325.At the head of the procession on the north side we meet a troop of cows and sheep, led by an escort. Each cow is led by cords held by two youths, one on each side; each sheep is led by one boy. There are some grounds for the conjecture that the Athenian colonists contributed each a cow and two sheep to the festival, while the Athenians are not known to have sacrificed anything except cows. It is therefore presumed that the victims on this side of the frieze, on which alone sheep are represented, are some of the colonial offerings; and in that case the men by whom the victims are conducted would be the Theori sent by the Colonies.
I.Slab i. (see [Plate vii].) was complete in the time of Carrey, and partly extant in the time of Stuart. It contains the first cow, led by two youths, who are standing still, and the head and shoulders of the second cow.
1, 2. II. Nos. 1 and 2 walk on each side of the second cow, which is going quietly, as is shown by the way in which the youths are closely wrapped up in their himatia. The rope by which the beast is led was probably painted on the marble. The third cow is restive, and only restrained with difficulty by 3, 4.Nos. 3 and 4. Here also the rope was probably painted.
This slab was discovered in 1833, beneath its original position on the Parthenon.
III. 5, 6. Of slab iii. only fragments remain. As drawn by Carrey, it contains the figure of No. 4 (cf. [Plate vii]., and No. 345, 3), vigorously holding back his cow, and a fourth cow, quietly led by two youths (Nos. 5, 6). For economy of space this slab is compressed in the British Museum to about two-thirds of its proper length. A cast from a head, which, perhaps, is that of No. 4, is placed at the corner of the slab (Michaelis, plate 13, xxvii. c.). The drapery seen on a fragment with the fore-legs of a cow belongs to No. 5, who leads the third cow. No. 6 is made up of six pieces, of which Michaelis had identified the feet of the figure, and part of the fore-legs of the cow. For its hind-legs, see his plate 13, xxvii. d. The originals of all these fragments are at Athens.
7-9. IV. Slab iv. contains parts of three figures, Nos. 7-9, who conduct three horned sheep. Of the first figure (No. 7) a part of the mantle is now left, and perhaps also the head (cf. [Plate vii]., and No. 345, 4). In Carrey's time the head and shoulders were still extant. At the joint between this slab and the next there is a marshal 10.(No. 10), who turns to the division of the procession approaching. Slab iv. was discovered in 1840.
11. V. When drawn by Carrey and Stuart, the next group in the procession consisted of three figures, of which one only (No. 11) is now extant. These figures carry on their shoulders oblong rectangular trays, not unlike a butcher's tray in form. These trays have been identified with the skaphae, or boat-shaped dishes which were carried in the Panathenaic procession, and which contained offerings of cakes. If we may trust Stuart's engraving, the tray of one of the two figures which have now disappeared contained fruits or cakes. These trays were made of silver or bronze. Skaphae of bronze are mentioned in one of the inventories of the treasures, deposited in the Parthenon. The Metoiks, whose duty it was to carry these trays, were hence called Scaphephori. Their place in the procession would naturally be immediately after the victims led for sacrifice.
12-14. VI. Slab vi. contains five male figures. Three (Nos. 12-14) carry vases on their shoulders; a fourth (No. 15) stoops to raise from the ground a similar vase, which is singularly misinterpreted in Carrey's drawing as a lamb. 15.The vase resembles in form the three-handled water-pitcher, hydria or calpis, which was in use in the period of Pheidias, but two handles only are shown in the sculpture; the third handle, which was attached to the neck midway between the other two, is not seen, except, perhaps, on the vase of No. 15. Michaelis supposes that the vases here represented on the frieze contained the wine used in the Panathenaic sacrifice, and that these figures may be the Spondophori, who are mentioned by Pollux 16.(i. 35). On the right of this slab are the arms, flute, and drapery of the first of the four flute-players drawn by Carrey. This slab was found in 1833, inside the peristyle of the Parthenon.
VII.The persons bringing objects connected with the sacrifice are immediately followed by a band of musicians, consisting of four flute-players and four lyre-players, or citharists, all playing on their instruments. The musicians, as is usual, wear long chitons and ample mantles. Of slab vii. only two small fragments remain. See Plates [vii]., [viii]., and Nos. [345], 5 and 6.
17, 18, 19. VIII. The next slab contains parts of the second pair of citharists and the foremost of a group of male figures, principally on the two slabs immediately following.
