sympathise actively with her in the contest which is

the subject of the pediment, while those to the right of Poseidon are

the subordinate marine deities who would naturally be present as the

supporters of the Ruler of the sea. The most interesting dissentient

theory is that of Brunn (_Ber. d. k. bayer. Akad. Phil. hist.

Cl._, 1874, ii., p. 23). By an ingenious but inconclusive series of

arguments he has endeavoured to show that the west pediment contains

a personified representation of the whole coast of Attica, from the

borders of Megaris to Cape Sunium.

The great destruction of the western pediment since it was seen by

Carrey may have been partly due to the explosion during the siege, but

was chiefly the work of the Venetian General Morosini. After taking

the Acropolis he tried to lower the horses of the car of Athene, but

the tackle he used broke, and this matchless group fell to the ground.

If the fragments had been then collected and put together, much of

this beautiful design might have been saved, but they remained on the

spot where they fell till after the establishment of the Greek kingdom

at Athens (1833), when such of them as were extant were gathered up

and placed in a magazine on the Acropolis. They were subsequently

moulded, and casts of them are now exhibited in the Elgin Room.

Between the time of Morosini and the middle of the last century, when

Dalton drew the western pediment, the work of destruction had been

carried much further. In the right wing of the composition the figures

N, O, Q, S, T, and in the left wing only four figures, A, B, C, and

F(?) are shown in position on the pediment in Dalton's Plate. In the

intervening middle space, two torsos are lying on the floor of the

pediment. One of these is probably the Poseidon; the other may be the

figure marked H. On the ground below the pediment lies the body of a

draped figure, perhaps Athene, and a fragment which may belong to the

Poseidon.

All that remained in position in the western pediment when Lord

Elgin's agents came to Athens were the figures B and C in the north

angle, and in the south angle the lower part of the reclining female

figure W. The figures are still in position, and the west end of the

Parthenon was therefore not touched by Lord Elgin. The River-god A

and the torsos H, L, M, O were found under the north-west angle of the

pediment, after taking down a Turkish house built against the columns.

The lower part of a female figure Q may also have been found on this

spot.

After the Acropolis passed into the possession of the Greek

government, the ground round the Parthenon was partly cleared of its

ruins, and this led to the discovery, in 1835, of the crouching male

figure V and of many fragments, among which are remains of the

horses lowered by Morosini. The sculptures removed by Lord Elgin are

exhibited in combination with casts of the remains now at Athens. The

description that follows begins from the left or northern angle of the

pediment.

[Sidenote: =304 A.=]

Ilissos or Kephissos.--This figure, reclining in the angle of

the pediment, is universally admitted to be a River-god, (cf. the

description by Pausanias (v., 10, 7) of the pediment of the temple of

Zeus at Olympia). The figure is popularly known as the Ilissos, but

it may represent the Athenian Kephissos. According to Brunn's

topographical scheme, it is a less familiar Kephissos, near Eleusis.

This figure appears not to have suffered much since Carrey drew it. It

was still in the pediment in Stuart's time, but had been thrown down

at the date of Lord Elgin's mission. The body, half reclined, rests on

the left arm, over which is the end of an himation, which falls behind

the back in undulating lines, and is drawn up to the right knee. As

the head and most of the right arm are wanting, their action must be

a matter of conjecture; the general motion of the figure seems to

indicate the moment of sudden transition from repose to action, and

would be consistent with the supposition that the head was turned

towards the central group, watching the momentous issue of the

contest, and that the River-god was in the act of rising. In that case

his right hand may have been drawing forward the end of his himation

over his right knee. This figure has been long and deservedly

celebrated for the perfection of its anatomy. In the front of the

body, the flexibility of the abdominal muscles is finely contrasted

with the strong framework of the ribs. The supple elastic character of

the skin is here rendered with the same mastery as in the horse's head

of the eastern pediment. At the back some of the surface has retained

its original polish. In the undulating lines of the drapery, the

sculptor has succeeded in suggesting the idea of flowing water without

having recourse to direct or conventional imitation. The ground on

which the figure reclines is a rock. The left hand rested on the bed

of the pediment. A drawing by Pars taken during his visit to Athens

in 1765-66 (engraved Stuart, ii., chap. I., pl. 9), shows part of the

right forearm not shown in Carrey's drawing, and the outline of the

four fingers of the left hand overlapping the edge of the pediment. A

small attribute, probably of marble, was attached to the floor of the

pediment in front of the figure.

_Mus. Marbles_, VI., pls. 13, 14; Mansell, 700; Baumeister,

_Denkmaeler_, p. 1181, fig. 1371; Michaelis, pl. 8, fig. 1;

Overbeck, _Gr. Plast._, 3rd ed., I., p. 310, fig. 64; Murray, II.,

pl. 8; Mitchell, _Selections_, pl. 4; Waldstein, _Essays_, pl. 3;

_Stereoscopic_, No. 110; Sauer, _Athenische Mittheilungen_, XVI.,

p. 79.

[Sidenote: =304 A*.=]

Between A and the two next figures (B, C) a space is shown in Dalton's

drawing sufficient for a crouching figure, though no vestige of such a

figure is indicated by Carrey. Traces also remain on the floor of the

pediment (Sauer, _Athenische Mittheilungen_, xvi., p. 78). This gap

may have been filled by a crouching Water Nymph, associated with the

River-god. Brunn suggests a tributary of the Eleusinian Kephissos.

[Sidenote: =304 B, C.=]

Cecrops and Pandrosos (cast).--This group still remains in the

pediment at Athens, though much injured by exposure to the weather. It

consists of a male figure, whose left thigh receives the main weight

of his body, which leans a little to the right, resting on his left

hand. With him is grouped a female figure, who has thrown herself in

haste on both knees, with one arm round the neck of her companion. Her

action expresses surprise at the event occurring in the centre of the

pediment, towards which she has looked back. She wears a long chiton,

and over it a diploidion which falls below the girdle, and which

has slipped from the left shoulder, leaving the left breast and side

exposed. Her left arm, now entirely wanting, was broken off a little

below the shoulder at the date of Carrey's drawing. The male figure

has a mantle cast over his lower limbs. His right arm, which was

broken off below the elbow in the time of Stuart, is now reduced to

a stump. The right leg and knee and part of the right thigh have also

been lost since the time of Stuart. It appears from the statements of

travellers (cf. Michaelis, p. 194) that these figures lost their heads

in the years 1802 and 1803. The careful drawing of the group made by

Pars, and preserved in the British Museum (Stuart, ii., chap. I., pl.

9; Michaelis, pl. 8, fig. 2), shows that the heads of both figures

were turned towards the central group, the head of the female figure

being, moreover, slightly inclined over the left shoulder. In this

drawing the right arm of the male figure is bent at a right angle, the

upper part being nearly horizontal. On the ground between the pair is

a convex mass, which has been recognised to be part of the coil of a

large serpent. The remainder of this serpent may be seen at the back

of the group, passing under the left hand of the male figure. In front

of this hand the body of the serpent terminates in a joint with a

rectangular sinking, into which a fragment from the Elgin Collection

has been fitted. (_Mus. Marbles_, vi., pl. 8, fig. 2.)

This group has received various names. Spon and Wheler took it to

represent Hadrian and Sabina, and their opinion was repeated by Payne

Knight. The group has also been called Heracles and Hebe; Hephaestos

and Aphrodite. The association of the serpent with the male figure has

led Michaelis (p. 193) to recognise in him Asclepios, in which case

the female figure would naturally be Hygieia, who is constantly

associated with the father of the healing art, and who was worshipped,

conjointly with Asclepios, in a shrine at the southern foot of the

Athenian Acropolis. The bearded head, too, of the male figure, as

drawn by Pars, would well accord with the type of Asclepios. On the

other hand, the serpent in connection with that deity is usually

coiled round his staff, not winding along the ground, as on the

pediment. The whole composition of this serpent in relation to the

kneeling male figure rather suggests the type of the earth-born

Cecrops, as has been maintained by a considerable number of

archaeologists. If we adopt this attribution, then the female figure so

intimately associated with the bearded figure in this group would

be one of the daughters of Cecrops, perhaps Pandrosos. For the

topographical interpretations of Boetticher (Marathon and Salamis) and

of Brunn (Kithaeron and Parnes) there is no evidence.

Michaelis, pl. 8, fig. 2; Murray, II., pl. 9; _Stereoscopic_,

No. 111. A remarkably accurate copy of this group was recently

discovered at Eleusis, and is now in the National Museum at

Athens. In the copy the coils of the serpent are omitted ([Greek:

Ephemeris], 1890, pl. 12).

[Sidenote: =304 D, E, F.=]

If B and C are Cecrops and one of his daughters, the two female

figures (D, F), who in Carrey's drawing follow next, might be his

other two daughters. The boy (E) between them would be, in that case,

not the infant Iakchos between Demeter (D) and Kore (F), as several

writers have supposed, but the young Erysichthon, son of Cecrops.

According to Brunn's scheme these three figures personify Lycabettos,

between Pentelicon and Hymettos.

Of the three figures D, E, F, only one fragment, now at Athens, has

been identified, representing the left knee of a seated figure, with

the right hand of a boy resting on it, and thus corresponding

with Carrey's drawing of the seated figure on whose knee the boy

Erysichthon rests his right hand. A cast of this fragment is exhibited

in a Wall-Case (No. 339, _8_). A fragment, now at Athens with the

drapery on the right side of a figure seated on a rock, has been

conjecturally assigned by Michaelis (pl. 8, fig. 5) to figure D or U.

A cast is exhibited, No. 339, _7_.

