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.