Parthenon Frieze _ North XXVII, 72 (completed from acropolis)

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The North frieze is split evenly between two museums: the British Museum and the Acropolis museum. Measuring a total of 58.70 meters in length, the scenes on this massive frieze unfold from its starting point at the northwest corner of the opisthonaos. This marks the beginning of a procession that had already begun on the west side, extending all the way from block N XLVII to block N I. As the action develops, it gradually accelerates from calm preparation to a frenzied gallop. Ignoring the individual blocks, groups of seven or eight horsemen are depicted in motion, with horses overlapping each other in a fluid sequence. The only interruption comes from the marshal on block XXXIV, but even then, the scene's variety is maintained through the unique garments, stances, and gestures of the horsemen, as well as occasional glimpses of riders turning their heads to look back. This deliberate attention to detail effectively avoids monotony. The Parthenon frieze forms a continuous band that encircles the upper part of the cella, the main temple within the outer colonnade. Scenes in low relief depict the procession toward the Acropolis during the Great Panathenaia, an annual commemoration of Athena's birthday. The numbering system used comes from I. Jenkins' book "The Parthenon Frieze," published in 1994. Roman numerals mark the frieze slabs, while Arabic numerals identify individual people within the scenes.