327. In following the procession along the south side from west to east, we pursue one branch of the procession which corresponds in the main with that on the north side. The main difference is that on the south the victims consist of cows only, while on the north there are sheep as well as cows. It may therefore be the case that this side represents the Hecatomb offered by the Athenians themselves. All the victims are cows, in accordance with Greek ritual, which ordained the sacrifice of male animals to a God, and female animals to a Goddess.
1-4. I. The left-hand side of slab i. is still on the Parthenon; the right-hand portion, containing the figure, No. 4, was presented to the Museum by the late Mr. C. R. Cockerell. A marshal (No. 1) stands at the angle; the first horseman (No. 2) advances at a walk, thus conforming to the rule that the movement is always gentle at an angle of the frieze. The horsemen of this slab all wear chiton, chlamys, boots, and a leather cap with a flap (katablema) hanging over the nape of the neck.
5-7. II. Slab ii. is cast from the original on the Parthenon, which is in a very mutilated condition (cf. No. 345, 16). Of No. 7 nothing now remains on this slab, but a bit of his drapery, and on slab iii. his right foot and his horse's nose and forelegs. Slab iii.III. was complete on the left edge in the time of Stuart, who gives the head and forehand of the horse of No. 7. The horseman 8-9.(No. 8) wears a chlamys only, which is cast back so as to show the entire right side of the body. This is the only figure on the south frieze who is so little clad.
10-12. IV. On slab iv., the greater part of which still remains on the Parthenon, are the remains of three figures (Nos. 10, 11, 12). On the right side are two fragments of this slab, brought away by Lord Elgin, one of which only is given by Michaelis. The other has been since discovered in the magazines of the Museum.
[At this point it has been necessary to interrupt the sequence by placing slabs xiv., xv., xx. on the sides of the pilaster. These slabs are described below in their respective places.]
12-14. V. On slab v., No. 13 wears a close-fitting cuirass, but is bare-headed. Compare the figures 26-35, and the description of Theagenes in the passage of Heliodorus, quoted on p. 148. 15-25.Slabs vi.-ix.VI.-IX. contain unarmed Athenian horsemen, riding bare-headed and for the most part wearing chiton with double girdle and boots only. The head of the rider, No. 15, is unfinished. The horses at this part of the frieze have manes with a large forelock turned upwards.
X.-XIII. There is a break in the composition at the beginning of slab x., and a change of subject is marked by the group not being carried across the joint. The figures 26-37.(Nos. 26-37) on slabs x.-xiii. are evidently arranged in two ranks of six horsemen each, and are distinguished from most of the riders in the southern cavalcade by wearing a cuirass under which is a short chiton. Three of these figures (Nos. 33, 36, 37) have a cuirass consisting of a breastplate and backpiece, which are united at the sides by a strip of flexible scale armour. From the cuirass hang down the flaps, which protected the loins. These cuirasses also have shoulder straps. The riders, Nos. 26-36, wear the plain cuirass, rigid and close-fitting (θώραξ στάδιος). All the riders in this part of the procession wear high boots with a flap turning over below the knee. They are all bareheaded except No. 36, who wears a cap or helmet with a flap behind; No. 33, who also wears a cap; and No. 35, who has a diadem over which must have been a metallic wreath, as there are four holes for its attachment on the crown of the head. A chlamys hangs from the left arm of Nos. 26, 27, 28. XIV.-XVI.Slab xiv., which is a cast from the original at Athens, and slab xv. are now exhibited on the pilaster. Slab xvi., which is also a cast from the original at Athens, is in its place. Slab xiv. contains the head of the horse of No. 37. In front of it is a space marking a division, and another body of six horsemen 38-43.(Nos. 38-43). These appear to be uniformly dressed in helmet, chiton without cuirass, and boots, and, although the positions of xv., xvi. are conjectural, the sequence proposed seems highly probable. In front of No. 43 there is a space similar to that between Nos. 37, 38. On the right side of xvi. is the outline of a horse's crupper, and floating above it in the air appears to be the long end of a mantle of skin such as is worn by No. 14 in the west frieze; behind No. 44 appears to be part of a garment of the same texture, the outline of which is seen above the horse's hind quarter. It is, however, doubtful whether xvi. and xvii. joined each other. Perhaps between them was a slab in which the horsemen wore similar mantles of skin.
