Chapter IX: Part II: Myron and Pheidias (2)

Ilissos or Kephissos.--This figure, reclining in the angle of the pediment, is universally admitted to be a River-god, (cf. the description by Pausanias (v., 10, 7) of the pediment of the temple of Zeus at Olympia). The figure is popularly known as the Ilissos, but it may represent the Athenian Kephissos. According to Brunn's topographical scheme, it is a less familiar Kephissos, near Eleusis. This figure appears not to have suffered much since Carrey drew it. It was still in the pediment in Stuart's time, but had been thrown down at the date of Lord Elgin's mission. The body, half reclined, rests on the left arm, over which is the end of an himation, which falls behind the back in undulating lines, and is drawn up to the right knee. As the head and most of the right arm are wanting, their action must be a matter of conjecture; the general motion of the figure seems to indicate the moment of sudden transition from repose to action, and would be consistent with the supposition that the head was turned towards the central group, watching the momentous issue of the contest, and that the River-god was in the act of rising. In that case his right hand may have been drawing forward the end of his himation over his right knee. This figure has been long and deservedly celebrated for the perfection of its anatomy. In the front of the body, the flexibility of the abdominal muscles is finely contrasted with the strong framework of the ribs. The supple elastic character of the skin is here rendered with the same mastery as in the horse's head of the eastern pediment. At the back some of the surface has retained its original polish. In the undulating lines of the drapery, the sculptor has succeeded in suggesting the idea of flowing water without having recourse to direct or conventional imitation. The ground on which the figure reclines is a rock. The left hand rested on the bed of the pediment. A drawing by Pars taken during his visit to Athens in 1765-66 (engraved Stuart, ii., chap. I., pl. 9), shows part of the right forearm not shown in Carrey's drawing, and the outline of the four fingers of the left hand overlapping the edge of the pediment. A small attribute, probably of marble, was attached to the floor of the pediment in front of the figure.

_Mus. Marbles_, VI., pls. 13, 14; Mansell, 700; Baumeister,
_Denkmaeler_, p. 1181, fig. 1371; Michaelis, pl. 8, fig. 1;
Overbeck, _Gr. Plast._, 3rd ed., I., p. 310, fig. 64; Murray, II.,
pl. 8; Mitchell, _Selections_, pl. 4; Waldstein, _Essays_, pl. 3;
_Stereoscopic_, No. 110; Sauer, _Athenische Mittheilungen_, XVI.,
p. 79.

[Sidenote: =304 A*.=]

Between A and the two next figures (B, C) a space is shown in Dalton's drawing sufficient for a crouching figure, though no vestige of such a figure is indicated by Carrey. Traces also remain on the floor of the pediment (Sauer, _Athenische Mittheilungen_, xvi., p. 78). This gap may have been filled by a crouching Water Nymph, associated with the River-god. Brunn suggests a tributary of the Eleusinian Kephissos.

[Sidenote: =304 B, C.=]

Cecrops and Pandrosos (cast).--This group still remains in the pediment at Athens, though much injured by exposure to the weather. It consists of a male figure, whose left thigh receives the main weight of his body, which leans a little to the right, resting on his left hand. With him is grouped a female figure, who has thrown herself in haste on both knees, with one arm round the neck of her companion. Her action expresses surprise at the event occurring in the centre of the pediment, towards which she has looked back. She wears a long chiton, and over it a diploidion which falls below the girdle, and which has slipped from the left shoulder, leaving the left breast and side exposed. Her left arm, now entirely wanting, was broken off a little below the shoulder at the date of Carrey's drawing. The male figure has a mantle cast over his lower limbs. His right arm, which was broken off below the elbow in the time of Stuart, is now reduced to a stump. The right leg and knee and part of the right thigh have also been lost since the time of Stuart. It appears from the statements of travellers (cf. Michaelis, p. 194) that these figures lost their heads in the years 1802 and 1803. The careful drawing of the group made by Pars, and preserved in the British Museum (Stuart, ii., chap. I., pl. 9; Michaelis, pl. 8, fig. 2), shows that the heads of both figures were turned towards the central group, the head of the female figure being, moreover, slightly inclined over the left shoulder. In this drawing the right arm of the male figure is bent at a right angle, the upper part being nearly horizontal. On the ground between the pair is a convex mass, which has been recognised to be part of the coil of a large serpent. The remainder of this serpent may be seen at the back of the group, passing under the left hand of the male figure. In front of this hand the body of the serpent terminates in a joint with a rectangular sinking, into which a fragment from the Elgin Collection has been fitted. (_Mus. Marbles_, vi., pl. 8, fig. 2.)

This group has received various names. Spon and Wheler took it to represent Hadrian and Sabina, and their opinion was repeated by Payne Knight. The group has also been called Heracles and Hebe; Hephaestos and Aphrodite. The association of the serpent with the male figure has led Michaelis (p. 193) to recognise in him Asclepios, in which case the female figure would naturally be Hygieia, who is constantly associated with the father of the healing art, and who was worshipped, conjointly with Asclepios, in a shrine at the southern foot of the Athenian Acropolis. The bearded head, too, of the male figure, as drawn by Pars, would well accord with the type of Asclepios. On the other hand, the serpent in connection with that deity is usually coiled round his staff, not winding along the ground, as on the pediment. The whole composition of this serpent in relation to the kneeling male figure rather suggests the type of the earth-born Cecrops, as has been maintained by a considerable number of archaeologists. If we adopt this attribution, then the female figure so intimately associated with the bearded figure in this group would be one of the daughters of Cecrops, perhaps Pandrosos. For the topographical interpretations of Boetticher (Marathon and Salamis) and of Brunn (Kithaeron and Parnes) there is no evidence.