In Dalton's drawing a draped female torso, broken off at the knees,

is placed next to C, which Michaelis (p. 191), conjectures to be

the remains of F. Dalton has represented this figure with the chiton

slipped down from the right shoulder so as to show the right breast

and side. But the drawing by Pars shows next to C a part of a figure

which accords more with D as drawn by Carrey. This fragment consists

of a right arm bent at a right angle and advanced, and a line of

drapery falling down the right side below the armpit. There is no

reason to doubt that the figure to which the arm belonged was in

position on the pediment when Pars drew it, and, if so, Dalton's

drawing must be wholly inaccurate in respect to this figure. (See

Michaelis, pl. 8, fig. 2.)

[Sidenote: =304 G.=]

Next in order in Carrey's drawing is the seated female figure (G), who

acts as charioteer to Athene, and who has been generally recognised as

Nike. The only fragment which can be attributed with any probability

to this figure is the head, obtained from Venice by Count de Laborde

(No. 339, _1_). A cast is exhibited in the Elgin Room.

[Sidenote: =304 H.=]

Hermes (?).--In the background, between the figure G and the horses,

Carrey gives a male figure (H), who looks back at the charioteer,

while he moves forward in the same direction as the horses. The figure

drawn by Carrey has been generally recognised in the torso in the

Museum which has lost the head and lower limbs since Carrey's time,

and is probably the same torso which Dalton represents lying on

the bed of the pediment. This figure has been called Erechtheus,

Erichthonios, Ares, Cecrops, Theseus, Pan, or Hermes. He is evidently

aiding the charioteer in the management of the horses; an office very

appropriate to Hermes, whose general character as a guide is expressed

by such epithets as [Greek: pompaios], and who on other monuments is

represented conducting a chariot.

The drapery which hangs at the back of the torso evidently represents

a chlamys, which must have been fastened in front just above the left

clavicle, where a hole is pierced to receive a metallic fastening.

There is another hole between the collar-bones. The right arm was

probably advanced nearly in a horizontal direction; the left arm may

have had the elbow a little drawn back; and a portion of the chlamys

evidently passed round this arm, and was probably twisted round it,

a fashion of drapery characteristic of Hermes. Among the fragments of

the Parthenon at Athens is a small piece of the left shoulder of this

figure, a cast of which has been adjusted to the marble in the Museum.

The remains of the left thigh show that the left leg was advanced as

in Carrey's drawing. The fragments described below, Nos. 339, _9_, and

339, _10_, may belong to this figure. A fragment of plinth, with two

feet, sometimes assigned to it, is described below, No. 329.

_Mus. Marbles_, VI., pl. 15; Michaelis, pl. 8, fig. 3.

[Sidenote: =304 L, M.=]

Athene and Poseidon.--The Athene of which L is the remnant is drawn by

Carrey moving rapidly to the left; her right arm, broken off above the

elbow, is advanced horizontally in the same direction. Her left arm is

broken off below the shoulder; she wears a long chiton, over which

is a diploidion, reaching to the hips, and falling in a fold over the

girdle. The aegis, folded like a narrow band, passes obliquely across

the bosom between the breasts, and has extended from the right

shoulder round the left side, and probably across the back. It is

scalloped on its lower edge, and at the points holes are pierced for

the attachment of serpents of metal. In the centre of the aegis is

another hole, in which a circular object six inches in diameter,

doubtless a Gorgoneion, has been fixed. Carrey's drawing shows the

base of the neck, which was broken off before the time of Lord Elgin.

It has been recognised among the fragments on the Acropolis, and a

cast of it is now adjusted to the marble. It is evident from this that

the head of the goddess was turned towards her antagonist.

_Mus. Marbles_, VI., pl. 16; Michaelis, pl. 8, fig. 13.

[Sidenote: =304 M.=]

The torso of Poseidon is made up of three parts. The fragment with the

shoulders and upper part of the chest was removed by Lord Elgin; the

fragment containing the remainder of the breast and the abdomen nearly

to the navel has been since discovered, and the original is at Athens.

Since this torso was engraved in the work of Michaelis (pl. 8, fig.

16), a small piece has been added to the lower part of the abdomen.

It appears from Carrey's drawing that Poseidon was starting back in

a direction contrary to that of Athene, with the weight of his body

thrown on the left knee, which is bent. Carrey's drawing shows the

same portion of the right upper arm, which is preserved. It is raised

with the shoulder and may have been extended in a nearly horizontal

direction. The head in Carrey's drawing is slightly inclined over the

right shoulder. At the back the upper part of the shoulders is roughly

cut away; the chiselling does not appear to be ancient, but may have

been done after the figure had fallen from the pediment. The upper

part of this torso is remarkable for the grandeur of the lines.

_Mus. Marbles_, VI., pl. 17; Lower part, Michaelis, pl. 8, fig.

16; Laborde, _Le Parthenon_. The two parts are combined, Overbeck,

_Gr. Plast._, 3rd ed., I., p. 312, fig. 65; _Stereoscopic_, No.

101.

Though we know from Pausanias that the strife between Athene and

Poseidon for the soil of Attica was the subject of the western

pediment, the exact action represented by the central group cannot

be determined. Most writers suppose that the combatants have produced

their respective tokens, and that the strife is just decided. Among

the fragments found on the Acropolis were three which are certainly

parts of an olive-tree (Michaelis, pl. 8, fig. 15). The scale of

these fragments, casts of which are exhibited (see below, Nos. 339,

_15-17_), would be suitable for a tree placed in the centre of the

pediment between the two contending deities. If these fragments belong

to the Parthenon (of which there is no positive proof), it seems

natural to suppose that Athene is represented as having produced her

olive, which stood in the centre of the pediment, and was fixed in

a rectangular socket, well adapted to support it (Sauer, _Athenische

Mittheilungen_, xvi., pl. 3, p. 72). In this case the two gods are

seen starting asunder, but looking inwards, after the decisive moment.

The salt spring produced by the trident of Poseidon may also have

had a place in the composition, though no trace of it is to be found

either among the fragments or in Carrey's drawing.

The chief divergent theory is that of Stephani, who published a

vase-painting representing the contest (_Compte Rendu_, 1872, pl.

1, p. 5; _Journ. of Hellenic Studies_, iii., p. 245). In that design

Poseidon and Athene form an antagonistic group, which in composition

presents some resemblance with the central group in the pediment. The

olive-tree is placed between them, and Poseidon controls, with

his left hand, the upspringing horse. Stephani argues from the

vase-painting that Pheidias made Poseidon produce the horse--a variant

tradition, of which there are traces in late literature--that Poseidon

was represented striking the ground with his trident and Athene

striking it with her lance to produce the tokens, which are shown, by

anticipation, in the pediment itself. It is more likely that on the

vase the tokens have been produced and Poseidon attacks, while Athene

defends the olive. But neither in the protagonists nor in the rest of

the design on the vase is there that close correspondence in type and

action which would justify the conclusion that the vase-painter copied

directly any portion of the pedimental composition. On the other hand,

considerable portions of the bodies of three horses in addition to

those represented by casts in the British Museum (No. 341) have been

discovered in the excavations on the Acropolis (Sauer, _Athenische

Mittheilungen_, xvi., pl. 3, p. 73), and there can be little doubt

that the figure known as Amphitrite (O) acted as the charioteer of

Poseidon, and drove a pair of horses which corresponded closely to

the team of Athene, and completed the symmetry of the composition.

Inasmuch therefore as each deity has a similar pair of horses, it is

impossible to regard those of Poseidon as his distinctive token in the

combat.

If we assume that this second pair of horses was attached to the

chariot of Poseidon, room may be found for a representation of

the salt spring either between the left leg of the Sea-god and the

forelegs of his chariot horses, or beneath the horses.

For the vase picture already referred to, see also de Witte, in

the _Monuments Grecs de l'Association pour l'encouragement des

etudes Grecques_, No. 4, 1875; Brunn, _Sitzungsber. d. k. bayer.

Akad. Phil.-hist. Cl._, 1876, p. 477; and Petersen, _Arch. Zeit._,

1875, p. 115. For more recent discussions on the subject of the

dispute between Athene and Poseidon, see Robert in _Hermes_, XVI.,

p. 60, and in _Athenische Mittheilungen_, VII., p. 48; Petersen

in _Hermes_, XVII., p. 124; E. A. Gardner, in _Journ. of Hellen.

Studies_, III., p. 244; Wolters, p. 259.

[Sidenote: =304 N.=]

This figure, which may have been a Nereid, has been entirely lost

since the time of Dalton, unless we identify it with the supposed

Victory of the east pediment. (See No. 303 J.)

[Sidenote: =304 O.=]

Amphitrite.--In Carrey's drawing this torso appears as a seated

figure, the right foot on a higher level than the left, the left arm

drawn back as if holding the reins; between the feet appears the head

either of a dolphin or a marine monster. The head, left hand, and

apparently the right arm of Amphitrite are wanting. According to

Dalton's imperfect drawing, the figure had in his time lost the left

forearm and left leg. The torso at present wants the head, right arm

from the shoulder, left arm from below the shoulder, and all the lower

limbs except the upper part of the left thigh. The body is clad in a

long chiton without sleeves; an upper fold falls over the bosom as low

as the waist, passing under a broad girdle such as would be suitable

for charioteers. A small mantle passes obliquely across the back, one

end passing over the left shoulder and under the left arm; the

other had passed over the right shoulder. The places where metallic

ornaments were attached on this figure are marked by five holes

pierced in the marble, one of which is on the base of the neck, one

on the right shoulder at the fastening of the chiton, and three on

the left shoulder. On the inside of the left thigh are folds of fine

drapery; the surface of the outside still shows that the chiton had

been open at the side, _schistos_, as in Carrey's drawing. It should

be noted that this figure was not seated, as Carrey has drawn it,

but must have been standing with the body thrown back and the arms

extended in front, like the charioteer (No. 33) in the north frieze.