From this point the military order of the procession becomes less marked, or is obscured by the defective state of the marble. There is also more variety in the costumes of the riders.
45*. XVII. Slab xvii. is a cast from the original at Athens. Since the publication of the work of Michaelis, two fragments have been adjusted on the right, which prove the connection of the slab with No. xviii. by supplying the hind quarters of a horse of which the rest has been in xviii. These two fragments, which were unknown to Michaelis, also supply the forehand of another horse and the body of the rider (No. 45*) from the waist to below the knee (see fig. 14).
Fig. 14.—South frieze, slab xvii.
XVIII. The original of slab xviii. is at Athens, and was in its present mutilated condition when drawn by Carrey.
47. XIX. The cast of the small fragment at the upper left-hand corner of slab xix., giving the mane of the horse of No. 47, has been added since the publication of the work of Michaelis. For a fragment engraved by Michaelis, as the head of 48.No. 48, cf. No. 345, 18.
XX.Slab xx. (on the pilaster) is a cast from the original at Athens. This slab, which now only contains parts of the legs of two horses and a rider (No. 48) was nearly complete in the time of Carrey and contained two riders wearing petasoi or broad-brimmed travellers' hats.
51, 52. XXI. In slab xxi. the head of the horse of No. 51 and the head and shoulders of No. 52 are supplied by casts from originals at Athens. The fragment containing the head of 53.No. 53, a figure wearing a petasos, does not appear in the plate of Michaelis.
XXII., XXIIISlab xxii. and slab xxiii., which, with the exception of a small fragment, is only preserved in Carrey's drawings, contained the leading horsemen of the procession. Those on slab xxii. are evidently pulling up their horses, while the two horsemen on slab xxiii. are going at a foot-pace. All the paces of the horse are thus displayed within a short distance, at this part of the frieze. In slab xxii. a fragment containing a horse's head and the mane of another horse, which Michaelis assigns to the team on slab xxiv., has been since adjusted to its place in front of No. 56; to this has been fitted the small fragment of the corner of slab xxiii.
XXIV. The horsemen are immediately preceded in the procession by the chariot-groups. Carrey draws eight chariots, of which four partially survive and four are totally lost. On the other hand, a part remains of two groups (slab xxix.),XXXIV. of which there is no trace in Carrey's drawings. These, therefore, must probably be placed in a break in the sequence of slabs indicated by Carrey. Originally there must have been not fewer than ten chariot groups. In each the charioteer is accompanied by an armed warrior; but here the armed figure is not like the apobates of the northern frieze in the act of stepping out of the chariot in motion, but stands either in the quadriga or (if it is not in motion) by its side. Therefore Michaelis supposes that, while the chariots on the north frieze have reference to that contest in which armed apobatae took a part, leaping off and on to the quadriga during the race, the chariots in the south frieze suggest the chariots of war, harmata polemisteria, in which an armed hoplite stood in the chariot by the side of the charioteer. Each chariot group, when complete, is seen to be accompanied by a marshal.
XXIV. Of the two figures in the chariot of slab xxiv., nothing now remains but part of the shield and left arm of the hoplite 58.(No. 58), with a fold of drapery hanging from the arm. The upper part of the slab was wanting in the time of Carrey, but he gives the legs of the hoplite, who, like the corresponding figure in slab xxv., was standing by the wheel of the chariot, of which a small portion remains. This position shows that both these chariots were represented at the moment before they started. In the shield of No. 58 are two rivet holes for the attachment of a bronze handle. In the upper hole the metal still remains. Similar rivet holes occur in the shields of Nos. 61 and 66. Michaelis supplies the heads of the horses on this slab by a fragment which belongs to the cavalcade of horsemen. (See [slab xxii]., above.)
The connection between slabs xxiv. and xxv. is proved by a fragment which has been added to the lower corner on the right of slab xxiv. since the work of Michaelis was published. This fragment, of which the original is at Athens, gives part of the wheel of the chariot of xxv. and the forefeet of the horses of xxiv.