Michaelis, pl. 8, fig. 2; Murray, II., pl. 9; _Stereoscopic_,
No. 111. A remarkably accurate copy of this group was recently
discovered at Eleusis, and is now in the National Museum at
Athens. In the copy the coils of the serpent are omitted ([Greek:
Ephemeris], 1890, pl. 12).

[Sidenote: =304 D, E, F.=]

If B and C are Cecrops and one of his daughters, the two female figures (D, F), who in Carrey's drawing follow next, might be his other two daughters. The boy (E) between them would be, in that case, not the infant Iakchos between Demeter (D) and Kore (F), as several writers have supposed, but the young Erysichthon, son of Cecrops. According to Brunn's scheme these three figures personify Lycabettos, between Pentelicon and Hymettos.

Of the three figures D, E, F, only one fragment, now at Athens, has been identified, representing the left knee of a seated figure, with the right hand of a boy resting on it, and thus corresponding with Carrey's drawing of the seated figure on whose knee the boy Erysichthon rests his right hand. A cast of this fragment is exhibited in a Wall-Case (No. 339, _8_). A fragment, now at Athens with the drapery on the right side of a figure seated on a rock, has been conjecturally assigned by Michaelis (pl. 8, fig. 5) to figure D or U. A cast is exhibited, No. 339, _7_.

In Dalton's drawing a draped female torso, broken off at the knees, is placed next to C, which Michaelis (p. 191), conjectures to be the remains of F. Dalton has represented this figure with the chiton slipped down from the right shoulder so as to show the right breast and side. But the drawing by Pars shows next to C a part of a figure which accords more with D as drawn by Carrey. This fragment consists of a right arm bent at a right angle and advanced, and a line of drapery falling down the right side below the armpit. There is no reason to doubt that the figure to which the arm belonged was in position on the pediment when Pars drew it, and, if so, Dalton's drawing must be wholly inaccurate in respect to this figure. (See Michaelis, pl. 8, fig. 2.)

[Sidenote: =304 G.=]

Next in order in Carrey's drawing is the seated female figure (G), who acts as charioteer to Athene, and who has been generally recognised as Nike. The only fragment which can be attributed with any probability to this figure is the head, obtained from Venice by Count de Laborde (No. 339, _1_). A cast is exhibited in the Elgin Room.

[Sidenote: =304 H.=]

Hermes (?).--In the background, between the figure G and the horses, Carrey gives a male figure (H), who looks back at the charioteer, while he moves forward in the same direction as the horses. The figure drawn by Carrey has been generally recognised in the torso in the Museum which has lost the head and lower limbs since Carrey's time, and is probably the same torso which Dalton represents lying on the bed of the pediment. This figure has been called Erechtheus, Erichthonios, Ares, Cecrops, Theseus, Pan, or Hermes. He is evidently aiding the charioteer in the management of the horses; an office very appropriate to Hermes, whose general character as a guide is expressed by such epithets as [Greek: pompaios], and who on other monuments is represented conducting a chariot.

The drapery which hangs at the back of the torso evidently represents a chlamys, which must have been fastened in front just above the left clavicle, where a hole is pierced to receive a metallic fastening. There is another hole between the collar-bones. The right arm was probably advanced nearly in a horizontal direction; the left arm may have had the elbow a little drawn back; and a portion of the chlamys evidently passed round this arm, and was probably twisted round it, a fashion of drapery characteristic of Hermes. Among the fragments of the Parthenon at Athens is a small piece of the left shoulder of this figure, a cast of which has been adjusted to the marble in the Museum. The remains of the left thigh show that the left leg was advanced as in Carrey's drawing. The fragments described below, Nos. 339, _9_, and 339, _10_, may belong to this figure. A fragment of plinth, with two feet, sometimes assigned to it, is described below, No. 329.

_Mus. Marbles_, VI., pl. 15; Michaelis, pl. 8, fig. 3.

[Sidenote: =304 L, M.=]

Athene and Poseidon.--The Athene of which L is the remnant is drawn by Carrey moving rapidly to the left; her right arm, broken off above the elbow, is advanced horizontally in the same direction. Her left arm is broken off below the shoulder; she wears a long chiton, over which is a diploidion, reaching to the hips, and falling in a fold over the girdle. The aegis, folded like a narrow band, passes obliquely across the bosom between the breasts, and has extended from the right shoulder round the left side, and probably across the back. It is scalloped on its lower edge, and at the points holes are pierced for the attachment of serpents of metal. In the centre of the aegis is another hole, in which a circular object six inches in diameter, doubtless a Gorgoneion, has been fixed. Carrey's drawing shows the base of the neck, which was broken off before the time of Lord Elgin. It has been recognised among the fragments on the Acropolis, and a cast of it is now adjusted to the marble. It is evident from this that the head of the goddess was turned towards her antagonist.