_Mus. Marbles_, VI., pl. 18; Michaelis. pl. 8, figs. 18, 18_a_.

[Sidenote: =304 P, Q.=]

Leucothea, with boy (?).--Lower limbs of a seated female figure, which

in Carrey's drawing appears on the right of the Amphitrite, and which

then had its head. The head of the female figure looks out of the

pediment; the feet are placed very close together. In Dalton's drawing

this figure is still in position, but headless. In its present state,

nothing remains of this figure but the lap and legs to the ankles. On

the right of the figure, the body of a youth (P) appears in Carrey's

drawing. The beginning of the right thigh, with the lower part of the

buttock, is still preserved; of the left thigh, the outline as far as

the knee is preserved on the marble. Three fingers of his right hand

may still be traced on the right knee of the female figure (Q),

where they rest on an end of drapery, probably his himation, which

reappears, wound round his left thigh. These remains show that the

body of this boy faced the right side of the female figure, pressing

against her. If we assume that she is a marine goddess, the name

Leucothea seems the best attribution, and the youth at her side would

then be Palaemon. A mantle is thrown over the thighs, falling down

between the knees over the chiton. The folds are deeply undercut, as

if to express the gentle agitation of the drapery by the movement of

a light breeze. In Brunn's topographical scheme, P Q are the coast of

Attica from Munychia to the Piraeus.

_Mus. Marbles_, VI., pl. 19; Michaelis, pl. 8, fig. 19.

[Sidenote: =304 R.=]

A figure of a child appears in Carrey's drawing on the right of the

figure Q. It is doubtful whether it should be associated most nearly

with Q or with the figure next on the right (S). On the former

supposition, the figure called above Leucothea has been interpreted

as Leto with Apollo and Artemis; as Leda with the Dioscuri; or as

Fostering Earth, [Greek: Ge Kourotrophos], with children. On the

latter supposition R has generally been called Eros associated with

Aphrodite (S).

[Sidenote: =304 S, T.=]

Next in Carrey's drawing comes a draped female figure (T), seated, in

whose lap is a naked figure (S), supposed by Carrey to be female.

This is generally supposed to be Thalassa, the Sea; the almost entire

nudity of the figure in her lap (S) makes it probable that Aphrodite

is here represented; her position in the lap of Thalassa would be

a way of expressing her sea-born origin. According to Brunn, T is a

personification of Cape Colias, and the figure of Aphrodite indicates

a shrine of that Goddess which stood on the cape. If, as seems

probable, the naked female figure is Aphrodite, the boy (R) is

probably Eros. Both the female figures were still in the pediment when

Dalton drew it. The marble fragment (T), representing the right thigh

of a draped female figure seated on a rock, is probably the only

extant remnant of Thalassa. A mantle has been brought round the lower

limbs of this figure, so that one edge of it falls on the rock on

which she is seated. This disposition of the drapery is indicated in

Carrey's drawing. (Michaelis, pl. 8, fig. 20.)

[Sidenote: =304 U.=]

Next in Carrey's drawing comes a female figure (U), seated and draped.

This had fallen out of the pediment when Dalton drew it, and no

fragment of it can now be identified. It had lost the head and arms

in Carrey's time. The figure presents no distinctive characteristic

by which she may be identified. She is probably a marine deity. Brunn

interprets her as a personification of Cape Zoster.

[Sidenote: =304 V, W.=]

Ilissos or Kephissos and Callirrhoe (?).--(Casts) The draped female

figure (W) reclining in the extreme angle of the pediment appears in

Carrey's drawing leaning on her right elbow, and with her head turned

towards the male figure (V) who kneels on both knees, inclining his

body towards his companion, and leaning on his left arm. The manner in

which these figures are here associated suggests an intimate relation

between the two; the female figure has all the characteristics of a

local Nymph, and the flow of her drapery would well accord with

an aquatic type. It seems probable, therefore, that the celebrated

Athenian fountain Callirrhoe may be personified by this figure, and in

that case the male figure next to her (V), though not in the reclining

attitude usually characteristic of River-gods, may be the Ilissos, out

of whose bed the fountain Callirrhoe rises. Brunn holds that V is a

personification of the Attic coast, Paralia. This, however, appears,

from a recently-discovered inscription, to be represented as female

(_Athenische Mittheilungen_, xiii., p. 221); W according to the same

archaeologist is a personification of the Myrtoan Sea. Dalton's drawing

shows no indication of either of these figures, though the lower half

of the Callirrhoe is to this day in position on the pediment. The

torso of the male figure had been broken, and was found in two places

in the excavations on the Acropolis in 1833. The head, arms, and left

leg have disappeared since Carrey's time. The right leg is doubled up

under the figure; the left knee must have been somewhat higher. This

figure is nude with the exception of a chlamys which falls down the

back and passes in front over the right ankle. For a fragment which

may belong to the left hand, see No. 339, _20_. This agrees with the

statement of Sauer (_Athenische Mittheilungen_, 1891, p. 81), that the

figure leant with open hand on the ground.

The female figure (W) is reclining on her right side; the right knee

has been more bent than the left. The upper part of the body seems,

from the direction of the folds of the drapery, to have been slightly

raised, and to have rested on the right elbow, as represented in

Carrey's drawing. The dress is a long chiton, over which falls a

diploidion nearly to the waist. All that remains of the figure are

the right side from below the arm to a little below the right hip, and

parts of both legs wanting the knees. According to Carrey the left

arm of this figure was raised so that the hand projected beyond the

cornice. Between the figures V and W a hole is pierced in the bed of

the pediment, in which some bronze object was inserted.

Figure V., Laborde, _Le Parthenon_; Michaelis, pl. 8, fig. 21;

Figure W., Michaelis, pl. 8, fig. 22.

METOPES OF THE PARTHENON.

The metopes of the Parthenon are sculptured blocks which were inserted

in the spaces, _met[)o]pae_, left between the ends of the beams of the

roof. These ends were represented by slabs, called _triglyphs_, from

the three parallel vertical bands cut in them. Reference to the model

of the Parthenon will show the relative position of the metopes and

triglyphs.

The Parthenon had originally ninety-two metopes, thirty-two of which

were on each of the long sides, and fourteen at each end. Many of

these are now only preserved in the drawings by Carrey, having been

destroyed in the great explosion. Unfortunately, however, Carrey was

only able to sketch the metopes of the south side. Forty-one metopes

still remain on the temple, but are for the most part so decayed

through time and weather that there is great difficulty in making out

their subject. The British Museum possesses fifteen original

metopes brought from Athens by Lord Elgin. His contemporary,

Choiseul-Gouffier, while ambassador at Constantinople, obtained one

more (No. 313), which is now in the Louvre. These sixteen metopes

are all from the south side of the Parthenon, and their subjects

were taken from the contest between the Centaurs and Lapiths at the

marriage-feast of Peirithooes. The first metope on the south side

of the Parthenon, reckoning from the south-west angle, is still in

position on the temple (Michaelis, pl. 3, 1); the second on the temple

is the first of the series of fifteen in the Museum.

The sculpture of the metopes is in the highest relief attainable in

marble, large portions of some of the figures being carved in the

round so as to stand out quite free of the background. There is a

remarkable inequality of style in the sculpture. Thus, for example,

Nos. 319, 320 show traces of archaic feeling, and while No. 309

appears to be the work of an indifferent artist, Nos. 310, 316, 317

are admirable.

[Sidenote: =305.=]

The Lapith kneels on the back of the Centaur, clasping his head with

his left arm, and pressing the fingers of his left hand against his

windpipe. The Centaur has been thrown on his right knee; his head is

forced back, his mouth wide open as if uttering a cry of agony. His

left hand vainly endeavours to dislodge the grasp on his throat, the

right hand appears behind the right shoulder of the Lapith. When drawn

by Carrey, the head and right foot of the Lapith and the right foreleg

of the Centaur still remained. The head of Lapith may be No. 343, _6_.

_Mus. Marbles_, VII., pl. 1; Baumeister, _Denkmaeler_, p. 1175,

fig. 1364; Michaelis, pl. 3, ii.; _Stereoscopic_, No. 80, A.

[Sidenote: =306.=]

The Lapith attacks the Centaur from behind, resting his right knee on

his crupper, and extending forward his right arm to seize the neck of

his foe. The Centaur, standing to the left, turns his human body half

round to meet his adversary. A skin is wound about his left arm by way

of shield. An ample chlamys hangs from the shoulders of the Lapith,

and he wears boots. His left arm was drawn back to strike. A hole near

the pit between the collar-bones and another on the lowest left rib

show where a sword-belt has been attached. Two similar holes are to

be seen on the body of the Centaur. These may have served for the

attachment of a bronze weapon held in the right hand. The head of

the Centaur still existed when Carrey drew this metope, but had

disappeared before the time of Stuart.

_Mus. Marbles_, VII., pl. 2; Michaelis, pl. 3, iii.; _Stereoscopic_,

No. 81.

