STATUE OF ATHENÈ PARTHENOS.
The colossal statue of Athenè Parthenos by Pheidias was placed within the central chamber of the Parthenon. The figure was made of gold and ivory, and was, with its base, about 40 feet high. Athenè stood, draped in chiton and aegis. In her left hand she held her spear and shield. Between her and her shield was the serpent Erichthonios. On her outstretched right hand was a winged Victory, six feet high, holding a wreath. The helmet of the Goddess was adorned, according to Pausanias, with a Sphinx and Gryphons. From detailed copies of the head (Athenische Mittheilungen, viii., pl. 15; Cat. of Gems in B. M. 637, 638) we learn that the Gryphons were on the cheek-pieces, and that there was a figure of Pegasos on each side of the Sphinx. There was also a row of small horses at the front of the helmet. All available space was covered with reliefs. A battle between Greeks and Amazons (see below, Nos. 301, 302) was seen on the exterior of the shield, and one between Gods and Giants on its interior. On the base was a representation of the birth of Pandora (see No. [301]) and on the edges of the sandals was a battle between Centaurs and Lapiths.
The statue disappeared from view with the fall of paganism. Nos. 300-302 afford some of the materials for its reconstruction. Rough reproductions of the figure also occur on Attic reliefs, such as Nos. 771-773.
The statuette, No. [300], is of service for the details of the composition, although it is artistically a poor copy. The Lenormant statuette, No. [301], though rough and incomplete, is of more value for its rendering of the features.
The column beneath the hand of Athenè (in No. [300]) presents some difficulty, as it is not mentioned in descriptions of the statue and seldom occurs in reproductions of it. It is seen in an Attic relief (Michaelis, pl. 15, fig. 7) on a lead ticket (Zeitschr. für Numismatik, x., p. 152) and, in the form of an olive tree, on a Lycian coin of the time of Alexander (Zeitschr. für Num., loc. cit.; Murray, ii., pl. 11). It is more probable that an existing support should be omitted in reliefs, than that it should be inserted if non-existent. It is possible, however, that the support was not a part of the design of Pheidias, but was an addition, found to be necessary before the time of Alexander.
300. Cast of a statuette, copied from the Athenè Parthenos. The Goddess wears a helmet, ægis, chiton with diploïdion girt round the waist, bracelets and sandals; her left hand rests on her shield, which stands on its edge at her side. In the centre of the outside of the shield is a mask of Medusa, and inside a serpent; the right hand of Athenè is extended in front and rests on a column with the palm open upwards, holding a figure of Victory, in whose hands are remains of what is thought to be a garland. The head of the Victory is wanting. On the centre of the helmet of Athenè is a Sphinx, and at each side has been a Pegasos.
The statuette was found in a shrine in a private house. Compare the vision of Proclos, who was bidden to prepare his house for Athenè, when her statue was being removed by the Christians from the Parthenon, about 430 a.d. (Marinus, Proclos, 30; Michaelis, p. 270.)
The original, which is of Pentelic marble, is in the National Museum at Athens. Height, with plinth, 3 feet 5 inches. Found in 1880, near the Varvakion in Athens. Athenische Mittheilungen, VI., pls. 1, 2, p. 56; Journ. of Hellen. Studies, II., p. 3; Schreiber, Athena Parthenos des Phidias, pl. 1; Brunn, Denkmaeler, Nos. 39, 40; Waldstein, pl. 14; Harrison, Mythology and Monuments of Anc. Athens, p. 447. For literature see Waldstein, Essays, p. 270; Wolters, No. 467.