_Mus. Marbles_, VI., pl. 16; Michaelis, pl. 8, fig. 13.

[Sidenote: =304 M.=]

The torso of Poseidon is made up of three parts. The fragment with the shoulders and upper part of the chest was removed by Lord Elgin; the fragment containing the remainder of the breast and the abdomen nearly to the navel has been since discovered, and the original is at Athens. Since this torso was engraved in the work of Michaelis (pl. 8, fig. 16), a small piece has been added to the lower part of the abdomen. It appears from Carrey's drawing that Poseidon was starting back in a direction contrary to that of Athene, with the weight of his body thrown on the left knee, which is bent. Carrey's drawing shows the same portion of the right upper arm, which is preserved. It is raised with the shoulder and may have been extended in a nearly horizontal direction. The head in Carrey's drawing is slightly inclined over the right shoulder. At the back the upper part of the shoulders is roughly cut away; the chiselling does not appear to be ancient, but may have been done after the figure had fallen from the pediment. The upper part of this torso is remarkable for the grandeur of the lines.

_Mus. Marbles_, VI., pl. 17; Lower part, Michaelis, pl. 8, fig.
16; Laborde, _Le Parthenon_. The two parts are combined, Overbeck,
_Gr. Plast._, 3rd ed., I., p. 312, fig. 65; _Stereoscopic_, No.
101.

Though we know from Pausanias that the strife between Athene and Poseidon for the soil of Attica was the subject of the western pediment, the exact action represented by the central group cannot be determined. Most writers suppose that the combatants have produced their respective tokens, and that the strife is just decided. Among the fragments found on the Acropolis were three which are certainly parts of an olive-tree (Michaelis, pl. 8, fig. 15). The scale of these fragments, casts of which are exhibited (see below, Nos. 339, _15-17_), would be suitable for a tree placed in the centre of the pediment between the two contending deities. If these fragments belong to the Parthenon (of which there is no positive proof), it seems natural to suppose that Athene is represented as having produced her olive, which stood in the centre of the pediment, and was fixed in a rectangular socket, well adapted to support it (Sauer, _Athenische Mittheilungen_, xvi., pl. 3, p. 72). In this case the two gods are seen starting asunder, but looking inwards, after the decisive moment. The salt spring produced by the trident of Poseidon may also have had a place in the composition, though no trace of it is to be found either among the fragments or in Carrey's drawing.

The chief divergent theory is that of Stephani, who published a vase-painting representing the contest (_Compte Rendu_, 1872, pl. 1, p. 5; _Journ. of Hellenic Studies_, iii., p. 245). In that design Poseidon and Athene form an antagonistic group, which in composition presents some resemblance with the central group in the pediment. The olive-tree is placed between them, and Poseidon controls, with his left hand, the upspringing horse. Stephani argues from the vase-painting that Pheidias made Poseidon produce the horse--a variant tradition, of which there are traces in late literature--that Poseidon was represented striking the ground with his trident and Athene striking it with her lance to produce the tokens, which are shown, by anticipation, in the pediment itself. It is more likely that on the vase the tokens have been produced and Poseidon attacks, while Athene defends the olive. But neither in the protagonists nor in the rest of the design on the vase is there that close correspondence in type and action which would justify the conclusion that the vase-painter copied directly any portion of the pedimental composition. On the other hand, considerable portions of the bodies of three horses in addition to those represented by casts in the British Museum (No. 341) have been discovered in the excavations on the Acropolis (Sauer, _Athenische Mittheilungen_, xvi., pl. 3, p. 73), and there can be little doubt that the figure known as Amphitrite (O) acted as the charioteer of Poseidon, and drove a pair of horses which corresponded closely to the team of Athene, and completed the symmetry of the composition. Inasmuch therefore as each deity has a similar pair of horses, it is impossible to regard those of Poseidon as his distinctive token in the combat.

If we assume that this second pair of horses was attached to the chariot of Poseidon, room may be found for a representation of the salt spring either between the left leg of the Sea-god and the forelegs of his chariot horses, or beneath the horses.

For the vase picture already referred to, see also de Witte, in
the _Monuments Grecs de l'Association pour l'encouragement des
etudes Grecques_, No. 4, 1875; Brunn, _Sitzungsber. d. k. bayer.
Akad. Phil.-hist. Cl._, 1876, p. 477; and Petersen, _Arch. Zeit._,
1875, p. 115. For more recent discussions on the subject of the
dispute between Athene and Poseidon, see Robert in _Hermes_, XVI.,
p. 60, and in _Athenische Mittheilungen_, VII., p. 48; Petersen
in _Hermes_, XVII., p. 124; E. A. Gardner, in _Journ. of Hellen.
Studies_, III., p. 244; Wolters, p. 259.

[Sidenote: =304 N.=]

This figure, which may have been a Nereid, has been entirely lost since the time of Dalton, unless we identify it with the supposed Victory of the east pediment. (See No. 303 J.)