[Sidenote: =307.=]

The Centaur is victorious; with both hands raised above his head, he

is about to hurl on his prostrate foe a large hydria. His equine body

is rearing against the Lapith, who vainly endeavours to defend himself

with his uplifted buckler, while the Centaur strikes at him with his

fore feet. The right forearm of the Lapith, now wanting, has rested on

the ground. A fragment of his right foot still remaining on the base

of the metope below the left hind leg of the Centaur shows that this

leg was extended nearly at full length, as it is drawn by Carrey. The

heads of both these figures and the right arm of the Centaur are cast

from the originals in the museum at Copenhagen, which were sent from

Athens in 1688 by a Captain Hartmand, who probably served under Count

Koenigsmark in Morosini's army. Round the head of the Lapith is a

sinking into which a metallic band or wreath has been fitted. On the

ground under the body of the Lapith are some folds of his chlamys, a

fragment of which may be traced on his left arm. Michaelis adds to the

Centaur's left hind-leg a hoof and lower part of leg, the original of

which is in the museum at Copenhagen; but he expresses a doubt whether

this fragment does not belong to the right hind-leg. When Carrey drew

the metope, it was nearly perfect. On the upper margin of the marble

still remains the bead and reel moulding which once ornamented all the

metopes, but of which there are few traces elsewhere.

_Mus. Marbles_, VII., pl. 7; _Stereoscopic_, No. 82. For the

two heads, see Broendsted, _Voyages et Recherches_, p. 171; _Mus.

Marbles_, VII., pl. 17; Michaelis, pl. 3, iv.

[Sidenote: =308.=]

[Illustration: Fig. 9.--Metopes 308, 309, from Carrey.]

When Carrey saw this metope, the figure of the Lapith, now wanting,

was still extant, and we must therefore supply the motive of the group

by reference to his drawing (fig. 9). In the original composition, the

Centaur, rearing up against his antagonist, grasps the Lapith's

right thigh between his forelegs, extending his left arm towards him,

probably to seize the hair of his head. The Lapith with extended right

arm is trying to keep the Centaur at arm's length, while he struggles

to escape; his left arm must have been raised. The right arm of the

Centaur must have been drawn back to strike. All that now remains of

the Lapith is a portion of the right wrist attached to the Centaur

near his throat. A skin, fastened round the Centaur's neck, flies

behind his back, falling over his left upper arm.

_Mus. Marbles_, VII., pl. 5; Michaelis, pl. 3, v.; _Stereoscopic_,

No. 83.

[Sidenote: =309.=]

In this metope, as drawn by Carrey (fig. 9), the right arm of the

Lapith is raised with the forearm bent; the right hand, which probably

held a sword, was already broken off in Carrey's time. His drawing

gives the head and part of the right upper arm of the Centaur, and the

left leg and half the right leg of the Lapith, but not his head. The

Centaur, while pressing his left hand on the left shoulder of the

Lapith, draws back a little from the blow with which he is menaced.

The action of both figures is rather tame, and the victory undecided.

An ample chlamys is shown falling at the back of the Lapith. Part of

the right hind leg of the Centaur has been added in plaster from the

marble fragment now at Athens.

_Mus. Marbles_, VII., pl. 15; Michaelis, pl. 3, vi.;

_Stereoscopic_, No. 84.

[Sidenote: =310.=]

The Lapith presses forward, advancing his left hand to seize the

rearing Centaur by the throat, and forcing him on his haunches; the

right arm of the Lapith is drawn back, as if about to strike; his

right hand, now wanting, probably held a sword: a mantle fastened on

the right shoulder falls over the left arm like a shield, and flies

back behind. The Centaur, rearing up against his antagonist, tries

in vain to pull away the left hand of the Lapith, which, in Carrey's

drawing, he grasps. The head of the Centaur is a cast from the

original at Athens. From the shoulders of the Centaur hangs a small

chlamys; the folds fly behind, and show the violence and swiftness of

the action. The head of the Lapith is a cast from the original, which

is now in the Louvre. Carrey's drawing gives the missing parts of the

legs of this group. This is, perhaps, the finest of all the metopes

in the Museum. The action is most spirited, and the modelling very

thorough and masterly.

_Mus. Marbles_, VII., pl. 3; Michaelis, pl. 3, vii.;

_Stereoscopic_, No. 85; Waldstein, in _Journ. of Hellen. Studies_,

III., pl. 23, p. 228; _Essays_, pls. 1, 2, p. 97.

[Sidenote: =311.=]

The Lapith is kneeling on his right knee. The Centaur, the human

portion of whose body is broken away, presses down his antagonist.

From Carrey's drawing, taken when this metope was nearly complete, we

learn what the action was. He represents the Centaur bending over the

kneeling Lapith, and raising his right hand to strike a deadly blow at

his antagonist, who looks up with his head thrown back, and stretches

out his left arm towards the breast of the Centaur. A chlamys hangs

down from the left arm of the Lapith. His right arm, which was lost in

the time of Carrey, must have been raised. The right hind foot of the

Centaur rests on a rock.

_Mus. Marbles_, VII., pl. 6; Michaelis, pl. 3, viii.;

_Stereoscopic_, No. 86.

[Sidenote: =312.=]

The Centaur has again the advantage. The Lapith is thrown down over a

large wine vessel, _pithos_; the Centaur has grasped his left leg

with his left hand, rolling him back on the jar. The Lapith seizes his

antagonist by the beard with his left hand, while his right arm, now

broken off, has been vainly extended behind him, seeking some support.

The right thigh of this figure, the head and part of the right arm of

the Centaur are casts from three fragments at Athens. Carrey's drawing

gives the left arm and side of the Centaur, as well as his head.

The head and right arm and hand of the Lapith are also shown in his

drawing, but not the portion of right thigh which has recently been

added. The wine vessel in this metope, and the hydria in No. 307,

indicate the wedding feast of Peirithooes as the scene of the contest.

_Mus. Marbles_, VII., pl. 4; Michaelis, pl. 3, ix.;

_Stereoscopic_, No. 87.

[Sidenote: =313.=]

This metope is a cast from the one removed by Choiseul-Gouffier when

French ambassador at the Porte, about the year 1787, and now in the

Louvre. The group represents a Centaur carrying off a Lapith wife or

maiden. The Centaur is rearing up; he grasps the woman between his

forelegs. His left hand presses against her left side, and it appears

from Carrey's drawing of this metope that his right hand grasped her

right wrist. With her left hand she is vainly endeavouring to loosen

his grasp round her waist, and to readjust her disordered drapery. She

wears a chiton with diploidion fastened on the right shoulder with a

brooch. In the struggle the chiton has fallen from the left shoulder.

On her right foot is a sandal with a thick sole; her left foot is

broken off above the ankle. Carrey's drawing gives this foot resting

on a rock, also other parts of the group which are now wanting.

_Mus. Marbles_, VII., pl. 16; Michaelis, pl. 3, x.;

_Stereoscopic_, No. 88.

The next metope in order on the Parthenon is now only preserved in

Carrey's drawing, which represents a Lapith armed with a shield, who

seems to be stabbing the Centaur in the belly. The Centaur grasps the

edge of the shield with his left hand. A fragment of this shield with

the left arm of the Lapith inside and the fingers of the Centaur on

the rim exists at Athens; cf. No. 343, _1_.

Michaelis, pl. 3, xi.

[Sidenote: =314.=]

This metope is cast from the original in the Acropolis Museum at

Athens. It represents a Centaur seizing a Lapith wife or maiden.

Carrey's drawing gives the head, left foreleg from the knee, and left

hindleg of the Centaur, and the right arm of the female figure, all

which parts are now wanting. The group presents a somewhat involved

and complicated composition. The Centaur grasps the female figure's

left arm with his left hand; his right arm, not shown, we must suppose

to be passing round the back of her waist. While the left foreleg of

the Centaur is firmly planted on the ground, his right foreleg clasps

the left leg of the female figure, pressing at the back of her

knee, so as to throw her off her balance. Her dress, a chiton with

a diploidion, is disordered in the struggle. The action of her right

hand, as drawn by Carrey, indicates that she is attempting to readjust

the upper part of her chiton. Her right leg from the knee to the ankle

is supplied by a cast from a fragment at Athens; the foot is cast from

another fragment, of which the original, No. 342, _1_, exhibited in

a Wall Case, probably belonged to the Elgin Collection. The action of

this leg is awkward and ungainly.

Michaelis, pl. 3, xii.; _Stereoscopic_, No. 96A.

Next follow in Carrey's drawings thirteen metopes (Michaelis,

xiii.-xxv.) of which we have only a few fragments. Of these the first

eight (xiii.-xx.) represent subjects of which the import is unknown,

and in which draped female figures predominate. Nos. xxii.-xxv.

represent combats between Centaurs and Lapiths or Lapith women. If

we suppose that No. xxi., which represents two women standing by an

archaic statue as if for sanctuary, belongs to the Centaur series,

then twelve metopes at each end of the south side, namely, i.-xii.,

xxi.-xxxiii. are devoted to this subject, while the eight central

metopes are an independent series.

Fragments have been recognised as belonging to the thirteen metopes

which have been destroyed since the time of Carrey. They are more

fully described below.

Metope XIII (?). Breast. See No. 342, _5_.

" XIV. Male torso. See No. 342, _2_.

" XV (?). Arm. See No. 342, _6_.

" XVI. Male head and torso. See No. 342, _3_.

" XVII. Male torso. See No. 343, _2_. Fragment

of lyre(?) See No. 343, _3_.

" XIX. Arm and drapery. See No. 342, _7_.

" XX. Hand with roll. See No. 343, _4_. Draped

thigh. See No. 342, _4_.

" XXIV. Torso of Lapith. See No. 343, _5_.

