Parthenon Frieze _ North XV, 51-52-53

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This block showcases the remnants of a chariot, a driver, a foot soldier, and a marshal. A team of horses hauls a chariot-carriage. The horses are being reined back and we sense the intense concentration of energy in the intricate gathering of the horses' rear legs. The soldier lowers one leg to the ground and prepares to exit the carriage. His upper body and most of the driver, who stands behind him, are obscured from view. The two hands of the driver that grasped the reins are preserved, as is a small portion of his right upper arm. A marshal stands on the far side of the chariot; most of his head is missing. Half of the North frieze is housed in the British Museum and the other half in the Acropolis museum. The total length of the north frieze measures 58.70 meters. The scenes begin at the northwest corner of the opisthonaos as a continuation of the procession that has already commenced on the west side, thus extending from block N XLVII to block N I. The action unfolds gradually and accelerates from quiet preparation to a gallop. Ignoring the divisions of the blocks, the horsemen are depicted proceeding in groups of seven or eight, the horses partly overlapping each other. The continuous flow of horses and riders is interrupted only by the marshal on block XXXIV. Yet with variety in garment, stance, and gesture among the most beautiful of the horsemen, and occasional depictions of a man turning his head to glance back, monotony is avoided. The frieze of the Parthenon forms a continuous band with scenes in low relief that encircles the upper portion of the cella, the main temple, within the outer colonnade. The theme represented was the procession toward the Acropolis that took place during the Great Panathenaia, the commemoration of the birthday of the goddess Athena. Numbering taken from I. Jenkins, The Parthenon Frieze, 1994. Frieze slabs are marked in Roman numerals, individuals are marked in Arabic numerals.