Sculptures+of+the+Parthenon

=** ﻿The sculptural decoration of the Parthenon consists of three units, the metopes, the frieze and the pediments, and is the work of Pheidias and his pupils. The pediment sculptures (438-432 BC) are compositions of figures of supernatural size, isolated or in groups, cut in the round from Pentelic marble. According to the 2nd century AD traveller Pausanias, the theme of the east pediment was the birth of the goddess Athena, and of the west pediment the fight between Athena and Poseidon over the protection of Attica. ** = =**The figures at the centre of the east pediment have not survived. They would have been the main participants in the event of Athena's birth from the head of Zeus, i.e. Zeus, Hera and Athena herself, surrounded by the other Greek gods. The chariots of Helios (sun) and Selene (moon) occupied the two corners of the pediment, delineating the time-span of the event.** = 

=The Parthenon frieze runs around the upper edge of the temple wall. Its relatively small size (3 feet 5 inches tall) and placement (inside from the triglyphs and metopes) made it fairly hard to see from the ground. Unlike the metopes, the frieze has a single subject on all four sides. On three sides (north, west, and south) it depicts a procession of horsemen, musicians, sacrificial animals, and other figures with various ritual functions. On the east side there is a scene centered on a child handing a folded cloth to an older man. On one side of them seated gods and goddess are in attendance; on the other, two girls are carrying something. Although the state of preservation is poor, the interpretation of the subject has hotly debated. Most scholars agree that it represents the Panathenaic procession, but some think it is a mythical, "original" procession, while others believe that it is the procession which took place in the same period as the temple was built, and that this illustrates the (over-)confident spirit of the Athenians, who dared to put themselves where ordinarily only gods and heroes might be found. ﻿ = ﻿ 

The Parthenon featured 92 sculptures known as metopes. They were located on all four sides of the temple. Those from the south side of the building include this one, which is part of a series featuring Lapiths in combat with centaurs.Lapiths were humans from northern Greece, while centaurs were part-man and part-horse, to represent the dual aspect of their nature. They were capable of being both civilised and savage.Here the centaurs are shown as guests at the marriage feast of Peirithoos, king of the Lapiths. At the feast, the hosts gave the centaurs wine, which inflamed the savage side of their nature. They attempted to rape the women and their leader Eurytion tried to kidnap the bri de. Bearing in mind that the Parthenon was built out of the ruins of the earlier temple, it seems likely that this sculpture with its mythical scene of battle between Greek and Centaur makes symbolic reference to the life and death struggle of Athens against the Persian, barbarian, invader .