Parthenon Frieze _ South XII, 32-34

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This block reveals parts of three horsemen clad in armor, forming a uniform group with the preceding block, Block XIII. Their dress, although poorly preserved, displays uniformity with Block XIII. The best-preserved horseman is seen to have a shoulder strap and flaps hanging at the waist (teryges) and wears a cap. Metal reins, now lost, were inserted into drill-holes. The south side of the frieze is partially preserved and was severely damaged in the catastrophic explosion of 1687 that ravaged the Parthenon. This is why the sequence from block XX onward is uncertain, despite Carrey's drawings showing representations on many missing sections and enabling us to locate several existing fragments. The original length of the south frieze along its southern side was 58.70 meters. It comprised forty-seven blocks, some displayed in the Acropolis Museum and others in the British Museum. Each block averages a width of 1.22 meters. The workmanship is clearly less skilled than that of the north frieze, although certain scenes can 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, with riders moving in a straight line, looking ahead. A single exception is found on block V, rider 13. The varied rendition of the horses' trimmed manes reflects their speed of movement. As in the north frieze, the south side displays three sections: a) horsemen, b) chariots, and c) sacrificial procession. It's 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 garments supports this interpretation, with ten groups of six riders each. The first group (2-7) wears a fox-hide cap, short chiton, chlamys, and boots; the second group (8-13) only chlamys; and the third group (14-19) wears a short cuirass over a short chiton and boots. The fourth group (20-25) is clad in short chiton and chlamys; the fifth (26-31), anatomical cuirass over short chiton and boots; the sixth (32-37), fox-skin cap, short chiton over which is a cuirass with flaps, and boots. The seventh group (38-43) wears a helmet of Athenian type, short chiton, chlamys, and boots; the eighth group (44-49), chlamys over short chiton and boots. The ninth group (50-55) is clad in petasos, short chiton, chlamys, and boots; and last, the tenth group comprises horsemen (56-61) wearing short chiton and boots. Next comes the procession of chariots, which, due to the 1687 explosion, is very fragmentary and preserved only in interrupted stretches. Five blocks are missing entirely. Ten chariots are shown in the course, each taking up a single block. Some stand still (XXVI), some start (XXIX), and others run full speed ahead (XXXI). Depicted on the following blocks is the procession of sacrifice. Participants include thallophoroi with olive branches, musicians with citharas (kitharai), skaphephoroi with offering trays, and animals with their herdsmen. The frieze of the Parthenon forms a continuous band with scenes in low relief that encircles the upper part of the cella within the outer colonnade. The theme represented is the procession toward the Acropolis that took place during the Great Panathenaia, commemorating the birthday of the goddess Athena. Numbering taken from I. Jenkins, The Parthenon Frieze, 1994. Frieze slabs are marked in Roman numerals; people are marked in Arabic numerals.