EASTERN PEDIMENT OF THE PARTHENON.
303. We know from Pausanias (i., 24, 5) that the subject of the composition in the eastern pediment had relation to the birth of Athenè, 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; Athenè 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 Athenè 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 Athenè 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 Athenè; 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 Selenè 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 Selenè 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 Athenè, and Pindar, Olymp., vii., 35.
The best views of this pediment are (1) the drawing of Carrey in the Bibliothèque Nationale (pl. v., fig. 1). A facsimile in the British Museum; in Laborde, Le Parthénon, 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.
Fig. 7.—The South End of the East Pediment of the Parthenon (according to Sauer).
Fig. 8—The North End of the East Pediment of the Parthenon (according to Sauer).
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).
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.
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. sächs. 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, Müller-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).
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).
303 E, F. Two female figures, seated on square seats. They both wear a sleeveless chiton, girt at the waist, and a diploïdion. 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 fibulæ 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. Künstler, i., p. 104). Most of the writers on the Parthenon, from Visconti downwards, have named this group Demeter and Persephonè, two deities, whose cult in Attica ranked second only to that of Athenè 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. Bröndsted (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.
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 diploïdion. 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, archæologists 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 Nikè 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), Hebè (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, 12a; Murray, II., pl. 4; Mitchell, Selections, pl. 6.
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 Athenè 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, 13a.
303 J. Nikè, 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 diploïdion 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 Nikè with the figure in the western pediment (N), which stands by the car of Amphitritè, 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 Nikè were not present to welcome the new-born Athenè. 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, 14a; Baumeister, Denkmaeler, p. 1182, fig. 1372.
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 diploïdion, 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 Selenè 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 Selenè, 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, Hersè, 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 Selenè 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 Aphroditè 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.
303 N. Selenè.—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 Selenè 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 Selenè 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.
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 Selenè 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, 18a; Murray, II., pl. 6; Stereoscopic, No. 109.