A Catalogue of Sculpture in the Department of Greek and Roman Antiquities Part 29

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, pa.s.sing 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-b.e.s.t.i.a.l 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 pa.s.ses 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, x.x.x.; _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, x.x.xi.; _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 pa.s.ses 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, x.x.xii.; _Stereoscopic_, No. 95.

Of the thirty-two metopes which originally adorned the north side of the Parthenon, only twelve (i.-iii. and xxiv.-x.x.xii. of Michaelis, pl.

4) remain in their original position, and three of these (ii., xxvi., x.x.x.) 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 m.u.f.fled in drapery. Both figures wear talaric chitons, over which fall diplodia 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, x.x.xii.; _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 G.o.ds 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 Panh.e.l.lenic a.s.sembly, 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 pa.s.sionate 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 pa.s.sage adds the sound, colour, and movement needed for a complete conception of the scene. The writer, however, is describing the procession of a Thessalian emba.s.sy 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 pa.s.sed as if they were drawn by the melody. But at length the appearance of the youthful cavalry and of its leader proved that a n.o.ble 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 emba.s.sy. 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 b.r.e.a.s.t.s 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 p.r.i.c.ked 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 pa.s.sages of Xenophon describe horses that prance as they ought in processions, and also lay down the duty of the leaders of a procession of hors.e.m.e.n (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 G.o.ddess 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 a.s.sociated 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 princ.i.p.al feature was the offering of a new robe, _peplos_, to the G.o.ddess 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 G.o.ds 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 inst.i.tution 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 G.o.ddess the procession which conveyed the peplos to her temple a.s.sembled in the outer Cerameicos, and pa.s.sed through the lower city round the Acropolis, which it ascended through the Propylaea. During its pa.s.sage 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 x.x.x.). 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 n.o.ble 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.

h.e.l.lenique_, xiii., p. 169; _Athenische Mittheilungen_, viii., p. 57.) At the Greater Panathenaia each town in which land had been a.s.signed 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 hors.e.m.e.n 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 mult.i.tudinous 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 a.s.sembly 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 s.p.a.ce 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 pa.s.s 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 pa.s.sing 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.