XXV.In slab xxv. the horses' heads now wanting are given in Carrey's drawing. Of the charioteer 60.(No. 60) very little is now visible but part of his drapery. The armed figure 61.(No. 61) in this chariot group, whose appearance is more youthful than that of the other hoplites in this part of the frieze, wears a chiton with a double girdle and a chlamys. Near the edge of his shield are two rivet holes for a bronze handle; in the upper one the metal still remains. The marshal 62.(No. 62) standing at the side of the horses stretches out his right hand towards the charioteer with the forefinger extended, a gesture which indicates that he is giving an order. The rivet holes on the horses' crests show that the reins were of bronze.
XXVI., XXVII.Slabs xxvi., xxvii., of Michaelis, contained two chariot groups which we only know through Carrey's drawings. In both the horses are springing forward; cf. No. 345, 20.
XXVIII.Michaelis inserts to represent slab xxviii. a fragment which belongs to the north side, slab xxiv.
XXIX.The lower corner on the left side of xxix. has been cast from a fragment at Athens, which has been identified since the publication of the work of Michaelis. This fragment supplies the missing part of the wheel and a small piece of flying drapery belonging to one of the figures in the chariot. In this group the marshal at the side of the chariot is wanting. On the right-hand edge of this slab, just above the horses' forelegs and close to the joint, is part of the outline of a shield. This shield must have belonged to one of the figures in the chariot following on the next slab; it is evident, therefore, that between xxix. and xxx. was another slab, now lost, which we cannot recognise in any of Carrey's drawings.
66. XXX. The armed figure (No. 66) wears the Corinthian helmet, which does not occur elsewhere on the frieze. The handle of his shield was of bronze, of which a small portion still remains in the rivet hole. Other rivet holes on the crests of the horses show that the reins and the hestor for attaching the yoke to the pole were also of bronze. Here, as in xxix., the marshal is wanting. The horses' heads, which are treated with more freedom on this slab than elsewhere on the frieze, are of extraordinary beauty.
XXXI.On slab xxxi., as in the preceding, the reins and the hestor were of bronze.
XXXII.-XXXIV.Slabs xxxii.-xxxiv. are now wholly lost, except in Carrey's drawings. They contained two chariots, both at a standstill, or moving slowly, and the four last persons of the crowd on foot.
XXXV.-XXXVII.Slabs xxxv., xxxvi., and part of slab xxxvii. contained the remainder of the persons on foot. Fragments of xxxv. and of xxxvi. (original at Athens) alone remain, although the slabs were complete in the time of Carrey. The figures as he draws them appear to be elderly men, eighteen in number, and resembling in attire and general character the Thallophori who have been already noticed on the northern frieze. All are clad in the himation. Michaelis thinks that 72, 73.No. 72 holds in his left hand a small object shaped like a clarionet, but he appears to have mistaken the right arm of No. 73 hanging down for this object. Between these supposed Thallophori and the victims Carrey inserts four figures, two of whom hold in their left hands some object like a square tablet, which may be the bottom of a lyre, as this is the place in the procession where the musicians might be expected, if the arrangement on this side corresponded with that on the north side. The fragment 79*.(No. 79*) representing the upper part of a Scaphephoros carrying a tray must also belong to this part of the frieze, and is therefore here inserted. It is cast from the original at Athens, which was not known to Michaelis. It probably implies that one slab was wanting here, as well as the second half of slab xxxvii., of which Carrey seems to have only drawn the first half.
XXXVIII.-XLV.The remainder of the south frieze is occupied with the procession of victims for the sacrifice. Cows only are here represented, and, as has been observed, this may indicate that we have here the native Athenian part of the procession. The order in which these slabs are exhibited differs from that given by Michaelis in Der Parthenon, pl. 11., because slab xliii., No. 84 (= Michaelis, No. 126; cf. 345, 22), which is the top left corner of a slab, has been proved to join to the right side of xli. Other changes have also been made, but the slab numbers of Michaelis have been preserved for convenience of reference, and the order now stands:—xli., joined by xliii., No. 84 (= Michaelis, No. 126); xxxix., which may join xliii.; xl., which joins xxxix.; xxxviii., which may perhaps join xl.; after an interval of one slab, xlii.; xliii., Nos. 100, 101 (= Michaelis, 127, 128); xliv., the corner slab. Michaelis has proposed a revised arrangement in Arch. Zeit., 1885, p. 57, which agrees with the foregoing, except that slabs xxxviii. and xlii. are transposed. Michaelis holds that xlii. joins xl., and xxxviii. joins xlii. This arrangement suits the conditions as to space, but the suggested joinings are very doubtful.
