The structure we see today has largely been reconstructed from the pieces remaining after the temple was destroyed in 1638 by a Venetian cannonball that landed in a Turkish powder magazine located inside the temple.  By the time the British nobleman Lord Elgin arrived on the scene in the early 1800’s, the Parthenon was in a pitiful state of repair.  Marble pieces that survived the blast of 1638 were slowly disappearing under the hammers and chisels of locals who used the stone to build their homes or fertilize their fields. Perhaps Elgin can be forgiven, then, for chiseling away the last surviving bits of sculpture and carrying them away to London where they eventually went on display in the new British Museum. 

Based on what has been preserved and the early engravings made before the blast of 1638, we still have a substantial amount of information about the sculptures that once decorated the Parthenon. These can be divided into three major groups: the pediment sculptures, the frieze, and the metopes.  We will briefly consider each of them in turn.

The Pediment Sculptures

The triangles formed by the roof on either end of the temple, what is also known as the ‘pediment’, were filled with sculpture work.  Sadly, much of it is broken and lost although enough remains to reveal the tremendous skill of the Parthenon’s sculptors. 

The eastern pediment depicted the birth of the goddess Athena, the patron goddess of Athens.  In one corner, the chariot of the moon is shown descending below the horizon.  Just the head of one of the horses is visible.  One must imagine the rest of the team and chariot which have already descended below the horizon.  In the other corner, the chariot of the sun is shown rising above the horizon.  Thus the pediment depicts the dawning of a new day that began with the birth of Athena, who springs fully armed from the head of Zeus.   Athena and Zeus would have stood together at the center of the composition although both are missing from the surviving sculpture. 

The western pediment depicted another mythological scene – the competition between Athena and Poseidon for control of Athens.  The god who gave the greatest gift to the Athenians would win the contest.  Poseidon gave a spring of water whereas Athena gave an olive shoot.  It seems as though the Athenians valued the olive tree over water since the prize went to Athena.

From the flowing gowns worn by the women to the flaring nostrils of the horses, these sculptures capture movement and detail in a manner unattained until then and only rarely since.

The Frieze

Many consider the real prize of the Parthenon to be the continuous panel, or ‘frieze’, carved in shallow relief high up on the wall of the temple itself. This ‘frieze’ measures 3 1/4 feet high by 525 feet long. It shows a procession bound for the temple to celebrate a festival. In one scene, three men wrestle with an ox destined for slaughter. In another, a group of youth ride high spirited horses in a parade. This frieze probably depicts the Panathenaia, a festival celebrated every four years, when a new ‘peplos’ (the garment worn by the goddess) was presented to the goddess in her temple.

The Metopes

The upper horizontal beam of the temple, called ‘the entablature’, was divided by vertical bands, called ‘triglyphs’.  The space in between the ‘triglyphs’ were called ‘metopes’.  These were filled with sculptures, 92 in total.  One of the major themes of these sculptures was the mythological battle that took place between the Centaurs and the Lapiths.   This battle began after the centaurs, half men and half horse, were invited to the wedding of Pirithous, king of the Lapiths, in central Thessaly.  In the midst of the celebrations the centaurs became drunk with wine until one of them thought to take off with the bride!  When the rest of the Centaurs began to commit similar outrages, a battle ensued. The battle between the Lapiths and the Centaurs is one of the main subjects carved into the square metopes of the Parthenon.  They are a graphic depiction of the recurring struggle between the forces of civilization (Lapiths) and those of chaos (Centaurs).  Bearing this in mind, it is interesting to note that the Centaurs are often shown victorious over the Lapiths!

Conclusion

By the latter half of the 5th century B.C. the religion of many Athenians was Athens.  The goddess and her city were virtually inseparable. Thus the state became an all encompassing reality for most Athenians.  Thus Aristotle felt confident to write, “Neither must we suppose that any one of the citizens belongs to himself, for they all belong to the state, and are each of them a part of the state, and the care of each part is inseparable from the care of the whole.”  But as the Athenian state grew larger, it also grew hungrier.  And as democracy was extended to more and more Athenians, it also increased its demand for “contributions” from the other city-states under its protection, a portion of which went towards the construction of the Parthenon.  Those city-states that balked at the price were ruthlessly destroyed by the powerful Athenian navy.  But the lust for empire ultimately led to the demise of the Athenian city-state. 

Even as their craftsmen were adding the finishing touches to the Parthenon, another war loomed on the horizon, this time with Sparta.  For the next quarter of a century the Greek city-states of the Peloponnese would be at each other’s throats, like the Lapiths and Centaurs carved into the stone of the Parthenon. The Athenians were initially successful in prosecuting the war, but a reckless venture in Sicily ultimately led to defeat.  By the time the Athenians sued for peace in 404 BC, the Spartans (with Persian support!) had sacked Athens, torn down its walls, and reduced the Athenian navy from 600 ships to a mere 12. As Werner Jaeger once astutely observed, the State which gives to each citizen so much can demand all in return. In the end, the State did demand everything, and even that was not enough!