[Sidenote: =304 O.=]

Amphitrite.--In Carrey's drawing this torso appears as a seated figure, the right foot on a higher level than the left, the left arm drawn back as if holding the reins; between the feet appears the head either of a dolphin or a marine monster. The head, left hand, and apparently the right arm of Amphitrite are wanting. According to Dalton's imperfect drawing, the figure had in his time lost the left forearm and left leg. The torso at present wants the head, right arm from the shoulder, left arm from below the shoulder, and all the lower limbs except the upper part of the left thigh. The body is clad in a long chiton without sleeves; an upper fold falls over the bosom as low as the waist, passing under a broad girdle such as would be suitable for charioteers. A small mantle passes obliquely across the back, one end passing over the left shoulder and under the left arm; the other had passed over the right shoulder. The places where metallic ornaments were attached on this figure are marked by five holes pierced in the marble, one of which is on the base of the neck, one on the right shoulder at the fastening of the chiton, and three on the left shoulder. On the inside of the left thigh are folds of fine drapery; the surface of the outside still shows that the chiton had been open at the side, _schistos_, as in Carrey's drawing. It should be noted that this figure was not seated, as Carrey has drawn it, but must have been standing with the body thrown back and the arms extended in front, like the charioteer (No. 33) in the north frieze.

_Mus. Marbles_, VI., pl. 18; Michaelis. pl. 8, figs. 18, 18_a_.

[Sidenote: =304 P, Q.=]

Leucothea, with boy (?).--Lower limbs of a seated female figure, which in Carrey's drawing appears on the right of the Amphitrite, and which then had its head. The head of the female figure looks out of the pediment; the feet are placed very close together. In Dalton's drawing this figure is still in position, but headless. In its present state, nothing remains of this figure but the lap and legs to the ankles. On the right of the figure, the body of a youth (P) appears in Carrey's drawing. The beginning of the right thigh, with the lower part of the buttock, is still preserved; of the left thigh, the outline as far as the knee is preserved on the marble. Three fingers of his right hand may still be traced on the right knee of the female figure (Q), where they rest on an end of drapery, probably his himation, which reappears, wound round his left thigh. These remains show that the body of this boy faced the right side of the female figure, pressing against her. If we assume that she is a marine goddess, the name Leucothea seems the best attribution, and the youth at her side would then be Palaemon. A mantle is thrown over the thighs, falling down between the knees over the chiton. The folds are deeply undercut, as if to express the gentle agitation of the drapery by the movement of a light breeze. In Brunn's topographical scheme, P Q are the coast of Attica from Munychia to the Piraeus.

_Mus. Marbles_, VI., pl. 19; Michaelis, pl. 8, fig. 19.

[Sidenote: =304 R.=]

A figure of a child appears in Carrey's drawing on the right of the figure Q. It is doubtful whether it should be associated most nearly with Q or with the figure next on the right (S). On the former supposition, the figure called above Leucothea has been interpreted as Leto with Apollo and Artemis; as Leda with the Dioscuri; or as Fostering Earth, [Greek: Ge Kourotrophos], with children. On the latter supposition R has generally been called Eros associated with Aphrodite (S).

[Sidenote: =304 S, T.=]

Next in Carrey's drawing comes a draped female figure (T), seated, in whose lap is a naked figure (S), supposed by Carrey to be female. This is generally supposed to be Thalassa, the Sea; the almost entire nudity of the figure in her lap (S) makes it probable that Aphrodite is here represented; her position in the lap of Thalassa would be a way of expressing her sea-born origin. According to Brunn, T is a personification of Cape Colias, and the figure of Aphrodite indicates a shrine of that Goddess which stood on the cape. If, as seems probable, the naked female figure is Aphrodite, the boy (R) is probably Eros. Both the female figures were still in the pediment when Dalton drew it. The marble fragment (T), representing the right thigh of a draped female figure seated on a rock, is probably the only extant remnant of Thalassa. A mantle has been brought round the lower limbs of this figure, so that one edge of it falls on the rock on which she is seated. This disposition of the drapery is indicated in Carrey's drawing. (Michaelis, pl. 8, fig. 20.)

[Sidenote: =304 U.=]

Next in Carrey's drawing comes a female figure (U), seated and draped. This had fallen out of the pediment when Dalton drew it, and no fragment of it can now be identified. It had lost the head and arms in Carrey's time. The figure presents no distinctive characteristic by which she may be identified. She is probably a marine deity. Brunn interprets her as a personification of Cape Zoster.

[Sidenote: =304 V, W.=]

Ilissos or Kephissos and Callirrhoe (?).--(Casts) The draped female figure (W) reclining in the extreme angle of the pediment appears in Carrey's drawing leaning on her right elbow, and with her head turned towards the male figure (V) who kneels on both knees, inclining his body towards his companion, and leaning on his left arm. The manner in which these figures are here associated suggests an intimate relation between the two; the female figure has all the characteristics of a local Nymph, and the flow of her drapery would well accord with an aquatic type. It seems probable, therefore, that the celebrated Athenian fountain Callirrhoe may be personified by this figure, and in that case the male figure next to her (V), though not in the reclining attitude usually characteristic of River-gods, may be the Ilissos, out of whose bed the fountain Callirrhoe rises. Brunn holds that V is a personification of the Attic coast, Paralia. This, however, appears, from a recently-discovered inscription, to be represented as female (_Athenische Mittheilungen_, xiii., p. 221); W according to the same archaeologist is a personification of the Myrtoan Sea. Dalton's drawing shows no indication of either of these figures, though the lower half of the Callirrhoe is to this day in position on the pediment. The torso of the male figure had been broken, and was found in two places in the excavations on the Acropolis in 1833. The head, arms, and left leg have disappeared since Carrey's time. The right leg is doubled up under the figure; the left knee must have been somewhat higher. This figure is nude with the exception of a chlamys which falls down the back and passes in front over the right ankle. For a fragment which may belong to the left hand, see No. 339, _20_. This agrees with the statement of Sauer (_Athenische Mittheilungen_, 1891, p. 81), that the figure leant with open hand on the ground.

