The Parthenon at Athens, Greece and at Nashville, Tennessee

by Benjamin Franklin Wilson

It would be very difficult for a visitor to Nashville to decide which group of sculptures on the Parthenon is the loveliest. Each general group fits so harmoniously into its own particular place that a choice of one could not avoid being unfair to the others. Viewing the west pediment first, one essaying judgment might exclaim, “What could be more beautiful!” Yet on leaving it and looking at the east pediment he might easily be found saying, “Here is the answer.” The presence on the east pediment of the three Fates, the Heracles, and the steeds of Selene probably gives the east pediment the advantage over the other groups, especially in the eyes of the artists.

The story of the east pediment is very beautiful and tells of the birth of Athena and of her reign. In the beginning Zeus, the father of the gods, the king of the gods, had a very severe headache and could find no relief. He had long wanted a child born of the intellect. It is said that he was so disappointed at having a son, Hephaestus, born maimed that he threw him out of Heaven and it took a whole day for him to fall to the earth. Hephaestus was the god of fire, the god of metals, the blacksmith of the gods, and he forged the thunderbolts that Zeus used in his battles of Heaven. Hephaestus sent word to his father that if he would restore him to his rightful position among the gods, he would cure him of his headache. Thereupon Zeus assembled the gods on Mount Olympus and from somewhere, in a thundercloud, came Hephaestus. He struck his father in the back of the head with an axe and from the wound, giving Zeus his wish, sprang Athena, fully grown, clothed, and armed. She was announced and crowned goddess of wisdom by Nike, goddess of victory. It is said that at this event the earth groaned, Mount Olympus trembled, and the gods stood in amazement at the miracle that had been performed. These four figures form the highest pinnacle of the east pediment of the Parthenon.

At the extreme south end of the pediment, representing the beginning of the reign of Athena, in the morning is seen Helios, the god of the sun, the god of the morning, coming up out of the sea driving his four steeds representing the four seasons. As the horses come bounding out of the sea, Helios can scarcely restrain them, so eager are they to mount the skies.

Heracles, the next figure on the pediment, is shown with his club on his shoulder, nonchalantly looking at the horses, paying no attention to what is taking place on Mount Olympus. He is looking at the sun as it rises. Heracles was known as the favorite of the gods. In his early manhood they had permitted him to choose between virtue on the one hand, and vice on the other, both very attractively arrayed. He chose virtue rather than vice, and thus became their favorite. He did many heroic deeds in Grecian history, and was the national hero of Greece. Heracles was himself made a god; Zeus was his father, his mother was a mortal.

Next, on the pediment, may be seen the figures of Demeter, the sister of Zeus, and her daughter Persephone. Demeter was the goddess of the seasons. Ceres was her Roman name, and her daughter, Persephone, was the goddess of the underworld. She became the goddess of the underworld in this wise: One day when Persephone was in the fields plucking violets with her maidens, suddenly the earth opened and through it, in a chariot, came Pluto, the god of Hades. He saw her, fell in love with her, seized her, took her back to Hades, and made her his queen. Her mother grieved sorely and would not be comforted. She had powerful influence with the gods. She sent plagues on the earth and worried the gods, until Zeus was forced to compel Pluto to bring Persephone back to her mother. Thereafter, it is said, under a compromise agreement, Persephone spent six months of each year with her mother among the gods, and six months with her husband, Pluto, in Hades.

The next figure on the pediment is that of Iris, the female messenger of the gods, the rainbow goddess. She is represented on the pediment as being poised, ready to go at a moment’s notice, to tell the story of the birth of Athena to the world. This is the first figure seen among the fragments as the visitor enters the Parthenon door, and is often confused with the Winged Victory of Samothrace. The confusion arises from the fact that in the fragment of the Parthenon figure of Iris, located in the west room, she is holding her scarf at arm’s length in her hands and the fragment is broken through the scarf and through the arms, causing it to look as if it might be a wing, when, as a matter of fact, it is the fragment of a scarf and not a wing; and the figure is not the Winged Victory, but is Iris, the female messenger of the gods, the rainbow goddess.

Next is seen on the pediment the figure of Poseidon, the god of the sea; Neptune was his Roman name. Poseidon was the brother of Zeus, one of the chief deities of the Greeks, and is represented on the east pediment as sitting calmly by, looking on at what is taking place.

The next figure beyond Poseidon is that of Aphrodite, or Venus, the goddess of beauty, the goddess of love. She seems shocked at what she sees, and shrinks a little; but is comforting Hebe, the goddess of youth, who is reclining at her feet, by placing her hand on her head.

Then comes the central group, Hephaestus, Zeus, Nike, and Athena, or Minerva as the Romans called her, illustrating the story of the birth of Athena.

Next is seen Ares, or Mars, the god of war. He is represented on the pediment as looking rather sternly past Athena as though he does not welcome this additional warlike member to the family of the gods.