The structure we see today has largely been reconstructed from the pieces remaining after the temple was destroyed in 1638 by a Venetian cannonball that landed in a Turkish powder magazine located inside the temple.  By the time the British nobleman Lord Elgin arrived on the scene in the early 1800’s, the Parthenon was in a pitiful state of repair.  Marble pieces that survived the blast of 1638 were slowly disappearing under the hammers and chisels of locals who used the stone to build their homes or fertilize their fields. Perhaps Elgin can be forgiven, then, for chiseling away the last surviving bits of sculpture and carrying them away to London where they eventually went on display in the new British Museum. 

Based on what has been preserved and the early engravings made before the blast of 1638, we still have a substantial amount of information about the sculptures that once decorated the Parthenon. These can be divided into three major groups: the pediment sculptures, the frieze, and the metopes.  We will briefly consider each of them in turn.

The Pediment Sculptures

The triangles formed by the roof on either end of the temple, what is also known as the ‘pediment’, were filled with sculpture work.  Sadly, much of it is broken and lost although enough remains to reveal the tremendous skill of the Parthenon’s sculptors. 

The eastern pediment depicted the birth of the goddess Athena, the patron goddess of Athens.  In one corner, the chariot of the moon is shown descending below the horizon.  Just the head of one of the horses is visible.  One must imagine the rest of the team and chariot which have already descended below the horizon.  In the other corner, the chariot of the sun is shown rising above the horizon.  Thus the pediment depicts the dawning of a new day that began with the birth of Athena, who springs fully armed from the head of Zeus.   Athena and Zeus would have stood together at the center of the composition although both are missing from the surviving sculpture. 

The western pediment depicted another mythological scene – the competition between Athena and Poseidon for control of Athens.  The god who gave the greatest gift to the Athenians would win the contest.  Poseidon gave a spring of water whereas Athena gave an olive shoot.  It seems as though the Athenians valued the olive tree over water since the prize went to Athena.

From the flowing gowns worn by the women to the flaring nostrils of the horses, these sculptures capture movement and detail in a manner unattained until then and only rarely since.

The Frieze

Many consider the real prize of the Parthenon to be the continuous panel, or ‘frieze’, carved in shallow relief high up on the wall of the temple itself. This ‘frieze’ measures 3 1/4 feet high by 525 feet long. It shows a procession bound for the temple to celebrate a festival. In one scene, three men wrestle with an ox destined for slaughter. In another, a group of youth ride high spirited horses in a parade. This frieze probably depicts the Panathenaia, a festival celebrated every four years, when a new ‘peplos’ (the garment worn by the goddess) was presented to the goddess in her temple.

The Metopes

The upper horizontal beam of the temple, called ‘the entablature’, was divided by vertical bands, called ‘triglyphs’.  The space in between the ‘triglyphs’ were called ‘metopes’.  These were filled with sculptures, 92 in total.  One of the major themes of these sculptures was the mythological battle that took place between the Centaurs and the Lapiths.   This battle began after the centaurs, half men and half horse, were invited to the wedding of Pirithous, king of the Lapiths, in central Thessaly.  In the midst of the celebrations the centaurs became drunk with wine until one of them thought to take off with the bride!  When the rest of the Centaurs began to commit similar outrages, a battle ensued. The battle between the Lapiths and the Centaurs is one of the main subjects carved into the square metopes of the Parthenon.  They are a graphic depiction of the recurring struggle between the forces of civilization (Lapiths) and those of chaos (Centaurs).  Bearing this in mind, it is interesting to note that the Centaurs are often shown victorious over the Lapiths!

Conclusion

By the latter half of the 5th century B.C. the religion of many Athenians was Athens.  The goddess and her city were virtually inseparable. Thus the state became an all encompassing reality for most Athenians.  Thus Aristotle felt confident to write, “Neither must we suppose that any one of the citizens belongs to himself, for they all belong to the state, and are each of them a part of the state, and the care of each part is inseparable from the care of the whole.”  But as the Athenian state grew larger, it also grew hungrier.  And as democracy was extended to more and more Athenians, it also increased its demand for “contributions” from the other city-states under its protection, a portion of which went towards the construction of the Parthenon.  Those city-states that balked at the price were ruthlessly destroyed by the powerful Athenian navy.  But the lust for empire ultimately led to the demise of the Athenian city-state. 

Even as their craftsmen were adding the finishing touches to the Parthenon, another war loomed on the horizon, this time with Sparta.  For the next quarter of a century the Greek city-states of the Peloponnese would be at each other’s throats, like the Lapiths and Centaurs carved into the stone of the Parthenon. The Athenians were initially successful in prosecuting the war, but a reckless venture in Sicily ultimately led to defeat.  By the time the Athenians sued for peace in 404 BC, the Spartans (with Persian support!) had sacked Athens, torn down its walls, and reduced the Athenian navy from 600 ships to a mere 12. As Werner Jaeger once astutely observed, the State which gives to each citizen so much can demand all in return. In the end, the State did demand everything, and even that was not enough!