The female figure (W) is reclining on her right side; the right knee has been more bent than the left. The upper part of the body seems, from the direction of the folds of the drapery, to have been slightly raised, and to have rested on the right elbow, as represented in Carrey's drawing. The dress is a long chiton, over which falls a diploidion nearly to the waist. All that remains of the figure are the right side from below the arm to a little below the right hip, and parts of both legs wanting the knees. According to Carrey the left arm of this figure was raised so that the hand projected beyond the cornice. Between the figures V and W a hole is pierced in the bed of the pediment, in which some bronze object was inserted.

Figure V., Laborde, _Le Parthenon_; Michaelis, pl. 8, fig. 21;
Figure W., Michaelis, pl. 8, fig. 22.

METOPES OF THE PARTHENON.

The metopes of the Parthenon are sculptured blocks which were inserted in the spaces, _met[)o]pae_, left between the ends of the beams of the roof. These ends were represented by slabs, called _triglyphs_, from the three parallel vertical bands cut in them. Reference to the model of the Parthenon will show the relative position of the metopes and triglyphs.

The Parthenon had originally ninety-two metopes, thirty-two of which were on each of the long sides, and fourteen at each end. Many of these are now only preserved in the drawings by Carrey, having been destroyed in the great explosion. Unfortunately, however, Carrey was only able to sketch the metopes of the south side. Forty-one metopes still remain on the temple, but are for the most part so decayed through time and weather that there is great difficulty in making out their subject. The British Museum possesses fifteen original metopes brought from Athens by Lord Elgin. His contemporary, Choiseul-Gouffier, while ambassador at Constantinople, obtained one more (No. 313), which is now in the Louvre. These sixteen metopes are all from the south side of the Parthenon, and their subjects were taken from the contest between the Centaurs and Lapiths at the marriage-feast of Peirithooes. The first metope on the south side of the Parthenon, reckoning from the south-west angle, is still in position on the temple (Michaelis, pl. 3, 1); the second on the temple is the first of the series of fifteen in the Museum.

The sculpture of the metopes is in the highest relief attainable in marble, large portions of some of the figures being carved in the round so as to stand out quite free of the background. There is a remarkable inequality of style in the sculpture. Thus, for example, Nos. 319, 320 show traces of archaic feeling, and while No. 309 appears to be the work of an indifferent artist, Nos. 310, 316, 317 are admirable.

[Sidenote: =305.=]

The Lapith kneels on the back of the Centaur, clasping his head with his left arm, and pressing the fingers of his left hand against his windpipe. The Centaur has been thrown on his right knee; his head is forced back, his mouth wide open as if uttering a cry of agony. His left hand vainly endeavours to dislodge the grasp on his throat, the right hand appears behind the right shoulder of the Lapith. When drawn by Carrey, the head and right foot of the Lapith and the right foreleg of the Centaur still remained. The head of Lapith may be No. 343, _6_.

_Mus. Marbles_, VII., pl. 1; Baumeister, _Denkmaeler_, p. 1175,
fig. 1364; Michaelis, pl. 3, ii.; _Stereoscopic_, No. 80, A.

[Sidenote: =306.=]

The Lapith attacks the Centaur from behind, resting his right knee on his crupper, and extending forward his right arm to seize the neck of his foe. The Centaur, standing to the left, turns his human body half round to meet his adversary. A skin is wound about his left arm by way of shield. An ample chlamys hangs from the shoulders of the Lapith, and he wears boots. His left arm was drawn back to strike. A hole near the pit between the collar-bones and another on the lowest left rib show where a sword-belt has been attached. Two similar holes are to be seen on the body of the Centaur. These may have served for the attachment of a bronze weapon held in the right hand. The head of the Centaur still existed when Carrey drew this metope, but had disappeared before the time of Stuart.

_Mus. Marbles_, VII., pl. 2; Michaelis, pl. 3, iii.; _Stereoscopic_,
No. 81.

[Sidenote: =307.=]

The Centaur is victorious; with both hands raised above his head, he is about to hurl on his prostrate foe a large hydria. His equine body is rearing against the Lapith, who vainly endeavours to defend himself with his uplifted buckler, while the Centaur strikes at him with his fore feet. The right forearm of the Lapith, now wanting, has rested on the ground. A fragment of his right foot still remaining on the base of the metope below the left hind leg of the Centaur shows that this leg was extended nearly at full length, as it is drawn by Carrey. The heads of both these figures and the right arm of the Centaur are cast from the originals in the museum at Copenhagen, which were sent from Athens in 1688 by a Captain Hartmand, who probably served under Count Koenigsmark in Morosini's army. Round the head of the Lapith is a sinking into which a metallic band or wreath has been fitted. On the ground under the body of the Lapith are some folds of his chlamys, a fragment of which may be traced on his left arm. Michaelis adds to the Centaur's left hind-leg a hoof and lower part of leg, the original of which is in the museum at Copenhagen; but he expresses a doubt whether this fragment does not belong to the right hind-leg. When Carrey drew the metope, it was nearly perfect. On the upper margin of the marble still remains the bead and reel moulding which once ornamented all the metopes, but of which there are few traces elsewhere.

