The Parthenon sculptures
There are three main types of decorative sculpture which remain of the Acropolis to this day. These are the pediments, the metopes and the frieze.
Pediments
The pediments are the triangular areas formed by the sloping and horizontal cornices of the roof over the two narrow ends of the temple. Within these were the outstanding sculptures of the Parthenon, colossal statues carved in the round (437-432 B.C.). Each pediment was 28.50 meters long and the figures in the centre rose to a height of 3.30 meters.
The themes of the pediments are drawn from the myths of the goddess Athena. The east pediment, above the entrance to the temple, depicted the birth of the goddess Athena from the head of Zeus, in the presence of all the Olympian gods. Most of the central figures of the pediment are not preserved. In the middle was the figure of Zeus, next to Athena and Hephaestus who, according to the myth, opened the head of Zeus with an axe, so that the goddess could be born. Beside them were depicted Hera, Poseidon, Hermes, Ares and Apollo. [1]
Metopes
The metopes are above the external colonnades of the temple. They consist of 92 square plaques each approximately 1.35 x 1.35 m., decorated in relief. They alternate with the triglyphs. They were the first
parts of the entablature to receive sculptural decoration (445-440 B.C.). They are carved in such high relief that they are almost sculpture in the round. The subjects depicted were drawn from Greek mythology. Most of the metopes show the favourite theme of ancient Greek art, the struggle.
On the east end were scenes of the Gigantomachy, the battle between the Olympian gods and the Giants; on the west the Amazonomachy was shown, the fight between the Greeks and the Amazons, a mythical tribe of female warriors. The north side depicted events of the Trojan War, especially the Sack of Troy. The theme of twenty-three of the metopes along the south side is the Centauromachy. The nine central metopes depict other subjects. The Centaurs, who had been invited to the wedding of the king of the Thessalian Lapiths, became inebriated and when they tried to carry off the Lapith women a hand-to-hand battle ensued. [1]
The Parthenon Frieze
The Frieze of the Parthenon forms a continuous band that encircles the upper part of the main temple. It illustrates the procession toward the Acropolis that took place during the Great Panathenaia, the festival in honour of the goddess Athena. The procession features approximately 378 human and divine figures and 220 animals, of which the main are horses.
The frieze consisted of 115 blocks. It had a total length of 160 meters and was 1.02 meters high. Of the entire frieze preserved today, 50 metres are on display in the New Acropolis Museum, 80 meters in the British Museum, one block in the Louvre while several other fragments can be found in museums in the Vatican, Heidelberg, Vienna and Munich. A fragment usually on exhibit in the Antonio Salinas Museum, in Palermo, was sent to Greece on a temporay loan in 2008. Though it had been hoped the loan would be a semi-permanent one, the piece was indeed returned upon request in 2010 back to the Palermo museum. [2][3]
Additional information on the current location of the Parthenon sculptures as well a gallery featuring virtually reunified sculptures, can be found on our Virtual Reunification page.
[1]. The Parthenon Sculpture http://www.theacropolismuseum.gr/files/Image/Glypta_Parth_ENG.pdf
[2]. The Parthenon Frieze http://www.parthenonfrieze.gr
[3]. Elginism http://www.elginism.com/20100514/2806