Part 13

These marbles have become celebrated throughout the civilised world, and the name of Elgin is inseparably connected henceforth with the finest extant specimens of the power of Phidias. The artistic excellencies of these relics of a remote civilisation have been so frequently explained to the public, and their beauties are so generally felt, that it suffices to introduce the general visitor to the room, and to guide him about it, without bidding him halt to learn the estimation set upon these works by great art authorities. After he has received the natural impression which these works cannot fail to produce on his mind, he may wish to know something of the times and men which these represent; he may be glad to learn so much as is known of Phidias. No man even with the poorest sense of the beautiful can, we apprehend, wander about this saloon without being touched. Therefore we proceed at once to guide the visitor on his journey. But it is necessary that he should know something of the building, of which these fragments formed parts:--"The Parthenon," says Colonel Leake, "was constructed entirely of white marble, from Mount Pentelicus. It consisted of a cell, surrounded with a peristyle, which had eight Doric columns in the fronts, and seventeen in the sides. These forty-six columns were six feet two inches in diameter at the base, and thirty-four feet in height, standing upon a pavement, to which there was an ascent of three steps. The total height of the temple above its platform was about sixty-five feet. Within the peristyle at either end, there was an interior range of six columns, of five feet and a half in diameter, standing before the end of the cell, and forming a vestibule to its door. There was an ascent of two steps into these vestibules from the peristyle. The cell, which was sixty-two feet and a half broad within, was divided into two unequal chambers, of which the western was forty-three feet ten inches long, and the eastern ninety-eight feet seven inches. The ceiling of the former was supported by four columns, of about four feet in diameter, and that of the latter by sixteen columns of about three feet. It is not known of what order were the interior columns of either chamber. Those of the western having been thirty-six feet in height, their proportion must have been nearly the same as that of the Ionic columns of the vestibule of the Propylaea, whence it seems highly probable that the same order was used in the interior of both those contemporary buildings. In the eastern chamber of the Parthenon, the smallness of the diameter of the columns leaves little doubt that there was an upper range, as in the temples of Paestum and AEgina. It is to be lamented that no remains of any of them have been found, as they might have presented some new proofs of the taste and invention of the architects of the time of Pericles.

"Such was the simple construction of this magnificent building, which, by the united excellencies of materials, design, and decorations, was the most perfect ever executed. Its dimensions of two hundred and twenty-eight feet by a hundred and two, with a height of sixty-six feet to the top of the pediment, were sufficiently great to give an impression of grandeur and sublimity, which was not disturbed by any obtrusive subdivision of parts, such as is found to diminish the effects of some larger modern buildings, where the same singleness of design is not observed. In the Parthenon, whether viewed at a small or at a great distance, there was nothing to divert the spectator's contemplation from the simplicity and majesty of mass and outline, which forms the first and most remarkable object of admiration in a Greek temple; and it was not until the eye was satiated with the contemplation of the entire edifice, that the spectator was tempted to examine the decorations with which this building was so profusely adorned; for the statues of the pediments, the only decoration which was very conspicuous by its magnitude and position, being enclosed within frames, which formed an essential part of the design of either front, had no more obtrusive effect than an ornamented capital to a single column."

Bearing this outline of the building in mind, the visitor may at once proceed to examine the ruins of this fine monument of ancient genius, which are deposited in the Elgin Saloon of our National Museum. First, he may notice those alto-relievos, known as the

METOPES OF THE PARTHENON.

The subject of these sculptures has been familiarised to the visitor in the Phigaleian marbles. Here, again, is the war of the Athenians, on behalf of the Lapithae, with the Centaurs, the sculptor's subject. On entering the room, the visitor will notice various numbers on each marble: THE RED NUMBERS are those to which we refer throughout.

