Parthenon Frieze _ South XXIX, 74-75

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The remnants of these blocks were severely impacted by the catastrophic explosion that ravaged the Parthenon in 1687. Nonetheless, a comprehensive understanding of their original composition can be gleaned from earlier drawings made by skilled artists. At first, the chariots are stationary, then rapidly move forward, and finally come to an abrupt halt, as to avoid colliding with the rear of the pedestrian procession. The south side of the frieze is preserved in a fragmentary state, and the sculptured surface was badly damaged in the devastating catastrophe that befell the Parthenon during the explosion of 1687. As a result, the sequence from block XX onward is uncertain. Despite this uncertainty, the Carrey drawings provide invaluable insight into the representations on many of the missing sections, enabling us to locate numerous existing fragments. The original length of the frieze along the south side was 58.70 meters, comprising forty-seven blocks, some of which are exhibited in the Acropolis Museum and others in the British Museum. The average width of each block is 1.22 meters. The workmanship as a whole appears to be less skillful than that of the north frieze, although some of the scenes may be considered among the masterpieces of the Parthenon (blocks III, X, XI, XXVI, XXXI, and XLIV). The procession begins at the west corner and moves toward the right. A notable absence is the variety of pose, garment, and movement exhibited by figures and animals in the north frieze. Instead, the riders move in a straight line, looking directly ahead, with one exception on block V, where rider 13 diverges from this pattern. The horses' trimmed manes convey their speed of movement through varied renditions. As with 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 based on tribe, following the political organization of the Athenian state. The variation in 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 those of the second group (8-13) wear only chlamys. In the third group, the horsemen (14-19) wear 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) in anatomical cuirass over short chiton and boots, and the sixth group (32-37) wears a fox-skin cap, short chiton over which is a cuirass with flaps, and boots. Those of the seventh group (38-43) wear a helmet of Athenian type, short chiton, chlamys, and boots, while those of the eighth group (44-49) wear chlamys over short chiton and boots. The ninth group (50-55) is clad in petasos, short chiton, chlamys, and boots, and the tenth group comprises horsemen (56-61) wearing short chiton and boots. Next comes the procession of chariots, which, as a result of the 1687 explosion, is very fragmentary and preserved only in interrupted stretches. Five blocks are missing altogether, while ten chariots are in the course, each occupying a single block. Some are standing still (XXVI), some starting (XXIX), and some racing full speed ahead (XXXI). Depicted on the blocks that follow is the procession of the 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, the main temple, within the outer colonnade. The theme represented is 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, and people are marked in Arabic numerals.