19-30. IX., X. The figures on these two slabs are bearded men (Nos. 19-30), all clad in the himation, and moving forward at a leisurely pace; Nos. 25 and 26 wear a band on their heads; No. 25 draws it over his hair; Nos. 28 and 30 wear long hair, plaited in the manner of the krobylos. The attire, elderly type, and general deportment of these figures corresponds with that of the Thallophori, by which name ancient authors designate elderly citizens who carried olive branches in the Panathenaic procession. The right hands of three of these figures are closed, as if they were holding a wand or branch.
Slab ix. was discovered in 1840, and is a fragment of the slab drawn by Carrey, which, when he saw it, contained nine figures similar to those on x. A recently-discovered fragment, from the left of slab ix., has not been inserted for want of space (cf. [Plate viii]., and No. 345, 8).
Slab x. was found at the north-west angle of the Parthenon in 1835. A fragment which belongs to the left-hand lower corner of the slab, and completes Nos. 24, 25, has been adjusted since the publication of the work of Michaelis. This slab was not drawn by Carrey, who indicates a lacuna at this point. It is therefore probable that the slab had already fallen from its place. The last two complete figures on this slab are looking back, as if their attention is directed to the advancing chariots. Michaelis has not observed that between these figures and the marshal (No. 31) there has been another draped figure (No. 30*), of whom nothing remains but the shoulders and a little drapery, shown immediately in front of the marshal (No. 31), and his right foot on slab x., seen next to the right foot of No. 30, the left foot of No. 30 being lost. This figure must have been the hindermost in the procession of Thallophori, and the entire number of these persons is therefore seventeen, not sixteen, as Michaelis makes it.
XI.With slab xi. the chariot groups begin. This part of the frieze has greatly suffered from mutilation. The remains of the chariot groups still extant show that there were at least nine of these. According to the calculation of Michaelis, that was the original number of chariots on this frieze. All these chariots are drawn by four horses, harmata tethrippa, or quadrigæ; the charioteer stands in the chariot, and is accompanied by the apobates, who is armed with a helmet and Argolic buckler, and is represented in the act of stepping down from the chariot or standing behind it. Each quadriga is accompanied by a marshal, pompeus. The vigour and animation of the chariot groups form a marked contrast with the groups that immediately precede them. The transition from the rapid motion of the chariots to the quietude of the Thallophori is skilfully effected by a chariot seen in rapid motion but in the act of being suddenly checked by the marshal 31.(No. 31), who is represented eagerly pressing back the plunging horses of the chariot which follows on the next slab. In the haste of his movement he has nearly thrown off his mantle, holding it from slipping further with his right hand on his right thigh. The original of this slab was found at Athens probably about 1834.
32. XII. On the slab next on the right (xii.) is the hind quarter of one of the horses, cut off at the joint. At the side of the chariot is a marshal (No. 32), his face turned, and his right arm extended towards the procession following on the right. The charioteer 33.(No. 33), who was mistaken for a Victory by Visconti and others, but whose figure is certainly not female, differs in costume from the others in this frieze. He wears a long chiton, over which is a diploïdion reaching to the hips. The breast is crossed diagonally by two bands. As a part of the hair is on a fragment known to have been missing before the time of Stuart, his drawing of the figure is proved to be untrustworthy.
34. The warrior (No. 34) attached to the chariot was complete in the time of Carrey. The upper half was lost before the time of Stuart, and was only re-discovered in the latest excavations on the Acropolis in 1889. He is represented standing on the ground, and looking back to the next chariot. His shield is raised as if to stop its course. The wheel of this chariot, as of some that succeed it, must have been, in part, wholly detached from the ground. The foot of the marshal is complete, but it is easy to trace where the wheel prevented the convenient working of the ground beneath it. (See [Plate viii]., and Stereoscopic, No. 19.)
XIII.Of slab xiii., which Carrey places next, nothing has been identified with certainty, but Michaelis is probably right in assigning to this group the fragment of four horses, of which a cast from the original at Athens is here inserted (cf. Plate viii., and No. 345, 9). Above the back of the second horse is the hestor (see [below]), and also what appears to be a small piece of the drapery of a marshal. This, however, cannot be the case if the fragment described (No. 345, 9) contains the marshal belonging to this slab.
35. XIV. Slab xiv. contains the third chariot with part of the team of horses. The marshal (No. 35) stands beyond the horses, and looks towards the charioteer. The charioteer (No. 36) had reins of bronze, as indicated by two rivet holes. Like the driver on slab xviii. he wears a chiton with long close-fitting sleeves. The apobates (No. 37) appears about to step down from the chariot. The wheel of this chariot as of that on slab xii. must have stood out entirely free from the ground. When Carrey drew this slab, the head of the charioteer 36, 37.(No. 36) and the head and body of the apobates (No. 37), of which only the lower part now remains, were extant. Close behind the wheel are traces of a horse's forefoot, which, as we see from Carrey's drawing, belonged to the chariot on the slab which follows next on the right (xv. according to the order of Michaelis).
