Michaelis, pl. 3, xi.
314. This metope is cast from the original in the Acropolis Museum at Athens. It represents a Centaur seizing a Lapith wife or maiden. Carrey's drawing gives the head, left foreleg from the knee, and left hindleg of the Centaur, and the right arm of the female figure, all which parts are now wanting. The group presents a somewhat involved and complicated composition. The Centaur grasps the female figure's left arm with his left hand; his right arm, not shown, we must suppose to be passing round the back of her waist. While the left foreleg of the Centaur is firmly planted on the ground, his right foreleg clasps the left leg of the female figure, pressing at the back of her knee, so as to throw her off her balance. Her dress, a chiton with a diploïdion, is disordered in the struggle. The action of her right hand, as drawn by Carrey, indicates that she is attempting to readjust the upper part of her chiton. Her right leg from the knee to the ankle is supplied by a cast from a fragment at Athens; the foot is cast from another fragment, of which the original, No. 342, 1, exhibited in a Wall Case, probably belonged to the Elgin Collection. The action of this leg is awkward and ungainly.
Michaelis, pl. 3, xii.; Stereoscopic, No. 96a.
Next follow in Carrey's drawings thirteen metopes (Michaelis, xiii.-xxv.) of which we have only a few fragments. Of these the first eight (xiii.-xx.) represent subjects of which the import is unknown, and in which draped female figures predominate. Nos. xxii.-xxv. represent combats between Centaurs and Lapiths or Lapith women. If we suppose that No. xxi., which represents two women standing by an archaic statue as if for sanctuary, belongs to the Centaur series, then twelve metopes at each end of the south side, namely, i.-xii., xxi.-xxxiii. are devoted to this subject, while the eight central metopes are an independent series.
Fragments have been recognised as belonging to the thirteen metopes which have been destroyed since the time of Carrey. They are more fully described below.
| Metope | XIII (?). | Breast. See No. [342, 5]. |
| " | XIV. | Male torso. See No. [342, 2]. |
| " | XV (?). | Arm. See No. [342, 6]. |
| " | XVI. | Male head and torso. See No. [342, 3]. |
| " | XVII. | Male torso. See No. [343, 2]. Fragment of lyre(?) See No. [343, 3]. |
| " | XIX. | Arm and drapery. See No. [342, 7]. |
| " | XX. | Hand with roll. See No. [343, 4]. Draped thigh. See No. [342, 4]. |
| " | XXIV. | Torso of Lapith. See No. [343, 5]. |
315.
This metope, the 26th in the original series, is from the eastern half of the south side of the temple. It represents a contest between a Centaur and Lapith. The Centaur, rearing, has raised his arms above his head, in order to strike his antagonist with some weapon, perhaps a branch of a tree. His antagonist thrusts the toes of his left foot against the equine chest of the Centaur between his forelegs, and, pressing his left hand against his adversary's right elbow, is trying to force him back on his haunches. His right arm, now wanting, has been drawn back to deal a blow; its position is marked by a projection on the ground of the relief. A chlamys hangs down at his back. From the want of apparent support for the right foot of the Lapith, the action of this figure appears weak and undecided. On the left upper arm are two holes for the attachment of some object, perhaps an end of drapery hanging free in front of the arm. Another hole on the flank of the equine portion of the Centaur, between the ribs and haunch, shows where the end of a skin, hanging down from the back, may have been attached. Parts of the right hind leg appear to have been attached by metal rivets. Carrey's drawing shows that this metope has suffered little since his time.
Mus. Marbles, VII., pl. 8; Michaelis, pl. 3, xxvi.; Stereoscopic, No. 89.