Parthenon Frieze _ North XXIII, 63-65

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Half of the North frieze resides in the British Museum and the other half in the Acropolis museum. The entire length of the north frieze measures 58.70 meters. Scenes unfold at the northwest corner of the opisthonaos, seamlessly extending a procession already underway on the west side, thereby spanning from block N XLVII to block N I. The action builds gradually, escalating from quiet preparation to a frenzied gallop. Disregarding block divisions, horsemen are depicted riding in groups of seven or eight, their horses overlapping each other partially. The continuous flow of horses and riders is interrupted solely by the marshal (90) on block XXXIV. Despite varying garments, stances, and gestures among the most exquisite of the horsemen, along with occasional depictions of a man turning his head to look back, monotony is skillfully avoided. The Parthenon frieze forms a continuous band featuring scenes in low relief that encircles the upper part of the cella, the main temple, within the outer colonnade. The theme depicted is the procession toward the Acropolis that took place during the Great Panathenaia, commemorating the birthday of the goddess Athena. Numbering originates from I. Jenkins' "The Parthenon Frieze," published in 1994. Frieze slabs are marked with Roman numerals, while people are designated by Arabic numerals.