Antiquity.
The Parthenon, part of the Acropolis sanctuary to Athena in Athens, is seen as a paradigm of classical architecture and the pinnacle of classical architectural sculpture. Its sculptural program included two pediments, an interior Ionic frieze and exterior Doric frieze, with sculpted metopes on all four sides, each showing a mythical battle. This metope is from the south side, which illustrated the Centauramachy, or battle between the Centaurs and Lapiths. Here, a Lapith man wrestles a Centaur. Both figures are shown actively straining, pulling in opposite directions, creating a strong sense of dynamism in the piece. That dynamic force is emphasised by the folds of the Lapith’s robe that spills out behind him, also enlivening the background of the piece. Dramatic movement, and patterning such as that created by the folds of cloth, along with the addition of paint, would make the metope more visually arresting to the viewer far below on the ground.
63. Anonymous. Goddesses, east pediment, Parthenon, Athens (Greece), c. 438–432 B.C.E. Marble, h: 130 cm. The British Museum, Athens (Greece). Greek Antiquity.
Most of this pediment was lost when the temple was converted into a Christian church and an apse was added to the east end. This group of goddesses survives, however, and illustrates why the Parthenon’s decoration is seen as the pinnacle of Greek architectural sculpture. The triangular shape of the pediment can be seen in this group, which would have occupied most of one of the corners. The problem of how to fill a triangular space has been solved with mastery here: the three goddesses lounge together, sitting, squatting, and reclining in a relaxed group, their poses naturally filling the angled space. A far cry from the straight, frontal figures of the Archaic period, these bodies bend, twist, reach and lean, their sheer drapery serving only to accentuate the curves of their bodies.
64. Anonymous. Head of the Pan-Athenaic Procession, slab No.7, east frieze, Parthenon, Athens (Greece), 445–438 B.C.E. Marble, h: 96 cm, l: 207 cm. Musée du Louvre, Paris (France). Greek Antiquity.
65. Anonymous. Horse of Selene, east pediment, Parthenon, Athens (Greece), c. 438–432 B.C.E. Marble, l: 83.3 cm.The British Museum, London (United Kingdom). Greek Antiquity.
66. Anonymous. Mounted Riders, slab No.38, north frieze, Parthenon, Athens (Greece), c. 438–432 B.C.E. Marble, h: 106 cm. The British Museum, London (United Kingdom). Greek Antiquity.
The Parthenon in Athens is a Doric-style building, but has the distinction of including an Ionic-style, continuous frieze around the cella, and the structure inside the exterior ring of columns. The Ionic frieze, wrapping unbroken around the cella, provided sculptors with the perfect opportunity to depict a long procession. The procession shown is the Panathenaic festival, the annual religious celebration of Athena, during which Athenians would climb to the Acropolis to present a new gown, or peplos, to the goddess’s cult statue. The long line of the frieze is kept visually interesting by varying the members of the procession: some are shown walking, some leading animals, and some on horseback. On this fragment of the frieze, a line of horsemen are shown overlapping, at varying levels of relief. Some of the horses rear, some buck their heads, further varying the scene. Originally, the frieze would have been painted, increasing its visibility to the viewer forty feet below.
67. Anonymous. Horse Men, slab No.42, north frieze, Parthenon, Athens (Greece), c. 438–432 B.C.E. Marble, h: 106 cm. The British Museum, London (United Kingdom). Greek Antiquity.
68. Anonymous. Diomedes, c. 430 B.C.E. Marble, h: 102 cm. Glyptothek, Munich (Germany). Greek Antiquity.
69. Anonymous. Male Torso, the “Diadoumenos”, copy after a bronze original created around 430 B.C.E. by Polykleitos. Marble, h: 85 cm. Musée du Louvre, Paris (France). Greek Antiquity.
70. Anonymous. Diadoumenos, the Young Athlete, copy after the bronze original created around 430 B.C.E. by Polykleitos. Marble, h:186 cm. National Museum, Athens (Greece). Greek Antiquity.
Polykleitos is one of the best-known sculptors of the fifth century B.C.E., known especially for his athletic dedications, such as this one. The figure binds his hair with a tie in preparation for sport. His clothes rest next to him on a low branch, since Greek athletes exercised in the nude. Polykleitos’ Doryphoros, or Canon, sought to illustrate the ideal male figure. In the piece shown, we see the same proportions the sculptor established with his Canon, and the same attention to anatomical realism. The Polykleitan ideal is a heavy, muscled, somewhat stocky body, especially in comparison to the more gracile figures of the next century.
71. Anonymous. Caryatid, Erechtheum, Acropolis, Athens (Greece), c. 420–406 B.C.E. Marble, h: 231 cm. The British Museum, London (United Kingdom). Greek Antiquity.
In the caryatid, the column takes its most ornate form, replaced entirely by the statue of a woman. It decorates the porch of the Erechteion, a temple to Athena on the Acropolis in Athens, built to replace one destroyed by the Persians. In its form and decoration, this temple deviates from tradition, including not only the unusual caryatids, but also an asymmetrical plan on varying ground levels, with two porches jutting out of the main building. This atypical plan was due to the multiple shrines incorporated into the temple, and also to its placement on an uneven rocky outcrop, home to the original olive tree given to the city by Athena. The six caryatids supported the south porch, one of the unusual additions to the regular temple plan. The caryatid figures have all the solidity of form we find in other fifth-century sculpture, and therefore seem up to the task of supporting a roof. The exaggerated shift in weight, and the clinginess of the drapery, are typical of sculpture of the end of the fifth century B.C.E.
72. Anonymous. Wounded Amazon, Roman copy after a Greek original created around 440–430 B.C.E. by Polykleitos. Marble, h: 202 cm. Musei Capitolini, Rome (Italy). Greek Antiquity.
The Amazons are known from Greek mythology as great warriors. Like the flipside of the Greek world, in Amazon society it was the women who hunted and fought wars; in some versions of the myth no men were allowed in their society, in other versions, men were present, but charged with domestic duties. In Greek art, Amazons are usually shown in battle against the Greeks. Since the women warriors represented a reversal of the norms of Greek society, it is thought that the images of Amazons may have been metaphors of the Persians, enemies of the Greeks, inhabitants of the east, and “others” in the same way the mythological Amazons were unknown, mysterious enemies of the Greeks.
73. Anonymous. Artemis, east frieze, Parthenon, Athens (Greece), c. 438–432 B.C.E. Marble, h: 100 cm. The British Museum, London (United Kingdom). Greek Antiquity.
74. Anonymous. Draped Woman Seated, tombstone (fragment), c. 400 B.C.E. Marble, h: 122 cm. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (United States). Greek Antiquity.
75. Paionios of Mende, Greek. Nike, c. 420 B.C.E. Marble, h: 290 cm. Archaeological Museum, Olympia (Greece). Greek Antiquity.
76. Anonymous. Nike, balustrade, Temple of Athena Nike, Athens (Greece), c. 420–400 B.C.E. Marble, h: 101 cm. Acropolis Museum, Athens (Greece). Greek Antiquity.
The Nike, or winged victory, was a companion to Athena, often shown following