Parthenon Frieze _ South VIII, 21-22-23

myminifactory

The marble relief (Block VIII) from the South frieze of the Parthenon shows parts of three horsemen, two of whom wear a chlamys draped over a short tunic. Metal reins were inserted in drill-holes, but they have since been lost. The surface of this block is badly damaged and weathered, making it difficult to discern its original appearance. For more information on the composition of riders, see South frieze Block I. The horsemen of the South frieze are less well preserved than those of the North, with a less varied composition. The explosion of the Parthenon in 1687 caused significant damage to the South frieze, particularly along its south side. Here, the composition is uniform, with horse and rider overlapping at regular intervals. Figures 20 through 25 wear a heavy cloak (chlamys). The south side of the frieze is preserved fragmentarily, and the sculptured surface was badly damaged in the tremendous catastrophe that befell the Parthenon in 1687. This is why the sequence from block XX on is uncertain. Even so, the Carrey drawings show the representations on many of the missing sections and have enabled us to locate a number of existing fragments. The original length of the frieze along the south side was 58.70 meters, composed of forty-seven blocks. Some of these blocks are exhibited in the Acropolis Museum, while others can be found in the British Museum. The average width of each block is 1.22 meters. The workmanship as a whole is clearly less skilled than that of the north frieze, although some of the scenes may be considered masterpieces of the Parthenon (blocks III, X, XI, XXVI, XXXI and XLIV). The procession begins at the west corner and proceeds toward the right. The variety of pose, garment, and movement seen in the north frieze is missing here. The riders move in a straight line, looking straight ahead, with a single exception on block V, rider (13). The varied rendition of the horses' trimmed manes reflects their speed of movement. As in the north frieze, the sections evident in the south are: a) the horsemen, b) the chariots, and c) the sacrificial procession. It is likely that the arrangement of the horsemen in the procession was according to tribe, following the political organization of the Athenian state. The variation seen in the garments, with ten groups of six riders each, appears to support this interpretation. The horsemen of the first group (2-7) wear a fox-hide cap, short chiton, chlamys, and boots, while the second group (8-13) only wears chlamys. In the third group, the horsemen (14-19) wear a short cuirass over a short chiton and boots. The horsemen of the fourth group (20-25) are clad in short chiton and chlamys, while those of the fifth group (26-31) wear anatomical cuirass over short chiton and boots. The horsemen of the sixth group (32-37) wear a fox-skin cap, short chiton over which is a cuirass with flaps, and boots. Those of the seventh group (38-43) wear an Athenian-type helmet, short chiton, chlamys, and boots, while those of the eighth group (44-49) wear chlamys over short chiton and boots. The riders of the ninth group (50-55) are clad in petasos, short chiton, chlamys, and boots, and last, the tenth group comprises horsemen (56-61) wearing short chiton and boots.