_Mus. Marbles_, VII., pl. 7; _Stereoscopic_, No. 82. For the
two heads, see Broendsted, _Voyages et Recherches_, p. 171; _Mus.
Marbles_, VII., pl. 17; Michaelis, pl. 3, iv.

[Sidenote: =308.=]

When Carrey saw this metope, the figure of the Lapith, now wanting, was still extant, and we must therefore supply the motive of the group by reference to his drawing (fig. 9). In the original composition, the Centaur, rearing up against his antagonist, grasps the Lapith's right thigh between his forelegs, extending his left arm towards him, probably to seize the hair of his head. The Lapith with extended right arm is trying to keep the Centaur at arm's length, while he struggles to escape; his left arm must have been raised. The right arm of the Centaur must have been drawn back to strike. All that now remains of the Lapith is a portion of the right wrist attached to the Centaur near his throat. A skin, fastened round the Centaur's neck, flies behind his back, falling over his left upper arm.

_Mus. Marbles_, VII., pl. 5; Michaelis, pl. 3, v.; _Stereoscopic_,
No. 83.

[Sidenote: =309.=]

In this metope, as drawn by Carrey (fig. 9), the right arm of the Lapith is raised with the forearm bent; the right hand, which probably held a sword, was already broken off in Carrey's time. His drawing gives the head and part of the right upper arm of the Centaur, and the left leg and half the right leg of the Lapith, but not his head. The Centaur, while pressing his left hand on the left shoulder of the Lapith, draws back a little from the blow with which he is menaced. The action of both figures is rather tame, and the victory undecided. An ample chlamys is shown falling at the back of the Lapith. Part of the right hind leg of the Centaur has been added in plaster from the marble fragment now at Athens.

_Mus. Marbles_, VII., pl. 15; Michaelis, pl. 3, vi.;
_Stereoscopic_, No. 84.

[Sidenote: =310.=]

The Lapith presses forward, advancing his left hand to seize the rearing Centaur by the throat, and forcing him on his haunches; the right arm of the Lapith is drawn back, as if about to strike; his right hand, now wanting, probably held a sword: a mantle fastened on the right shoulder falls over the left arm like a shield, and flies back behind. The Centaur, rearing up against his antagonist, tries in vain to pull away the left hand of the Lapith, which, in Carrey's drawing, he grasps. The head of the Centaur is a cast from the original at Athens. From the shoulders of the Centaur hangs a small chlamys; the folds fly behind, and show the violence and swiftness of the action. The head of the Lapith is a cast from the original, which is now in the Louvre. Carrey's drawing gives the missing parts of the legs of this group. This is, perhaps, the finest of all the metopes in the Museum. The action is most spirited, and the modelling very thorough and masterly.

_Mus. Marbles_, VII., pl. 3; Michaelis, pl. 3, vii.;
_Stereoscopic_, No. 85; Waldstein, in _Journ. of Hellen. Studies_,
III., pl. 23, p. 228; _Essays_, pls. 1, 2, p. 97.

[Sidenote: =311.=]

The Lapith is kneeling on his right knee. The Centaur, the human portion of whose body is broken away, presses down his antagonist. From Carrey's drawing, taken when this metope was nearly complete, we learn what the action was. He represents the Centaur bending over the kneeling Lapith, and raising his right hand to strike a deadly blow at his antagonist, who looks up with his head thrown back, and stretches out his left arm towards the breast of the Centaur. A chlamys hangs down from the left arm of the Lapith. His right arm, which was lost in the time of Carrey, must have been raised. The right hind foot of the Centaur rests on a rock.

_Mus. Marbles_, VII., pl. 6; Michaelis, pl. 3, viii.;
_Stereoscopic_, No. 86.

[Sidenote: =312.=]

The Centaur has again the advantage. The Lapith is thrown down over a large wine vessel, _pithos_; the Centaur has grasped his left leg with his left hand, rolling him back on the jar. The Lapith seizes his antagonist by the beard with his left hand, while his right arm, now broken off, has been vainly extended behind him, seeking some support. The right thigh of this figure, the head and part of the right arm of the Centaur are casts from three fragments at Athens. Carrey's drawing gives the left arm and side of the Centaur, as well as his head. The head and right arm and hand of the Lapith are also shown in his drawing, but not the portion of right thigh which has recently been added. The wine vessel in this metope, and the hydria in No. 307, indicate the wedding feast of Peirithooes as the scene of the contest.

_Mus. Marbles_, VII., pl. 4; Michaelis, pl. 3, ix.;
_Stereoscopic_, No. 87.

