PARTHENON: IONIC FRIEZE In many ways the most re-
markable part of the Parthenon’s sculptural program is the inner
Ionic frieze (FIG. 5-50). Scholars still debate its subject, but most
agree that it represents the Panathenaic Festival procession that took
place every four years in Athens. If this identification is correct, the
Athenians judged themselves fit for inclusion in the temple’s sculp-
tural decoration. It is another example of the extraordinarily high
opinion the Athenians had of their own worth.
The procession began at the Dipylon Gate, passed through the
agora (central square), and ended on the Acropolis, where the Atheni-
ans placed a new peplos on an ancient
wooden statue of Athena. That statue
(probably similar in general appear-
ance to the Lady of Auxerre,FIG. 5-7)
was housed in the Archaic temple the
Persians razed in 480BCE. The statue
had been removed from the Acropolis
before the Persian attack for security
reasons, and eventually it was installed
in the Erechtheion (FIG. 5-53,no. 1).
On the Parthenon frieze the proces-
sion begins on the west, that is, at the
temple’s rear, the side facing the gate-
way to the Acropolis. It then proceeds
in parallel lines down the long north
and south sides of the building and
ends at the center of the east frieze,
over the doorway to the cella housing
Phidias’s statue of Athena. It is note-
worthy that the upper part of the
frieze is in higher relief than the lower
part so that the more distant and more
shaded upper zone is as legible from
the ground as the lower part of the
frieze. This is another instance of the
architects’ taking optical effects into
consideration.
The frieze vividly communicates
the procession’s acceleration and de-
celeration. At the outset, on the west
side, marshals gather and youths
mount their horses. On the north (FIG.
5-50,top) and south, the momentum
picks up as the cavalcade moves from
the lower town to the Acropolis, accompanied by chariots, musicians,
jar carriers, and animals destined for sacrifice. On the east, seated gods
and goddesses (FIG. 5-50,center), the invited guests, watch the proces-
sion slow almost to a halt (FIG. 5-50,bottom) as it nears its goal at the
shrine of Athena’s ancient wooden idol. Most remarkable of all is the
role assigned to the Olympian deities. They do not take part in the fes-
tival or determine its outcome but are merely spectators. Aphrodite,
in fact, extends her left arm to draw her son Eros’s attention to the
Athenians, just as today a parent at a parade would point out impor-
tant people to a child. And the Athenian people were important—5-50Details of the Panathenaic
Festival procession frieze, from the
Parthenon, Acropolis, Athens, Greece,
ca. 447–438 bce.Marble, 3 6 high.
Horsemen of north frieze (top),
British Museum, London; seated gods
and goddesses (Poseidon, Apollo,
and Artemis) of east frieze (center),
Acropolis Museum, Athens; and elders
and maidens of east frieze (bottom),
Louvre, Paris.
The Parthenon’s Ionic frieze represents
the procession of citizens on horseback
and on foot that took place every four
years under the watchful eyes of the
gods. The temple celebrated the
Athenians as much as Athena.
1 ft.1 ft.1 ft.130 Chapter 5 ANCIENT GREECE