The first metope to which the visitor will, in natural order, direct his attention, is that marked 1. Here an Athenian has his knee upon the back of a Centaur and one arm round his neck, while the other (which is broken off) was evidently represented raised to strike a fatal blow into the Centaur's body. The second metope (2) also represents an Athenian subduing a Centaur. This group is much injured, the head of the Athenian and that of the Centaur being missing; but the Athenian has his knee firmly planted upon his brutal enemy's hind quarters, and his arm (strongly developed) was evidently firmly clutching the Centaur's hair. The third metope (3) shows an Athenian under very disadvantageous circumstances. Here a Centaur is about to deal a tremendous blow with a wine vessel at the head of his crouching enemy, who is endeavouring to ward off its effects with his ample shield. The heads of these figures are casts from the originals, which are in the Royal Museum at Copenhagen. The fourth metope (4) has been so mutilated that the figure of the Athenian, which was once upon it, is wholly effaced, and the Centaur has the head, part of two legs, and both arms, wanting. Originally the Centaur was holding an Athenian by his hair. The fifth metope (5) is also much mutilated; but here both figures were evidently represented mutually confident of victory. A vigorous action is represented upon the sixth metope (6), where an Athenian is seizing a Centaur by the throat, while, with the right hand, he is prepared to deal a fatal stroke. The seventh metope (7) is much mutilated; but the figure of an Athenian thrown, and a Centaur trampling upon him, are clearly discernible. There is fine action in the eighth metope (8), where the Centaur has seized his adversary by the foot, and is hurling him backwards to the earth. Under the Athenian the visitor will notice a circular drinking vessel, indicative of the revel at which the cause of quarrel originated. The next metope (9) (or rather a cast from the metope in the Louvre at Paris) represents a Centaur in the act of seizing a female, who is resisting him: both heads are wanted. The drapery about the female is beautifully executed. Matters have arrived at a desperate pitch with the combatants represented on the tenth metope (10), where the Centaur, with starting eyes and uplifted arms, is about to strike a determined Athenian, who has planted his foot against the Centaur's breast, and is determined to do his work. The next metope (11) is a fine specimen of sculpture. Here an Athenian has seized a Centaur by the jaw, from behind. The drapery that falls from the fine form of the Greek is exquisitely folded, and the figure itself is finished with masterly skill. A victorious Centaur holding forth a mantle of lion's skin, is the central figure of the next metope (12). Below lies the dead body of an Athenian: all the muscles marked and rigid. It is supposed that the following metope (13) represents the Centaur Eurytion carrying off Hippodamia. The drapery of the female figure is exquisite. The fourteenth metope (14) represents an Athenian thrown by a Centaur. The Athenian, however, is not idle, having buried a weapon in the left side of his adversary, and attempting to seize a stone with his left hand. The fifteenth metope (15) represents a Centaur holding an Athenian; while the Athenian has revenged himself by planting that decisive kind of blow known in pugilistic circles as "a bruiser" upon the Centaur's cheek. This metope is more angular in execution than the other metopes; and was probably executed, under the guidance of Phidias, by one of the old school of Greek sculptors. The last, or sixteenth metope (16), is supposed to have been executed by the same inferior hand as that employed upon the fifteenth. Here the contest between the Centaur and the Athenian is undecided. Metope 16c has been recently discovered at Athens.

Having fully examined these fine specimens of Greek sculpture, the visitor may at once turn to other parts of the great temple, examining now and then, to guide his impressions, the restored model which stands near the south-east corner of the room. His business is now with the frieze that ran round the building behind the columns, and upon which a series of bas-reliefs were sculptured; of which Sir Henry Ellis gives the following clear outline:--

THE FRIEZE OF THE PARTHENON.

"One of the richest objects with which Phidias embellished the outside of the temple of the Parthenon, was, without doubt, that uninterrupted series of bas-reliefs which occupied the upper part of the walls within the colonnade, at the height of the frieze of the Pronaos, and which was continued entirely round the building. The situation afforded to the work only a secondary light, and, so far, prescribed to Phidias the manner in which he was to direct the execution of the figures.

"From the position intended for it, it was evident that the direct rays of the sun could never reach the Panathenaic frieze. Being placed immediately below the soffit, it received all its light from between the columns, and by reflection from the pavement below. The flatness of the sculpture is thus sufficiently accounted for; had the relief been prominent, the upper parts could not have been seen; the shade projected by the sculpture would have rendered it dark, and the parts would have been reduced by their shadows. The frieze could only be seen in an angle of forty-two degrees and a half.

"The subject represented the sacred procession which was celebrated every fifth year in honour of Minerva, the guardian goddess of the city, and embraced in its composition all the external observances of the highest festival of the Athenians.

"The blocks of marble of which the frieze was composed were three feet four inches high; they were placed about nine feet within the external row of columns; and occupied, slab after slab, a space of five hundred and twenty-four feet in length. As a connected subject, this was the most extensive piece of sculpture ever made in Greece. The images of the gods, deified heroes, basket bearers, bearers of libatory vessels, trains of females, persons of every age and sex, men on horseback, victims, charioteers--in short, the whole people were represented in it conveying, in solemn pomp, to this very temple of the Parthenon, the sacred veil which was to be suspended before the statue of the goddess within.