301. Cast of a statuette, copied from the statue of Athenè Parthenos. Athenè wears a helmet, ægis, and chiton with diploïdion girt round the waist; her right hand is extended in front with the palm open upwards as if to hold out the figure of Victory. In this part the statuette is unfinished, the marble underneath the right arm not having been hewn away. The left hand of the Goddess rests on her shield, which stands on its edge at her side; inside the shield is a serpent; outside are reliefs representing the battle between Greeks and Amazons, which is seen in more detail in No. 302. Among the figures, we recognise several which occur on No. 302. The figure of Pheidias (a, see No. [302]) is near the top of the relief, and holds a stone, as described by Plutarch. Next him perhaps is Pericles (b) separated from the fallen Amazon (c), which is at the bottom of the shield, as in No. 302. The group of the Greek seizing an Amazon (d) is seen on the right as in No. 302. The fallen Amazon (e) with hands above her head is high up, on the left of the relief. In place of the group of an Amazon supporting her companion (f) which is in No. 302, we have here the same subject, but differently treated. The Gorgon's head is roughly indicated near the middle of the shield. From the manner in which the rest of the figure corresponds to the chryselephantine statue, it has been assumed that the rude outlines of figures in relief on the base of the statuette represent the composition of Pheidias, of which the subject was the birth of Pandora (Paus., i., xxiv., 7.)
The original of this statue, which is of marble, is in the National Museum at Athens. Height 1 foot 4¾ inches. Found in 1859 near the Pnyx, at Athens. Lenormant, Gazette des Beaux Arts, 1860, VIII., p. 133; Jahn, Pop. Aufsätze, p. 215, pl. 1; Michaelis, pl. 15, fig. 1, p. 273; Overbeck, Gr. Plast., 3rd ed., I., p. 253, fig. 54; Brunn, Denkmaeler, No. 38; Wolters, No. 466; Harrison, Mythology and Monuments of Anc. Athens, p. 449. For the Pandora relief, see Puchstein, in Jahrbuch des Arch. Inst., V., p. 113.
302. Fragment of shield supposed to be a rough copy from the shield of the statue of Athenè Parthenos. Pliny (H. N., xxxvi., 18) and Pausanias (i., 17, 2) state that the outside of the shield was ornamented with the representation of a battle between Greeks and Amazons. Plutarch adds (Pericles, 31) that one of the figures represented Pheidias himself as an old bald-headed man raising a stone with both hands, while in another figure, who was represented fighting against an Amazon, with one hand holding out a spear in such a way as to conceal the face, the sculptor introduced the likeness of Pericles. This story is probably of late origin, and invented to account for two characteristic figures on the shield. A head of Medusa, or Gorgoneion, encircled by two serpents, forms the centre of the composition on the fragment. Below the Gorgoneion is a Greek warrior (a, cf. No. [301]), bald-headed, who raises both hands above his head to strike with a battle-axe. This figure has been thought to correspond with that of Pheidias in the original design. Next to him on the right is a Greek (b) who plants his left foot on the body of a fallen Amazon (c) and is in the act of dealing a blow with his right hand; his right arm is raised across his face and conceals the greater part of it. The action of this figure again presents a partial correspondence with that of Pericles as described by Plutarch. To the right of the supposed Pericles are two Greeks: the one advances to the right; the other (d) seizes by the hair an Amazon falling on the right. Above this group is an Amazon running to the right and a Greek striding to the left. His shield has the device of a hare. Above him are three armed Greeks, and the remains of another figure. On the left of the figure described as Pheidias is a Greek who has fallen on his knees. Further to the left is a fallen Amazon (e) who lies with her head towards the lower edge of the shield. Near her is a wounded Amazon (f) supported by a companion of whom but little remains. The lower part of a third figure, probably that of a Greek, is also seen. All the Amazons wear high boots and a short chiton, leaving the right breast exposed; their weapon is a double-headed axe. Red colour remains on the two serpents which encircle the Gorgon's head, on the shield of one of the Greeks and in several places on the draperies.—Obtained by Viscount Strangford from Athens.
Pentelic marble; height, 1 foot 4¾ inches; width, 1 foot 6 inches. Conze, Arch. Zeit., 1865, pls. 196, 197; Jahn, Pop. Aufsätze, p. 216, pl. 2, 1; Michaelis, pl. 15, fig. 34. Overbeck, Gr. Plast., 3rd ed., I., p. 255, fig. 55; Mitchell, p. 313; Mansell, No. 729; Wolters, No. 471; Harrison, Mythology and Monuments of Anc. Athens, p. 453. There is a fragment of a similar shield in the Vatican, Michaelis, pl. 15, fig. 35.