38, 39. XV. Of the fourth chariot group, which was also drawn by Carrey, we have only the mutilated group to which the charioteer (No. 38) and an apobates (No. 39) belong; this is made up of four fragments, of which the originals were found at Athens in 1837. In this group the apobates (No. 39) stands in the chariot, looking back to the chariot following so closely that the forelegs of the horses actually overlap this group. Here also the wheel was in part completely free from the ground of the relief.
41. XVII. From Carrey's sketch we know that the chariot on slab xvii. was drawn by the horses, which occupied slab xvi., and whose hoofs are seen on slab xv., and that this was the fifth chariot group. The apobates (No. 41) of this chariot leans back, supporting himself by the right hand, which grasped the chariot rail (antyx), and is about to step off the chariot. The marshal 42.(No. 42) steps back to the left, looking in the contrary direction; his left arm, muffled in his mantle, is raised as a signal to the advancing throng; his right arm is also raised; the hand, now wanting, was just above the level of the head. His animated action forms a strong contrast to the still, calm attitude of the marshal (No. 43) of the following group.
Slab xvii. is cast from the original, which was drawn at Athens by Stuart, and, having been buried on the Acropolis, was re-discovered there in 1833. The right side of this slab is broken away, but there can be no doubt that it comes next to slab xviii. A photograph from the original is reproduced in Baumeister, Denkmaeler, p. 1186, fig. 1388.
43. XVIII. In slab xviii. have been three figures. The marshal (No. 43) stands beside the horses, in a calmer attitude than is usual in this part of the frieze; of the apobates (No. 45) nothing remains but his right arm and leg; and the lower part of his drapery, 44-45.which indicates rapid movement. Of the charioteer (No. 44), we have only the lower part of the body and hands.
XVIII.Parts of the harness can be seen on this slab, and also on slabs xiii., xix., xxi., xxiii. The general arrangement seems uniform, though there are differences of detail. The chariot pole (ῥυμός) passes from below the chariot between the horses. An upright pin (ἕστωρ) passes through the pole (slabs xiii., xviii., xix., xxiii). At this point the yoke (ζυγόν) was secured by a ring (κρίκος) and by the yoke-band (ζυγόδεσμον) (Hom. Il. xxiv.). The near end of the yoke, foreshortened and turned back, is visible on slabs xviii., xix., xxi., xxiii. On slabs xix., xxi. the yoke appears to be kept in position by a piece of metal passing from the top of the pin to the pole, which may, perhaps, serve instead of the ring. On slab xix. there appears to be a loop of a leather thong on each side of the piece described. This may be a part of the yoke-band. The reins were usually guided by two rings attached to the yoke or to the pole, but these do not appear to be shown on the frieze. It is easy to see on slabs xviii., xix., xxi., that the yoke was only fixed to the two middle horses, the outer pair being attached by traces.
Fig. 12.—North Frieze, slab xix.
XIX. The next slab (xix.) is a cast from the original at Athens, which is broken away on the right, so that all that remains of the charioteer (No. 47) is his right hand. At the side of the horses is a marshal (No. 46), who turns towards the chariot following on the right. Carrey's drawing supplies the upper part of this figure, and shows that he was holding up with his left hand the end of his mantle, apparently as a signal to the advancing procession. In fig. 12, slab xix. has been drawn in juxtaposition with the hitherto unplaced fragment No. 345, 12. This slab was discovered in 1834.
XX.Slab xx. is now lost, but a horse's head now at Athens (No. 345, 13; Michaelis, pl. 12, xx.) may perhaps belong to it.
XXI.Slab xxi. contains the bodies and hind quarters of the horses drawing the chariot seen on slab xxii. Between the charioteer (No. 48) and his horse is a fragment, showing the front of the chariot, and the tails of the horses, of which the original is at Athens, and which is not figured in Michaelis.
48, 49. XXII. On the left of slab xxii. is a chariot with the charioteer (No. 48) and apobates (No. 49) who is stepping into the chariot. On the right of this slab is an attendant (No. 50) (50.)standing at the heads of the horses of the last chariot group. The lower fragments of this slab are at Athens. The left-hand upper corner, which was wanting in the time of Stuart, was brought home by Lord Elgin. The upper fragment next to it, was once in the possession of the Society of Dilettanti, and was presented by that body. It had probably been brought from Athens by Chandler.
