Height: 100.000 cm
Elgin Collection
GR South Frieze XXXI, 75-77
Room 18: Greece: Parthenon
Download this video to watch in your favourite media player, or to view this video online please enable javascript.
Chariot group from the south frieze of the Parthenon
Greek, carved about 438-432 BC
From Athens, Greece
The Parthenon frieze shows racing chariots ahead of the cavalcade of mounted horsemen. The Panathenaic Games at Athens featured races in which chariots were driven at high speed. At the end of the race, a soldier would leap out of the vehicle and finish the contest on foot. Here a partially preserved charioteer is seen on the extreme left of the block, while a foot soldier rides beside him, helmeted and holding a large round shield on his left arm. The carriage of the chariot and the hub of a wheel are just visible below.
The scene, carved into a shallow depth of relief, is vividly expressed with no less than four horses abreast. Their fiery manes are echoed in the flying crest and cloak of the soldier.
Watch a video about the Parthenon Sculptures
B.F. Cook, The Elgin Marbles, 2nd edition (London, The British Museum Press, 1997)