[Sidenote: =315.=]

This metope, the 26th in the original series, is from the eastern half

of the south side of the temple. It represents a contest between a

Centaur and Lapith. The Centaur, rearing, has raised his arms above

his head, in order to strike his antagonist with some weapon, perhaps

a branch of a tree. His antagonist thrusts the toes of his left foot

against the equine chest of the Centaur between his forelegs, and,

pressing his left hand against his adversary's right elbow, is trying

to force him back on his haunches. His right arm, now wanting, has

been drawn back to deal a blow; its position is marked by a projection

on the ground of the relief. A chlamys hangs down at his back. From

the want of apparent support for the right foot of the Lapith, the

action of this figure appears weak and undecided. On the left upper

arm are two holes for the attachment of some object, perhaps an end of

drapery hanging free in front of the arm. Another hole on the flank of

the equine portion of the Centaur, between the ribs and haunch, shows

where the end of a skin, hanging down from the back, may have been

attached. Parts of the right hind leg appear to have been attached

by metal rivets. Carrey's drawing shows that this metope has suffered

little since his time.

_Mus. Marbles_, VII., pl. 8; Michaelis, pl. 3, xxvi.;

_Stereoscopic_, No. 89.

[Sidenote: =316.=]

In this metope, the 27th in the original series, the Centaur, wounded

in the back, attempts to fly, but is checked by the Lapith, whose left

hand grasps him round the left side of the head, while his left leg

presses against his hind-quarters. The right arm of the Lapith is

drawn back to deal a blow, perhaps with a lance. The Centaur, rearing

up in agony, presses his right hand against the wound in his back; his

left arm, now wanting, must have been raised, as appears from Carrey's

drawing, in which a small piece of the upper arm is given. The left

foot of the Lapith presses firmly against a rock. A mantle falls over

both arms, hanging in festoons behind his back. Carrey's drawing gives

both the head, and right leg, and part of the right forearm of the

Lapith. In composition and execution this is one of the finest of the

extant metopes.

_Mus. Marbles_, VII., pl. 9; Baumeister, _Denkmaeler_, p. 1176,

fig. 1365; Michaelis, pl. 3, xxvii.; _Stereoscopic_, No. 90.

[Sidenote: =317.=]

In this metope, the 28th in the original series, the Centaur is

victorious; the Lapith lies dead under his feet. Brandishing the

lion's skin on his extended left arm with a triumphant gesture, and

lashing his tail, the Centaur rushes forward to meet a new foe, with

the ends of the lion's skin flying behind him. His right arm, now

wanting, must have wielded the weapon with which he has slain the

Lapith. The Lapith lies on his chlamys, his head thrown back, his

right leg bent up, his right hand lying over his right flank, his

whole form relaxed by death. Carrey's drawing gives the head, left

foreleg, and greater part of the right arm of the Centaur, but wholly

misinterprets the figure of the Lapith. For dramatic power in the

conception and truth in the modelling of the forms, this metope is

unrivalled.

_Mus. Marbles_, VII., pl. 10; Baumeister, _Denkmaeler_, p. 1177,

fig. 1366; Michaelis, pl. 3, xxviii.; _Stereoscopic_, No. 91.

[Sidenote: =318.=]

In this metope, the 29th of the original series, the Centaur is

carrying off a Lapith woman. Clasping her firmly round the waist with

his left hand, he has raised her from the ground. We see from Carrey's

drawing that his right hand, now wanting, grasped her right arm above

the elbow, so as to make her efforts to escape of no avail; with her

left hand she vainly endeavours to loosen his hold round her waist.

The disorder of her drapery shows the violence of the struggle. Her

chiton has slipped from its attachment on the left shoulder, leaving

her left breast exposed. Over her left arm is the end of a mantle,

which, passing round her back, and twisted over her right arm, floats

unconfined behind the Centaur. His head has the pointed ears which are

characteristic of the semi-bestial type, but which do not occur on the

other heads of Centaurs in these metopes. Carrey's drawing gives the

head of the female figure, and the right arm and tail of the Centaur.

There are traces of the bead and reel moulding on the margin of this

metope. The drapery is beautifully wrought, but the design in its

present condition seems rather tame.

_Mus. Marbles_, VII., pl. 11; Michaelis, pl. 4, xxix.;

_Stereoscopic_, No. 92.

[Sidenote: =319.=]

This metope, the 30th in the series, much resembles No. 311, both in

composition and in style. The Lapith has fallen with his left leg bent

under him; his left arm rests on a stone, which he grasps in his left

hand. His right hand, which is disarmed, presses feebly against the

left side of the Centaur, who with his left hand seizes the hair of

his antagonist, and presses his left forefoot on his right thigh,

drawing back his right arm to deal a blow. The countenance of the

Lapith expresses bodily pain, as if he had just been half stunned by a

blow on the head. His bent knee does not yet touch the ground, but

the action of the Centaur deprives him of all chance of recovering

his erect position. A lion's skin floats in the air at the back of the

Centaur. A chlamys hangs from the right arm of the Lapith, and passes

behind his back. The treatment of both the heads is a little austere,

but the bodies are well modelled, and the composition is finely

conceived. There are on this metope some remains of the bead and reel

moulding on the upper margin.

_Mus. Marbles_, VII., pl. 12; Michaelis, pl. 4, xxx.;

_Stereoscopic_, No. 93.

[Sidenote: =320.=]

In this metope, the 31st of the original series, the Centaur seems to

have the advantage. The Lapith has, with his right hand, seized him

by the hair, pressing his right knee on the Centaur's breast; his

left arm is drawn back, and has been slightly bent at the elbow. The

Centaur, rearing up, grasps his antagonist by the throat, twisting his

forelegs round the Lapith's right leg, so as to paralyse its action.

The position of the Centaur is obviously much the stronger, and the

bent left knee of the Lapith indicates that he is tottering. We do not

know what weapon he held in his hand. The composition in this metope

is very good. In the faces there is the same austere character as in

No. 319. This metope seems in the same state as when drawn by Carrey.

_Mus. Marbles_, VII., pl. 13; Baumeister, _Denkmaeler_, p. 1178,

fig. 1367; Michaelis, pl. 4, xxxi.; _Stereoscopic_, No. 94.

[Sidenote: =321.=]

In this metope, the 32nd of the original series, the Centaur has

seized the Lapith by the back of his head with his left hand, of which

a fragment is still visible. His right arm has been drawn back to deal

a blow, probably with a spear. The left foreleg passes round the loins

of the Lapith, while the other foreleg has been locked round his right

thigh. His adversary, firmly planted on the ground with his right leg

advanced, has drawn back his left arm to prepare a blow, probably with

a sword. The action of his right shoulder shows that he has seized the

Centaur by the hair with his right hand. A drawing by Feodor, one of

the artists employed by Lord Elgin at Athens, shows that the left arm

and left leg of the Lapith, now wanting, were then perfect, and that

he may have worn a bronze helmet up to the date when the drawing was

made. The direction of the missing portions of the left arm and leg

is indicated by projections on the ground of the relief. The right arm

was wanting from the elbow. In Carrey's drawing, all the right arm of

the Centaur is given; but his legs were mutilated.

_Mus. Marbles_, VII., pl. 14; Michaelis, pl. 4, xxxii.;

_Stereoscopic_, No. 95.

Of the thirty-two metopes which originally adorned the north side of

the Parthenon, only twelve (i.-iii. and xxiv.-xxxii. of Michaelis, pl.

4) remain in their original position, and three of these (ii., xxvi.,

xxx.) are so defaced that their subjects cannot be made out. In the

explosion of 1687, twenty metopes (iv.-xxiii.) were destroyed, all but

a few fragments. The subjects of the metopes which have perished may

have been the combats of Centaurs and Lapiths. Michaelis supposes

xxiv., xxv. to represent a scene from the taking of Troy.

[Sidenote: =322.=]

The only metope from the north side, of which a cast is exhibited in

the British Museum, is the last of the series, at the north-west angle

of the temple. It represents a draped female figure seated on a rock,

towards whom advances from the left another draped female figure,

extending forward her left hand muffled in drapery. Both figures wear

talaric chitons, over which fall diploidia and mantles. The figure

advancing wears sandals. The folds of the drapery are very rich and

abundant. There is a careful drawing of this metope by Feodor in the

British Museum, taken when it was in a considerably better state.

Michaelis, pl. 4, xxxii.; _Stereoscopic_, No. 96.

On the western front of the Parthenon all the fourteen metopes, except

vi. and vii., remain in position on the temple, but their surface has

been so much injured, that their subjects cannot be made out. The

best preserved of these metopes appear to represent a battle of Greeks

against Amazons.

[Sidenote: =323.=]

This is a cast from the first of the metopes of the west side, and

represents a figure mounted on a horse, moving to the right, with

the right hand drawn back as if aiming a spear, and having a

chlamys flying behind. If the metopes on this front represented an

Amazonomachia, this figure may be an Amazon. The surface is much

damaged. A drawing by Pars in the British Museum makes this a male

figure.

Michaelis, pl. 5, West side, i.; _Stereoscopic_, No. 80.

The corresponding metopes on the east side of the Parthenon remain on

the building, but have all suffered great injury. They appear to have

represented scenes from the war of the gods and giants.

Michaelis, pl. 5, East side, i.-xiv.

THE FRIEZE OF THE PARTHENON.

The Frieze of the Parthenon is a continuous band of sculpture in low

relief, which encircled and crowned the central chamber or cella

of the temple, together with the smaller porticoes that immediately

adjoined each end of it.

The frieze is nearly 3 ft. 4 in. high. The height of the relief is

somewhat greater at the top than at the bottom. At the top the height

of the relief may be as much as 2-1/4 inches, with an average height

of about 1-1/2 inch. At the bottom it varies between low relief and

about 1-1/4 inch. The whole surface of the relief is thus slightly

tilted over towards the spectator, in order to compensate as far as

possible for the disadvantageous conditions under which the frieze had

to be viewed. The length of each end of the Parthenon frieze was 69

ft. 6 in.; the length of each long side was 191 ft. 11 in. The length

of the entire frieze was therefore 522 ft. 10 in.