[Sidenote: =313.=]

This metope is a cast from the one removed by Choiseul-Gouffier when French ambassador at the Porte, about the year 1787, and now in the Louvre. The group represents a Centaur carrying off a Lapith wife or maiden. The Centaur is rearing up; he grasps the woman between his forelegs. His left hand presses against her left side, and it appears from Carrey's drawing of this metope that his right hand grasped her right wrist. With her left hand she is vainly endeavouring to loosen his grasp round her waist, and to readjust her disordered drapery. She wears a chiton with diploidion fastened on the right shoulder with a brooch. In the struggle the chiton has fallen from the left shoulder. On her right foot is a sandal with a thick sole; her left foot is broken off above the ankle. Carrey's drawing gives this foot resting on a rock, also other parts of the group which are now wanting.

_Mus. Marbles_, VII., pl. 16; Michaelis, pl. 3, x.;
_Stereoscopic_, No. 88.

The next metope in order on the Parthenon is now only preserved in Carrey's drawing, which represents a Lapith armed with a shield, who seems to be stabbing the Centaur in the belly. The Centaur grasps the edge of the shield with his left hand. A fragment of this shield with the left arm of the Lapith inside and the fingers of the Centaur on the rim exists at Athens; cf. No. 343, _1_.

Michaelis, pl. 3, xi.

[Sidenote: =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 diploidion, 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_.

[Sidenote: =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.

[Sidenote: =316.=]

In this metope, the 27th in the original series, the Centaur, wounded in the back, attempts to fly, but is checked by the Lapith, whose left hand grasps him round the left side of the head, while his left leg presses against his hind-quarters. The right arm of the Lapith is drawn back to deal a blow, perhaps with a lance. The Centaur, rearing up in agony, presses his right hand against the wound in his back; his left arm, now wanting, must have been raised, as appears from Carrey's drawing, in which a small piece of the upper arm is given. The left foot of the Lapith presses firmly against a rock. A mantle falls over both arms, hanging in festoons behind his back. Carrey's drawing gives both the head, and right leg, and part of the right forearm of the Lapith. In composition and execution this is one of the finest of the extant metopes.

_Mus. Marbles_, VII., pl. 9; Baumeister, _Denkmaeler_, p. 1176,
fig. 1365; Michaelis, pl. 3, xxvii.; _Stereoscopic_, No. 90.

[Sidenote: =317.=]

In this metope, the 28th in the original series, the Centaur is victorious; the Lapith lies dead under his feet. Brandishing the lion's skin on his extended left arm with a triumphant gesture, and lashing his tail, the Centaur rushes forward to meet a new foe, with the ends of the lion's skin flying behind him. His right arm, now wanting, must have wielded the weapon with which he has slain the Lapith. The Lapith lies on his chlamys, his head thrown back, his right leg bent up, his right hand lying over his right flank, his whole form relaxed by death. Carrey's drawing gives the head, left foreleg, and greater part of the right arm of the Centaur, but wholly misinterprets the figure of the Lapith. For dramatic power in the conception and truth in the modelling of the forms, this metope is unrivalled.

_Mus. Marbles_, VII., pl. 10; Baumeister, _Denkmaeler_, p. 1177,
fig. 1366; Michaelis, pl. 3, xxviii.; _Stereoscopic_, No. 91.

[Sidenote: =318.=]

In this metope, the 29th of the original series, the Centaur is carrying off a Lapith woman. Clasping her firmly round the waist with his left hand, he has raised her from the ground. We see from Carrey's drawing that his right hand, now wanting, grasped her right arm above the elbow, so as to make her efforts to escape of no avail; with her left hand she vainly endeavours to loosen his hold round her waist. The disorder of her drapery shows the violence of the struggle. Her chiton has slipped from its attachment on the left shoulder, leaving her left breast exposed. Over her left arm is the end of a mantle, which, passing round her back, and twisted over her right arm, floats unconfined behind the Centaur. His head has the pointed ears which are characteristic of the semi-bestial type, but which do not occur on the other heads of Centaurs in these metopes. Carrey's drawing gives the head of the female figure, and the right arm and tail of the Centaur. There are traces of the bead and reel moulding on the margin of this metope. The drapery is beautifully wrought, but the design in its present condition seems rather tame.

_Mus. Marbles_, VII., pl. 11; Michaelis, pl. 4, xxix.;
_Stereoscopic_, No. 92.

[Sidenote: =319.=]

This metope, the 30th in the series, much resembles No. 311, both in composition and in style. The Lapith has fallen with his left leg bent under him; his left arm rests on a stone, which he grasps in his left hand. His right hand, which is disarmed, presses feebly against the left side of the Centaur, who with his left hand seizes the hair of his antagonist, and presses his left forefoot on his right thigh, drawing back his right arm to deal a blow. The countenance of the Lapith expresses bodily pain, as if he had just been half stunned by a blow on the head. His bent knee does not yet touch the ground, but the action of the Centaur deprives him of all chance of recovering his erect position. A lion's skin floats in the air at the back of the Centaur. A chlamys hangs from the right arm of the Lapith, and passes behind his back. The treatment of both the heads is a little austere, but the bodies are well modelled, and the composition is finely conceived. There are on this metope some remains of the bead and reel moulding on the upper margin.

_Mus. Marbles_, VII., pl. 12; Michaelis, pl. 4, xxx.;
_Stereoscopic_, No. 93.

