tour 7 of 21
Audio description tour
Central scene of the east frieze of the Parthenon
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The marble frieze that ran around the four sides of the
Parthenon was probably carved between 438 and 432 BC. It is 1 metre
high and is carved in low relief, the depth never more than 6
centimetres. The marble is a dull cream, with rust-coloured
staining in places where it has weathered. The frieze shows a
festival procession escorting the sacred robe, or peplos,
of Athena to be dedicated to the olive wood statue of Athena Polias
('Athena of the city') that was housed in a temple near the north
wall of the Acropolis. The frieze divides the procession into two
branches. These two branches almost meet on the east side of the
temple but they are separated by the seated figures of the gods
Hera and Zeus facing one way, and their offspring, Athena and
Hephaistos, facing the other way. Between the two groups of gods,
there is a scene showing the handling of the peplos.
The two images on this page show this scene, which is carved on
a single block, approximately two and a half metres long. The first
image shows the figures that appear on the extreme left of the
block.
On the far left is what remains of a standing girl, who has been
identified as Iris, a messenger of the gods. Her head is missing
here, but is preserved in the Acropolis Museum in Athens. Her long
dress is gathered at her waist, her left arm is raised. The lower
part of her body is concealed behind the seated figure of Hera, the
mother of the gods. Hera sits on a wide stool. Although her legs
face to the left, her head and upper body are twisted round to face
her husband - who is also her brother - Zeus, who sits next to her,
to the right. Hera raises her veil from her face in a traditional
bridal gesture, holding it away from her head with her bare arm.
The smoothness of the veil gives it a light and gauzy appearance,
contrasting with the elaborate folds of her robe.
To the right of Hera, the bearded figure of Zeus sits on his
throne. This is placed nearer to us than Hera's stool - giving the
impression that their seats are really side by side. Zeus faces
Hera, his posture relaxed. Zeus's robe is worn around his waist,
leaving his upper body bare. He leans his left elbow, almost
casually, on the scrolled back of his throne. His broken right
hand, resting on his knee, holds what remains of his sceptre.
To the right of these three gods are the figures who conduct a
ceremony in honour of Athena. Unlike the seated gods, these
figures, two adults and three children, are shown standing, and so
appear smaller than the gods. This probably indicates that they are
mortals. From left to right we find, first, two girls in long
draped tunics carrying cushioned stools on their heads, the legs of
the stools being mostly broken away. Each steadies her burden with
an upraised hand holding one of the legs. Both girls process
towards the right, where the second image continues the scene.
On the extreme left of this second image, a priestess of Athena
raises up an arm towards the two girls as if to take one of the
stools. The priestess wears a long robe, the fabric falling in
folds to the ground.
To the right of the priestess, two figures face each other,
holding between them the square folded cloth that is the
peplos. The man on the left is bearded and wears the long
tunic of a priest.
This is probably the Archon Basileus, literally, King
Magistrate, the chief religious official. He stands with his weight
resting on his left leg and his right leg relaxed. The sculptor has
carved the drapery of his tunic so that the fabric is flattened and
smoothed over his thigh by his stance. His head is bent towards the
peplos. The Archon is helped by a child, who faces him,
holding the peplos with an upraised left arm. A tunic is
draped over the child's shoulder, leaving the lower back and
buttocks bare. The gender of this child is uncertain. Some believe
it is a young boy, but the tunic has been identified by some
experts as a girl's garment, and creases known as rings of Venus
are carved into the child's neck, indicating that it may be a girl.
The faces of all the mortals have worn away, leaving only the
featureless shapes of heads.
To the right of these mortals is the second pair of gods - the
seated figures of Athena, the patron goddess of the city of Athens,
and her half-brother, Hephaistos, the lame blacksmith of the gods.
Like Hera and Zeus to the left of the peplos scene, these
two are carved on a larger scale - standing, they would be twice
the height of the mortals.
Athena sits with her back to the ritual, facing Hephaistos to
the right. Her features have worn away, but what remains of her
head tells us that her long hair has been braided and arranged at
the back of her head. She is seated on a stool, her right foot
tucked underneath it, her left stretched in front. Athena wears a
long filmy robe carved into ripples of material which follow the
curves of her body. Her right arm rests by her side, and holes in
the sculpture indicate that she would once have held a bronze
spear. Her left hand rests in her lap, and holds her
aegis, a mysterious breastplate made of goatskin and
fringed with snakes, which struck terror into all who saw it.
Hephaistos sits on another stool, to the right and slightly
behind Athena - again giving the impression that the stools sit
side by side. Although Hephaistos's legs face to the right, his
head and upper body are twisted round to face Athena. All that
remains of Hephaistos's weathered face is a vague impression of a
bearded man with short curled hair. Like his father Zeus, he wears
his robe around his waist, leaving his powerful, muscular chest and
arms bare. His left hand rests in his lap. This lame god has a
crutch tucked under his right armpit, and the sculptor has raised
his right shoulder slightly to indicate that the crutch is
supporting his weight.
The pose of Athena and Hephaistos at this end of the frieze
mirrors that of Hera and Zeus at the other end - the two groups
joined by the peplos scene in the centre.
You may like to know that there is a touch tour of a replica of
part of the Parthenon frieze in one of the Parthenon galleries. It
includes tactile drawings with Braille texts and a complimentary
sound guide.