The frieze, which was nearly complete in the time of Carrey, suffered

greatly in the explosion, particularly about the middle of the two

long sides. Unfortunately, however, Carrey only made drawings of the

west end; the east end, except its central slab which had been taken

down; about 74 feet in the middle of the south side; and about 78

ft. 6 in. at the east end of the north side. Stuart and Pars drew a

considerable amount of the frieze, but not much of what has since been

entirely lost. The following table shows approximately the state of

the whole frieze.

-------------------------+--------+----------+-------+-------+----------

| East. | South. | West.| North.| Total.

| ft. in.| ft. in. |ft. in.|ft. in.|ft. in.

-------------------------+--------+----------+-------+-------+----------

Originals in the British}| | | | |

Museum }| 43 0 |108 6-1/2| 7 2 | 82 6 |241 2-1/2

| | | | |

Casts in the British }| | | | |

Museum }| 21 2 | 33 9-1/2| 62 4 | 54 8 |171 11-1/2

| | | | |

Preserved only in the }| | | | |

drawings of Carrey }| 3 4 | 27 6 | | 20 7 | 51 5

| | | | |

Preserved only in the }| | | | |

drawings of Stuart }| | 0 6 | | 2 9 | 3 3

| | | | |

Drawn by Carrey and }| | | | |

Stuart but not otherwise}| 2 0 | | | 5 7 | 7 7

preserved }| | | | |

+--------+----------+-------+-------+----------

Total existing or }| | | | |

recorded }| 69 6 |170 4 | 69 6 |166 1 |475 5

| | | | |

Lost without a record | | 21 7 | | 25 10 | 47 5

+--------+----------+-------+-------+----------

Grand Total | 69 6 |191 11 | 69 6 |191 11 |522 10

-------------------------+--------+----------+-------+-------+----------

The subject of the frieze of the Parthenon has been considered, by

most of the writers who have discussed it, to be connected with the

Panathenaic procession at Athens. Those who have held a different

view have been the early travellers, such as Cyriac of Ancona, who

described the subject of the frieze as 'Athenian victories in the

time of Pericles,' and a few recent authors. Davidson (_The Parthenon

Frieze_) sees in the frieze a representation of a Panhellenic

assembly, which Pericles tried to collect at Athens without

success. Weber and Boetticher held that the scene represented is

the preparation and rehearsal, rather than the procession itself. C.

Petersen thought that different festivals are represented on different

sides[*] (cf. Michaelis, p. 205).

*: The frieze of the Parthenon records in sculpture

the passionate delight with which Greeks, and more particularly

Athenians (cf. Hel. _Aeth._, III. 1), regarded festal processions.

A vivid commentary on the Parthenon frieze is to be found in the

third book (chaps, i.-iii.) of the _Aethiopica_ of the novelist

Heliodorus. The passage adds the sound, colour, and movement

needed for a complete conception of the scene. The writer,

however, is describing the procession of a Thessalian embassy at

Delphi, and some of the details only partially agree with those

of the frieze. "The Hecatomb led the procession, escorted by men

initiated in the mysteries. These were somewhat rustic in dress

and manner, and had their white tunics closely girded. The right

shoulder and breast were bare, and they carried an axe in the

right hand. The bulls were followed by a crowd of other victims,

each kind being led separately and in order. Meanwhile flute and

pipe were playing a melody which was, as it were, an introduction

to the sacrifice. The cattle and their escort were followed by

maidens with flowing hair. They were in two troops; the first

carried baskets of fruits and flowers, the second troop carried

flat baskets ([Greek: kana kanephorousai]) with sweetmeats and

incense, and filled the place with sweet smells. They bore their

burdens on their heads leaving their hands free, and kept their

ranks true both from front to rear and from side to side, that

they might march and dance while the first troop gave the time,

singing a hymn in honour of Thetis. The troops were so harmonious

and the sound of marching was so accurately timed to the song,

that hearing seemed better than seeing, and the spectators

followed the maidens as they passed as if they were drawn by the

melody. But at length the appearance of the youthful cavalry and

of its leader proved that a noble sight was better than any music.

There were fifty ephebi, in two troops of five-and-twenty, acting

as body-guard of the leader of the embassy. Their boots were laced

with purple thongs, and tied above the ankle. Their cloaks were

white with dark blue borders, and were fastened on their breasts

with golden brooches. The horses were all Thessalian, and breathed

the freedom of their native plains. They tried to spue out their

bits and covered them with foam, as if rebellious, yet submitted

to the will of the riders. It seemed as if there had been a

rivalry among the masters in adorning their horses with frontlets

and phalerae, silver or gilded. But, as a flash of lightning makes

all else seem dark, so, when the captain, Theagenes (the hero of

the novel), appeared, all eyes were turned to him. He also was

mounted, and wore armour, and brandished an ashen spear, tipped

with bronze. He had not put on his helmet, but rode bareheaded. He

wore a purple cloak, embroidered in gold with a fight of Centaurs

and Lapiths; on his brooch was an amber figure of Athene, wearing

the Gorgon's head on her breastplate. A gentle breeze gave him

further grace, spreading his hair about his neck, and parting the

locks on his forehead, and blowing the ends of his cloak about

the back and flanks of his horse. And the horse itself seemed

conscious of the exceeding beauty of its master, as it arched its

neck, and pricked up its ears, and frowned its brows, and

advanced proudly, giving ready obedience to the rein, balancing on

alternate shoulders, lightly striking the tips of its hoofs on

the ground, and attuning its pace to a gentle motion." Interesting

passages of Xenophon describe horses that prance as they ought

in processions, and also lay down the duty of the leaders of a

procession of horsemen (Xen. _Hipp._ 11 and _Hipparch._ 3).

Before examining how far the frieze represents the Panathenaic

procession in detail, it may be well to state what facts respecting

the festival have been handed down to us by ancient authors. Its

origin was ascribed in antiquity to pre-historic times. Its mythic

founder was Erichthonios, the son of Hephaestos and foster-son of

Athene herself; and the festival is said to have been renewed by

Theseus when he united all the Attic demes into one city. The goddess

in whose honour it was celebrated was Athene Polias, the tutelary

deity of the Athenian Acropolis, where she was supposed to dwell in

the "Old Temple," and where her worship was associated with that of

Erechtheus, who dwelt under the same roof.

A solemn sacrifice, equestrian and gymnastic contests, and the Pyrrhic

dance, were all included in the ceremonial; but its principal feature

was the offering of a new robe, _peplos_, to the Goddess on her

birthday. The peplos of Athene was a woven mantle renewed every four

years. On the ground, which is described as dark violet and also

as saffron-coloured, was interwoven the battle of the Gods and the

Giants, in which Zeus and Athene were represented. It was used to

drape the rude wooden image of Athene.

The festival was originally an annual one, but after a time it was

celebrated once every four years with more splendour and solemnity.

The institution of this greater Panathenaia is attributed to

Peisistratos. From his time (B.C. 560-527) dates the distinction

between the Greater and the Lesser Panathenaia. The sons of

Peisistratos added a contest of rhapsodes reciting the Homeric poems.

The festival was further amplified by Pericles, who introduced a

musical contest and himself acted as _athlothetes_ or judge.

On the birthday of the Goddess the procession which conveyed the

peplos to her temple assembled in the outer Cerameicos, and passed

through the lower city round the Acropolis, which it ascended through

the Propylaea. During its passage through the city the peplos was

displayed on the mast and yard of a ship, which was drawn on rollers.

In the procession of Rosalia at Palermo, a ship is employed for

a similar purpose (Brydone, _Tour_, Letter xxx.). In this solemn

ceremony, the whole body of Athenian citizens were represented. Among

those who are particularly mentioned as taking part in the procession

were the noble Athenian maidens, Canephori, who bore baskets, _kanea_,

with implements and offerings for the sacrifice; the Diphrophori, who

attended the Canephori with stools (_diphroi_); the metoik or alien

Scaphephori, whose function it was to carry certain trays, _skaphae_,

containing cakes and other offerings; the aged Athenian citizens who

bore olive branches, and were hence called Thallophori. It has also

recently been ascertained that the selected maidens who prepared the

peplos (the Ergastinae, and perhaps the Arrhephori) also took part in

the Panathenaic procession. An Attic decree of 98 B.C. records that

these maidens had performed all their duties, and had walked in the

procession in the manner ordained with the utmost beauty and grace

([Greek: pepompeu[kenai ka]ta ta prostetagmena hos hoti k[allis]ta kai

euschemone[stata]]), and had subscribed for a silver cup which they

wished to dedicate to Athene. After this preamble the decree

doubtless awarded certain public honours such as are enumerated in

an inscription found by Mr. Murray at Petworth. (_Bull. de Corr.

Hellenique_, xiii., p. 169; _Athenische Mittheilungen_, viii., p. 57.)

At the Greater Panathenaia each town in which land had been assigned

to Athenian settlers contributed animals to the sacrifice, perhaps a

cow and two sheep. The colonies also appear to have sent envoys who

had charge of the victims. Chariots and horsemen took an important

part in the procession. On this occasion appeared certain quadrigae,

which were only used in procession, and were hence called pompic

chariots; and an escort of Athenian cavalry and heavy infantry

completed the show. The arrangements for the sacrifice were under

the direction of the hieropoioi, and the multitudinous procession was

marshalled and kept in order by the demarchs, the hipparchs, and by

the heralds of a particular gens, the Euneidae.

When, with a knowledge of these facts, we examine the composition of

the frieze, we may recognise in its design the main features of the

actual procession. In our description we begin with No. 1, on the left

of the east side. We first observe Canephori and others leading the

procession of which the main part is seen on the south side. Next are

persons, perhaps Hieropoioi or magistrates receiving this procession.