[Sidenote: =320.=]

In this metope, the 31st of the original series, the Centaur seems to have the advantage. The Lapith has, with his right hand, seized him by the hair, pressing his right knee on the Centaur's breast; his left arm is drawn back, and has been slightly bent at the elbow. The Centaur, rearing up, grasps his antagonist by the throat, twisting his forelegs round the Lapith's right leg, so as to paralyse its action. The position of the Centaur is obviously much the stronger, and the bent left knee of the Lapith indicates that he is tottering. We do not know what weapon he held in his hand. The composition in this metope is very good. In the faces there is the same austere character as in No. 319. This metope seems in the same state as when drawn by Carrey.

_Mus. Marbles_, VII., pl. 13; Baumeister, _Denkmaeler_, p. 1178,
fig. 1367; Michaelis, pl. 4, xxxi.; _Stereoscopic_, No. 94.

[Sidenote: =321.=]

In this metope, the 32nd of the original series, the Centaur has seized the Lapith by the back of his head with his left hand, of which a fragment is still visible. His right arm has been drawn back to deal a blow, probably with a spear. The left foreleg passes round the loins of the Lapith, while the other foreleg has been locked round his right thigh. His adversary, firmly planted on the ground with his right leg advanced, has drawn back his left arm to prepare a blow, probably with a sword. The action of his right shoulder shows that he has seized the Centaur by the hair with his right hand. A drawing by Feodor, one of the artists employed by Lord Elgin at Athens, shows that the left arm and left leg of the Lapith, now wanting, were then perfect, and that he may have worn a bronze helmet up to the date when the drawing was made. The direction of the missing portions of the left arm and leg is indicated by projections on the ground of the relief. The right arm was wanting from the elbow. In Carrey's drawing, all the right arm of the Centaur is given; but his legs were mutilated.

_Mus. Marbles_, VII., pl. 14; Michaelis, pl. 4, xxxii.;
_Stereoscopic_, No. 95.

Of the thirty-two metopes which originally adorned the north side of the Parthenon, only twelve (i.-iii. and xxiv.-xxxii. of Michaelis, pl. 4) remain in their original position, and three of these (ii., xxvi., xxx.) are so defaced that their subjects cannot be made out. In the explosion of 1687, twenty metopes (iv.-xxiii.) were destroyed, all but a few fragments. The subjects of the metopes which have perished may have been the combats of Centaurs and Lapiths. Michaelis supposes xxiv., xxv. to represent a scene from the taking of Troy.

[Sidenote: =322.=]

The only metope from the north side, of which a cast is exhibited in the British Museum, is the last of the series, at the north-west angle of the temple. It represents a draped female figure seated on a rock, towards whom advances from the left another draped female figure, extending forward her left hand muffled in drapery. Both figures wear talaric chitons, over which fall diploidia and mantles. The figure advancing wears sandals. The folds of the drapery are very rich and abundant. There is a careful drawing of this metope by Feodor in the British Museum, taken when it was in a considerably better state.

Michaelis, pl. 4, xxxii.; _Stereoscopic_, No. 96.

On the western front of the Parthenon all the fourteen metopes, except vi. and vii., remain in position on the temple, but their surface has been so much injured, that their subjects cannot be made out. The best preserved of these metopes appear to represent a battle of Greeks against Amazons.

[Sidenote: =323.=]

This is a cast from the first of the metopes of the west side, and represents a figure mounted on a horse, moving to the right, with the right hand drawn back as if aiming a spear, and having a chlamys flying behind. If the metopes on this front represented an Amazonomachia, this figure may be an Amazon. The surface is much damaged. A drawing by Pars in the British Museum makes this a male figure.

Michaelis, pl. 5, West side, i.; _Stereoscopic_, No. 80.

The corresponding metopes on the east side of the Parthenon remain on the building, but have all suffered great injury. They appear to have represented scenes from the war of the gods and giants.

Michaelis, pl. 5, East side, i.-xiv.

THE FRIEZE OF THE PARTHENON.

The Frieze of the Parthenon is a continuous band of sculpture in low relief, which encircled and crowned the central chamber or cella of the temple, together with the smaller porticoes that immediately adjoined each end of it.

The frieze is nearly 3 ft. 4 in. high. The height of the relief is somewhat greater at the top than at the bottom. At the top the height of the relief may be as much as 2-1/4 inches, with an average height of about 1-1/2 inch. At the bottom it varies between low relief and about 1-1/4 inch. The whole surface of the relief is thus slightly tilted over towards the spectator, in order to compensate as far as possible for the disadvantageous conditions under which the frieze had to be viewed. The length of each end of the Parthenon frieze was 69 ft. 6 in.; the length of each long side was 191 ft. 11 in. The length of the entire frieze was therefore 522 ft. 10 in.

The frieze, which was nearly complete in the time of Carrey, suffered greatly in the explosion, particularly about the middle of the two long sides. Unfortunately, however, Carrey only made drawings of the west end; the east end, except its central slab which had been taken down; about 74 feet in the middle of the south side; and about 78 ft. 6 in. at the east end of the north side. Stuart and Pars drew a considerable amount of the frieze, but not much of what has since been entirely lost. The following table shows approximately the state of the whole frieze.