Each cow is escorted by two youths, one on each side, and a third figure, perhaps a marshal, at the head. Those of the escort who are on the side of the spectator are represented in vigorous action, guiding and restraining the animals by ropes, which may have been painted on the marble. All are clad in the himation, which in the figures actively engaged in controlling the cattle is worn so as to leave one or both shoulders free. Compare the description of Heliodorus, p. 147. In slab xxxix. the action is very animated. The youth, 85.No. 85, leans back with his foot pressed against a rock, to restrain the cow. This motive is a favourite one in fifth century art. Compare the west frieze, No. 15; a metope of the Theseion representing Theseus and the bull of Marathon; the balustrade of the temple of Nikè Apteros (No. 429); and vase paintings as in Journ. of Hellen. Studies, ii., pl. 10.
In slab xl. the left lower corner is added in plaster, from the original fragment at Athens. In slab xxxviii. the cow's right horn must have been carved in the round, only the tip being attached to the background of the relief. In slab xlii., 96.No. 96 has both hands raised to his head, as if adjusting a wreath. Compare the north frieze, No. 25. What was the number of cattle in this part of the frieze cannot now be ascertained, but there is evidence that there were at least nine, and more probably ten.
Michaelis (Arch. Zeit., 1885, p. 57), in placing xlii. after xl., makes the right hand seen on the left of xlii. to be the hand of 91.No. 91 (= Michaelis, No. 115), and the portion of a cow's belly seen between 90 and 91 to be part of the cow on the left of xlii. It is to be noticed that the hind legs of this cow have been altogether omitted.
There is a curious inequality in the depths of the relief in this part of the frieze. Slabs xxxix., xl. are worked more in the round than the remaining groups with cattle.
100, 101. The fragment with the two heads, Nos. 100 and 101, may be, as Michaelis suggests, a part of the corner slab xliv., the two parts at present numbered as 101, 102 being different parts of the same figure. 102.The positions of the head and the foot appear to agree. On the other hand, the surfaces of the two fragments have weathered very differently.
On the return face of slab xliv. is the marshal, who forms the first figure of the east frieze, and makes a connection between the two sides, by looking back, as if to the advancing procession.
In the following conspectus of publications of the frieze, only the Museum Marbles and the work of Michaelis, and the photographic reproductions are referred to in detail. For a fuller list of early publications the reader is referred to the work of Michaelis. Deficiencies in the published illustrations, as compared with the present state of the frieze, are noted in the description. In the fourth column C. indicates that the slab was drawn by Carrey; S. that it was drawn by Stuart, and published in the Antiquities of Athens, II., chap. i., or IV., chap. iv., pls. 11-14. A diagram showing all the slabs drawn by Stuart is given in Antiquities of Athens, II., chap. i., pl. 30. P. indicates that a slab was drawn by Pars, during the Dilettanti Expedition, and was published in the Antiquities of Athens, IV., chap. iv., pls. 6-10, 15-28. W. denotes slabs published, from drawings of Pars, in the Museum Worsleyanum.
Parthenon Frieze, East Side.
| Michaelis, Der Parthenon, Pl. 14. | Museum Marbles, Pt. VIII. | Mansell's Photographs. | Early Drawings, &c. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slab. | Pl. | ||
| I. | XXXIX. | 684 | C. |
| II. | 684 | C. | |
| III. | XXXVIII., XXXVII. | 685, 686 | C.S. |
| IV. | XXXVI., I. | 687, 688 | C.S. Brunn, Denkmaeler, Nos. 106, 107. |
| V. | II., III., IV. | 689, 690 | S.W. Brunn, Denkmaeler, Nos. 108, 109, 110. |
| VI. | V., VI. | 691, 692 | C. Baumeister, p. 1187. |
| VII. | VII. | C. | |
| VIII. | VIII. | 692a | C.S. |
| IX. | C.S. |
The East Frieze is also published by the Stereoscopic Company, Nos. 1-13.