In the centre of this side a solemn act (commonly supposed to be

the delivery of the peplos) is being performed in the presence of an

assembly of deities, separated into two groups interjected among the

heads of the procession who have arrived and stand waiting. These

deities are supposed to be invisible, and doubtless in a picture they

would have been placed in the background, seated in a semicircle

and looking inwards. In the narrow space of a frieze a combined

arrangement was necessary, such as we see here. Next we see the

persons receiving the procession on the north side, and then at the

head of that procession are Canephori, victims with their attendants,

Scaphephori, Spondophori, musicians, pompic chariots and cavalry.

After going down the north side, meeting the procession, we pass

along the west side, where it is still in a state of preparation for

departure. We then pursue the other main stream along the south side

of the Temple passing the cavalry, chariots and victims. All through

the frieze are magistrates and heralds marshalling the order of the

procession. It has been objected that many features which we know to

have formed a part of the original ceremony, as, for instance, the

ship on which the peplos was borne, are not found on the frieze; but

Pheidias would only select for his composition such details from the

actual procession as he considered suitable for representation in

sculpture, working, as he here did, under certain architectonic

conditions.

NOTE. The numbers of the slabs, painted in Roman figures on the lower

moulding, and placed in the right-hand margin of this catalogue, agree

throughout with the numbers of Michaelis. The numbers of the separate

figures assigned to them here and painted in Arabic numerals above the

frieze, do not agree with those of Michaelis, except in the case of

the west side.

EAST FRIEZE OF THE PARTHENON.

[Sidenote: =324.=]

[Rightnote: I.]

[Sidenote: 1.]

A man standing on the return face of slab xliv. (South Frieze),

looks back as if to make a signal to the procession approaching

along the south side, and thus makes a connection between the

south and east sides of the frieze.

[Rightnote: II.]

[Sidenote: 2-5.]

With slab ii. the band of maidens leading the southern half of the

procession begins. When complete the slab contained five maidens,

each probably carrying a circular bowl, with a boss in the centre

([Greek: phiale omphalote]); portions now remain of four alone;

compare however No. 345, _1_. They are draped in long chiton and

mantle. [Two casts of the slab are exhibited, side by side, in

order to represent the missing portion.]

[Rightnote: III.]

[Sidenote: 6-10.]

Five maidens carry each a wine jug, supposed to be of gold or

silver. Several such vessels occur in the Treasure lists of the

Parthenon. No. 6 wears a chiton with diploidion; Nos. 7-10 have a

chiton and mantle.

[Sidenote: 11-14.]

In front of these are four maidens, walking in pairs. Nos. 12 and

14 each carry in the right hand an object not unlike the stand of

an ancient candelabrum, which tapers upwards from its base. This

object is more distinctly shown on the marble between Nos. 11 and

12, than between Nos. 13 and 14. It is encircled by a double torus

moulding at the top, and above this moulding a hole is pierced in

the marble, as if there was here a ring for suspension or to serve

as a handle. It is probable that these are metallic objects

of some kind, which, like the censer carried by No. 55 on the

opposite side of the eastern frieze, were part of the sacred

furniture used in the festival and usually kept in the Treasury

of Athene. Michaelis suggests that they may be the stands,

_krateutae_, in which turned the ends of the spits used in

roasting the sacrifice. This would explain the ring at the top.

[Sidenote: 15, 16.]

A pair of maidens with empty hands leads the procession. Nos.

11-16 are all dressed alike, in long chiton, with diploidion,

together with a small mantle. They also appear to have the hair

similarly dressed. It falls in a mass on the shoulders, as in the

Caryatid of the Erechtheion (No. 407).

[Sidenote: 17.]

[Sidenote: 18.]

In front of the procession is a man, probably one of the marshals,

who seems to approach a group of five persons, and to hold out his

hand as if with a gesture of greeting to the nearest of the group.

This figure is turned towards the marshal, and leans heavily on

his staff which is seen below his knees. The marble fragment

with parts of the feet of Nos. 16 and 17 was acquired from the

collection of M. Steinhaeuser. The lower part of No. 18 is cast

from a fragment at Athens.

[Rightnote: IV.]

[Sidenote: 19-22.]

On the left of the next slab are four men of the same character as

No. 18. They all wear himation and boots. They converse in pairs

and stand in easy attitudes, leaning on their staffs. There is a

corresponding group of four male figures (Nos. 42-45) on slab vi.,

and Michaelis supposes that the group of five figures (Nos. 18-22)

and the opposite group (Nos. 42-45) of four figures represent the

nine Archons. That they are functionaries of high rank can hardly

be doubted, when we consider their privileged place between the

head of the procession on each side and the seated divinities,

but they might well be Athlothetae, who controlled all the

arrangements (Aristotle, [Greek: Ath. pol.] ed. Kenyon, 60).

[Sidenote: 23-40.]

The central portion of the eastern frieze now to be described has

been the subject of much controversy. Nearly all the authorities

who have written on this question agree in recognising the two

groups of seated figures as deities. This is indicated not only by

the dignity of their appearance but also by their scale. While the

figures of the mortals are about 3 ft. 2 in. high, those of the

deities are about 4 ft. 4 in. high. Though by the principle known

as Isokephalism the heads in a relief are usually nearly on a

level, this marked difference of scale can hardly fail to indicate

divine rank; compare the frieze of the Theseion (No. 404). There

is, however, a wide divergence of opinion as to the particular

divinities here represented. From the destruction of most of the

faces and the absence of attributes or other indications by which

the figures can be severally identified, it is very difficult to

judge between the rival schemes of interpretation which have been

proposed. In Michaelis' _Parthenon_, pp. 262, 263, a tabular view

is given of these schemes (cf. _Guide to the Elgin Room_, I.,

Table C). The attributions proposed by Michaelis himself are for

the most part adopted here, with certain changes suggested by

Flasch in his memoir: _Zum Parthenonfries_ (Wuerzburg, 1877).

The interpretations proposed by those who hold that the seated

figures are deities, are of two kinds. Most writers have tried

to identify some at least of the figures with personages who were

worshipped near the Acropolis, or connected with the mythological

history of Athens. By this system, deities of lower rank such

as the Dioscuri, or heroes like Triptolemos are admitted, on the

frieze, to the company of the Olympian Gods. Petersen and Flasch,

on the other hand, argue that the twelve Olympian deities

are represented in the two groups, without regard to local

considerations. Hestia alone is omitted, who always stays in

Olympos to keep the hearth. (Plato, _Phaedr._, 247_a_). Petersen

substitutes Peitho for Hestia; he also introduces Dionysos (24),

making No. 38 Apollo. Artemis is thus excluded from his scheme.

The arrangement of Flasch is happier, as Hestia alone is

excluded of the Olympian divinities. The attributions proposed by

Michaelis, Petersen, and Flasch are as follow, where they differ

between themselves:--

No. Michaelis. Petersen. Flasch.

24. Dionysos. Dionysos. Apollo.

25. Demeter. Demeter. Artemis.

26. Triptolemos. Ares. Ares.

27. Nike. Nike? Iris.

38. Apollo Patrooes. Apollo. Dionysos.

39. Peitho. Peitho. Demeter.

[Sidenote: 23.]

[Sidenote: 24.]

[Sidenote: 25.]

[Sidenote: 26.]

The earlier writers saw the Dioscuri, Castor and Pollux in the two

figures, Nos. 23, 24. It is now generally agreed that the youthful

elastic figure to the left is Hermes, of whom the high boots, and

the petasos spread on his knees are specially characteristic. His

right hand is pierced and has held a metallic object, probably the

herald's staff, caduceus. The drapery is a small chlamys fastened

by a brooch, but at present worn about the loins. The more robust

figure leaning on his shoulder (No. 24), has his body turned in a

direction contrary to that of Hermes, and the singular manner in

which his lower limbs are so arranged as to clasp between them

the knees of the seated goddess (No. 25) seems to indicate some

intimate and special relation between them. The goddess holds a

torch, the usual attribute of Demeter, and Michaelis sees in

the group (Nos. 24-26) the triad of Dionysos, Demeter, and

Triptolemos. Flasch recognises Apollo and Artemis in Nos. 24, 25,

on the ground of their intimate relationship. If we adopt this

interpretation of this group, it follows that the youthful

figure (No. 26) cannot be Triptolemos. We must rather look for

an Olympian deity in this figure, and the suggestion that it

represents Ares, which has found favour with several interpreters

of this frieze, seems liable only to one objection, that the form

appears too slight and youthful. The somewhat negligent attitude

is that of a person tired of sitting on a seat without a back,

and clasping his knee with his hands, to relieve the spine of the

weight of the head and shoulders. Flasch absurdly describes the

attitude as that of a passionate character, forcibly restraining

himself.

[Rightnote: V.]

[Sidenote: 27-29.]

The bearded figure (No. 29) on the left of the central group is

distinguished from the rest by the form, and ornaments of his

chair, which has a back and a side rail which is supported by a

Sphinx, while all the other figures are seated on stools. It has

been generally admitted that this deity is Zeus. It is therefore

reasonable to suppose that the goddess seated next to him (No.

28) is his consort, Hera. The type and action of this figure who

raises her veil, and looks towards Zeus, are very suitable to her.

The winged maidenly figure (No. 27) standing behind Hera must be

either Nike or Iris, and is probably Iris, whose station is close

to Hera, while Nike is usually more closely associated with Zeus

(Murray, _Class. Rev._ iii., p. 285). The head of Iris which

was discovered in 1889 in the excavations on the Acropolis is

admirably perfect. The left hand raises a mass of the hair as if

to coil it on the head (Plate vi., fig. 1).

