hand, but the full set suggests that the battle was a difficult one against
a dangerous enemy and that losses as well as victories occurred. The
same was true of the war against the Persians.
PARTHENON: PEDIMENTS The subjects of the two pedi-
ments were especially appropriate for a temple that celebrated
Athena—and the Athenians. The east pediment depicted the birth of
the goddess. At the west was the contest between Athena and Posei-
don to determine which one would become the city’s patron deity.
Athena won, giving her name to the polis and its citizens. It is signif-
icant that in the story and in the pediment the Athenians are the
judges of the relative merits of the two gods. The choice of theme re-
flects the same arrogance that led to the Athenians’ use of Delian
League funds to adorn the Acropolis.
The center of the east pediment was damaged when the apse was
added to the Parthenon at the time of its conversion into a church.
What remains are the spectators to the left and the right who wit-
nessed Athena’s birth on Mount Olympus. At the far left (FIG. 5-48)
are the head and arms of Helios (the Sun) and his chariot horses ris-
ing from the pediment floor. Next to them is a powerful male figure
usually identified as Dionysos or possibly Herakles, who entered the
realm of the gods on completion of his 12 labors. At the right (FIG.
5-49) are three goddesses, probably Hestia, Dione, and Aphrodite,
and either Selene (the Moon) or Nyx (Night) and more horses, this
time sinking below the pediment’s floor. Here, Phidias, who de-
signed the composition even if his assistants executed it, discovered
an entirely new way to deal with the awkward triangular frame of the
pediment. Its bottom line is the horizon line, and charioteers and
their horses move through it effortlessly. The individual figures, even
the animals, are brilliantly characterized. The horses of the Sun, at
the beginning of the day, are energetic. Those of the Moon or Night,
having labored until dawn, are weary. The reclining figures fill the
space beneath the raking cornice beautifully. Dionysos/Herakles
and Aphrodite in the lap of her mother Dione are monumental
Olympian presences yet totally relaxed organic forms. The sculptors
fully understood not only the surface appearance of human
anatomy, both male and female, but also the mechanics of how mus-
cles and bones make the body move. The Phidian school also mas-
tered the rendition of clothed forms. In the Dione-Aphrodite group,
the thin and heavy folds of the garments alternately reveal and con-
ceal the main and lesser body masses while swirling in a composi-
tional tide that subtly unifies the two figures. The articulation and
integration of the bodies produce a wonderful variation of surface
and play of light and shade.5-48Helios and his horses, and Dionysos (Herakles?), from the east pediment of the Parthenon, Acropolis,
Athens, Greece, ca. 438–432 bce.Marble, greatest height 4 3 . British Museum, London.
The east pediment of the Parthenon depicts the birth of Athena. At the left, the horses of Helios (the Sun) emerge
from the pediment’s floor, suggesting the sun rising above the horizon at dawn.5-49Three goddesses (Hestia, Dione, and Aphrodite?), from the east pediment of the Parthenon, Acropolis,
Athens, Greece, ca. 438–432 bce.Marble, greatest height 4 5 . British Museum, London.
The statues of Hestia, Dione, and Aphrodite conform perfectly to the sloping right side of the east pediment.
The thin and heavy folds of the garments alternately reveal and conceal the body forms.Early and High Classical Periods 1291 ft.1 ft.