Stuart, 2nd ed., II., p. 50, note C.
52. XXIII. The chariot group represented on slabs xxii., xxiii. is represented as standing still, and was probably the last chariot in the procession. This slab is shorter than any of the others representing chariot groups. Part of the head of the apobates (No. 52) is supplied in plaster from the original fragment at Athens. A fragment of an apobates, which may well belong to the figure No. 52, has recently been fitted to the left of slab xxiv., thus proving that No. xxiv. is the first slab of the cavalry, and making it very probable that No. xxiii. is the last slab of the chariots. This fragment, incorrectly drawn, is assigned by Michaelis to slab xxviii. of the south side.
54-109. XXIV.-XLII. From this point to the north-west angle of the frieze we have a continuous procession of Athenian cavalry. The horsemen advance in a loose throng, in which no division into ranks or troops, nor indeed any settled order, can be made out. The groups, being very crowded, are carried on from slab to slab continuously, so that the vertical lines of the joints intersect the figures, while on the western frieze, on the contrary, the groups, being more scattered, are always completed on single slabs. The general effect of a body of horse in rapid movement is admirably rendered in the composition of the northern frieze, and is particularly fine in slabs xxx.-xlii., in which the effect has not been marred by mutilation. Though the entire composition is pervaded by the same general motion, a wonderful fertility of invention is shown in the arrangement of the successive groups. In the one hundred and twenty-five mounted figures in this cavalcade we do not find one single monotonous repetition.
Though the horses bound along with a fiery impatience, which seems at every moment ready to break loose from all control, these irregular movements never disturb the even hand and well-assured seat of the riders. Thus, as the cavalcade dashes along like a torrent, a rhythmical effect is produced by the contrast of the impetuous horses and their calm, steadfast riders.
In this part of the frieze there is great variety in the costumes and accoutrements of the horsemen. Crested helmets are worn by Nos. 59, 62; flexible leather caps by Nos. 84, 93, 96; a taenia by No. 97, and a petasos by No. 105. Some figures wear high boots with flaps at the knee as Nos. 98, 103, &c., while others wear boots without flaps as Nos. 90, 91, 92; a few have bare feet, as Nos. 72, 87, 89. The usual dress is a sleeveless chiton and a cloak. Some riders, however, wear a chiton only, as Nos. 59, 60 63, 72, &c., and others wear a cloak only, as Nos. 64, 76, 79, 87, 94. It may be mentioned that, according to Theophrastus, it was a mark of the man of small ambitions, when he took part in a cavalry procession, to give all his garments to a slave to carry home except only his cloak, in which he would display himself, walking about the agora. The chiton may have either one girdle, as No. 72, or two girdles, as Nos. 57, 59, &c. In a few instances it has long sleeves, as in Nos. 73, 75, 80, 84, 97, 98, 109. Two riders wear a cuirass, viz. Nos. 62, 92. The reins and bridles were in nearly every instance of bronze, marked by rivet holes behind the horse's ear, at his mouth and in the rider's hands. Marble reins are seen in the right hands of Nos. 98, 103.
52. XXIV. Slab xxiv. is shown, as has been already stated, to have contained the first of the cavalry, by the figure of the apobates which has been fitted to its left side. Neither this fragment nor that at the upper right hand corner have been engraved by Michaelis.
57. XXV. Slab xxv. was complete when drawn by Stuart. Only a fragment, containing part of No. 57, now survives. This is not inserted, in its place in the frieze, but is fixed beside the south door to the Elgin Room.
XXVI. Slab xxvi. is proved by Stuart's drawing to be continuous with the fragmentary slab xxv. Between slabs xxvi. and xxxi. the order is uncertain. The arrangement of plate 13 of Michaelis has been followed. It may be assumed that a slab (xxvii.) is lost between xxvi. and xxviii.,XXVII.-XXXI. which may have included the fragment No. 345, 15. Slab xxx. when complete may have fitted to xxix.; but, as it has the joint preserved on the right, there can be no doubt that it did not fit to No. xxxi. Between these two, therefore, another slab may be supposed to be missing. The three slabs enumerated as lost, viz. xx., xxvii., and the slab between xxx., xxxi., may be supposed to have been about 12 feet long. The missing part of xxx. may be 2 feet. Of the 25 ft. 10 in. of the frieze lost without record 14 feet are thus accounted for; the remaining 11 ft. 10 in. may be due to the loss of two more slabs, containing a chariot group, or to miscalculated proportions in Carrey's drawing.