The slab to which the head belongs was removed from its original

position at some early time, probably at the conversion of the

Parthenon into a church, when an apse was built at the eastern

end. In 1672 it stood on the ground (cf. Michaelis, pp. 47, 258),

and the faces seem to have suffered deliberate mutilation.

The exquisite preservation of the head of Iris is explained if,

as is suggested, it was broken off in the sixth century, and

immediately built into a Byzantine wall (Waldstein, _American

Journ. of Archaeology_, v. pl. 2, p. 1).

[Sidenote: 30-34.]

Between the group of Gods just described and the corresponding

group on the right side of the centre, we have a group of five

figures.

We must suppose that these figures are in front of the two groups

of Gods who sit in a continuous semicircle. (Murray, ii. pl. 1.)

[Illustration: Fig. 10.--Slave with seat.]

No. 30 is a maiden holding an uncertain object, perhaps a casket

in her left hand, and supporting on her head a seat ([Greek:

diphros]) covered with a cushion, not unlike the seats on which

the Gods are, but smaller. She has a small pad ([Greek: tyle]) on

her head to make the weight easier to bear. The legs of the seat

are now wanting, but a rivet hole near the maiden's right elbow

shows where one leg was attached. The other may have been painted

on the ground of the frieze. The cut (fig. 10), showing one of the

slaves of Cepheus carrying a stool with a cushion, is taken from a

vase in the British Museum, No. E. 188.

No. 31 is another maiden, advancing slowly to the right, bearing

on her head a seat similar to that carried by No. 30. The foremost

leg of the seat still exists, being of marble. The position of the

hinder leg is marked by a rivet hole. On each of these stools is a

circular object, probably a thick cushion. These two figures have

been called Arrhephori, or Ersephori, on the assumption that they

are carrying those mystic objects, the nature of which it was

forbidden to divulge; but it is doubtful whether the Arrhephori

took part in the Panathenaic festival. There is evidence that the

priestess of Athene had two attendants, of whom one was called

[Greek: kosmo] (Adorner), and the other [Greek: trapezophoros]

(Table-bearer, Harpocration), or [Greek: trapezo] (Hesychius

emended), and it has been suggested that Nos. 30, 31 may have

these titles, and a corresponding ritual significance. Neither

figure, however, carries a table. (Miss Harrison, _Class. Rev._

iii., p. 378; cf. _ibid._, p. 423; and Waldstein, _Journ. of

Hellen. Studies_, xi., p. 143). The same names were proposed by C.

O. Mueller in 1820, but merely on the supposition that two of the

Ersephori were thus styled. (Mueller, _Minervae Poliadis Sacra_,

p. 15.) On the other hand, Diphrophori are mentioned by several

ancient authors as being in attendance on the noble Athenian

maidens. They were the daughters of aliens, and perhaps inferior

rank as well as youth is indicated by the scale on which they are

represented. No. 31 is confronted by a large and matronly woman

(No. 32), who raises her right hand to the under side of the

chair. Archaeologists have been uncertain whether the woman (No.

32) has just placed the chairs on the heads of the maidens, or

is just about to remove them. There can be little doubt, however,

that No. 31, if we consider the position of her feet, has hardly

ceased approaching to No. 32, who is just raising her hands to

lift down the chair (cf. Flasch, _Zum Parthenonfries_, p. 83). The

left hand instinctively prevents the himation being displaced by

the raising of the right arm.

An elderly bearded man (No. 33), wearing a long chiton with short

sleeves and shoes, stands next to No. 32. On his head are traces

of metallic rust. He therefore may have worn a metallic wreath,

for which the marble at the back of his head appears to have been

hollowed. He turns his back to No. 32, and is engaged with a

boy. The two figures between them support a large piece of cloth,

folded once lengthwise, and twice breadthwise. In this case also

archaeologists have been doubtful which is the giver and which is

the receiver of the cloth; but the action represented is not one

either of giving or receiving. From the peculiar way in which the

boy grips an angle of the folded cloth between his elbow and his

side, while his hands are otherwise occupied, the act of folding

the cloth square seems to be represented. The portion nearest to

the spectator is being dropped down till its edges are parallel

with those of the lower part, so that the two parts should be

exactly doubled.

The group of figures just described (30-34) contains the centre of

the composition, and the interpretation of the frieze as a whole

depends on the meaning we attach to this group. Leaving on one

side the writers referred to on p. 147, who hold that the frieze

does not represent the Panathenaic festival, we find that a

majority of writers describes No. 32 as a Priestess of Athene,

giving the sacred vessels to the Arrhephori or Ersephori, and No.

33 as a priest or Archon Basileus receiving or giving the

sacred peplos of Athene. This view of Nos. 30-32 was necessarily

abandoned, when it had been perceived that the objects held by the

maidens are chairs, not baskets. As regards Nos. 33, 34, the main

arguments for interpreting the cloth as the peplos are, that the

accounts of the procession preserved in ancient authors show that

the conveyance of the peplos of Athene was the principal feature

in it. If we look to the place assigned to this group in the

eastern frieze, we find that these two figures (Nos. 33, 34)

stand in the centre of the eastern front, under the apex of the

pediment, and over the eastern door of the cella. They therefore

occupy the most conspicuous place in the frieze, from the points

of view alike of the sculptured Gods and of the human spectator,

and accordingly may well be supposed to be busy with the chief

ceremony of the festival. This view is opposed by Flasch. He

argues that if the delivery of the peplos is represented, there

is a violation of the unity of time, as the act which was the main

motive of the procession is being completed, while the procession

is still in progress, and in part has not yet started. Flasch

therefore holds that we have here the priest and priestess

preparing for the sacrifice that is to take place on the arrival

of the procession. The priestess is receiving chairs for herself

and for the priest from the Diphrophori. Meanwhile the priest, who

now only wears a long chiton, with short sleeves, has taken off

his himation, and, after folding it several times, is seen giving

it to an attendant to hold.

If, however, the action represented is merely that of folding, and

is not yet completed, it is impossible to determine which is the

giver and which the receiver. Nor would the difficulty be solved

if this could be ascertained, as we do not know what ceremonies

were performed when the peplos arrived. The surface of the cloth

on the frieze is left quite plain; but, if it is the peplos,

some indication of the embroidered design may have been given in

colour.

[Sidenote: 35.]

We now reach the second group of deities, seated to the right of

the central scene. The first figure is clearly that of Athene. She

sits in a position corresponding to that of Zeus, and the Goddess

of Athens is thus put in the same rank as the supreme God. Athene

is dressed in a chiton with diploidion and has short hair. An

indistinct object about her left wrist has been supposed to be a

snake from the fringe of the aegis of Athene, or by some writers

to be the snake of Hygieia. But the object seems merely to be a

bracelet in the form of a snake, which is not uncommon, and there

is therefore no indication of an aegis. Four rivet holes in a

straight line show that Athene held some attribute, probably a

spear in her right hand.

[Sidenote: 36.]

Next to Athene is an elderly bearded figure, who turns his head

towards her. He has a knotted staff under his right arm, and leans

upon it heavily. This figure is usually known as Hephaestos. It is

supposed that his lameness may be indicated by the awkward pose of

his right foot, and by the staff on which he leans.

[Rightnote: VI.]

[Sidenote: 37.]

[Sidenote: 38.]

This slab, containing figures Nos. 37-47, now in a very

fragmentary condition, was complete when drawn by Carrey, in

1674. A bearded male figure (No. 37) with his left hand raised is

probably Poseidon. The left hand, according to Flasch, once held

a trident. The next figure (No. 38), beardless and youthful, and

seated in an easy attitude, has of late years gone by the names of

Apollo Patrooes or Dionysos. The latter title seems best suited to

the somewhat effeminate figure, more fully draped than any other

of the Gods. A series of holes round the head shows the position

of a bronze wreath, and one at the elbow shows that the left hand

may have been supported by a thyrsos or sceptre.

[Sidenote: 39.]

A matronly figure (No. 39) is seated next to Dionysos, wearing a

chiton, which is slipping off from the left shoulder, himation,

cap and sandals. This figure is called Peitho by Michaelis and

Peterson, on the ground that the worship of Peitho was associated

with that of Aphrodite Pandemos (No. 40) on the south side of

the Acropolis. Flasch with more probability makes this goddess

Demeter, arguing that Peitho was not entitled to a place among

the great Gods of Olympos, while Demeter is appropriately placed

between Dionysos and Aphrodite. Flasch suggests that the right

hand may have held an ear of corn. A hole shows that the object in

question was made of bronze.

[Sidenote: 40.]

[Sidenote: 41.]

The next figure (No. 40) most of which is only preserved in

Carrey's drawing (Fig. 11), is unmistakably shown to be Aphrodite,

by the winged boy Eros who stands at her knee. Aphrodite wears

a chiton, himation, a cap, and to judge from Carrey's drawing a

veil. She rests her left hand on the shoulder of Eros, extending

her forefinger, as if pointing out some object in the procession

to the boy. Eros (No. 41) carries a parasol which conveniently

fills the space above his head and his wings.

[Illustration: Fig. 11.--East frieze of the Parthenon, Nos. 39-41.]

[Sidenote: 42-45.]

On the right of the gods is a group of four figures corresponding

to the five (Nos. 18-22) on the left. One of these (No. 43) is

young and beardless; the rest are elderly, and all have staffs and

himatia. No. 42 wears sandals. These four figures are leaning on

their staffs, and three of them are looking towards the advancing

procession, while the fourth (No. 45) turns his back to it and

appears to be conversing with his companions.

[Sidenote: 46.]

[Sidenote: 47.]