"Meursius, in his Panathenaea and Reliquiae Atticae, has collected from ancient authors many particulars concerning this Peplus. It was the work of young virgins selected from the best families in Athens, over whom two of the principal, called Arrephorae, were superintendents. On it was embroidered the battle of the gods and giants; amongst the gods was Jupiter hurling his thunderbolts against the rebellious crew, and Minerva, seated in her chariot, appeared as the vanquisher of Typhon or Enceladus. In the Hecuba of Euripides, the chorus of captive Trojan females are lamenting, in anticipation, the evils which they will suffer in the land of the Greeks. 'In the city of Pallas, of Athena, on the beautiful seat in the woven peplus I shall yoke colts to a chariot, painting them in various different coloured threads, or else the races of the Titans, whom Zeus, the son of Kronos, puts to sleep in fiery all-surrounding flame.' The names of those Athenians who had been eminent for military virtue, were also embroidered on it. This will explain the following allusion in the Knights of Aristophanes, where the chorus says--'We wish to praise our fathers, because they were an honour to this country and worthy of the peplus: in battles by land and in the ship-girt armament conquering on all occasions they exalted this city.' When the festival was celebrated, this peplus was brought from the Acropolis, where it had been worked, down into the city; it was then displayed and suspended as a sail to the ship, which on that day, attended by a numerous and splendid procession, was conducted through the Ceramicus and other principal parts, till it had made the circuit of the Acropolis; it was then carried up to the Parthenon, and there consecrated to Minerva." This splendid series of sculptures forms the gem of the Elgin collection. The museum possesses no less than two hundred feet of the original frieze, in addition to upwards of seventy feet in casts. The wonderful variety, the perfect drawing, the classic grace, and the unity of conception displayed in this work, entitle it to rank as the most precious relic of antiquity saved to moderns from the wrecks of time. Starting from the left side of the entrance door to the south, the visitor begins his inspections of

THE EASTERN FRIEZE,

or those portions which decorated the eastern end of the Parthenon. These are marked from 17 to 24. The introductory slab (17) represents a procession of Greek virgins, with their long flowing draperies beautifully modelled, as the visitor will at once perceive. Some are carrying vessels for the libations. The next slab (18) has some interesting figures. The four standing figures, which are to the left of the two, supposed to represent Castor and Pollux, are supposed to represent Hierophants explaining away mysteries, while the others are students of the doctrines taught at the festival. The next slab, which is the longest in the collection (19), is said to have been originally placed above the eastern gate of the temple. Here are females delivering offerings in baskets to one who appears to preside. On the left, a man of dignified bearing is receiving a large roll from a youth, which Visconti supposed to be the embroidered veil. Here seated on a throne is Jupiter, with the arms supported by two sphinxes. Here, too, is a goddess removing her veil, supposed by some to be Juno, and by others Mercury. At the end of the slab the visitor will remark old AEsculapius, and the figure of his daughter with a serpent twined about her left arm, as Hygieia, or Health. The marble let into the wall below the frieze, and marked 20, is a perfect cast from a marble partly in that marked 21 and partly in that marked 22. Slabs 23, 24 have continuations of the procession, consisting of females draped, bearing vessels and torches. These women were selected from the noblest families of Athens. The fragment marked 25 closes those which adorn the eastern front. It represents a mutilated figure of one of the Metoeci, or strangers, bearing a tray filled originally with provisions. From the eastern the visitor should proceed to the slabs of the

NORTHERN FRIEZE.

These are marked from 26 to 46. On the first of this series a youth was originally represented receiving a crown of honour in a chariot race. Then follow successively five slabs, all bearing bas-reliefs of chariots and charioteers. These slabs are greatly admired by artists, and are said, at the present day, to be perhaps the finest specimens of bas-relief extant. After the chariots with more notable people forming the procession, the successive marbles marked 32 to 43 are filled up with the groups of horsemen who followed the chariots. The forms of the animals are beautifully grouped and executed; and may, after the many centuries of time that have elapsed since they were placed behind the Parthenon columns, be consulted by the modern artist as the finest extant models upon which he can exercise his student's hand. On the slabs 36, 7, how finely are the horses and riders grouped, and how firmly and gracefully is the rude figure upon the central horse of the second slab posed! Having sufficiently admired these fine groups, the visitor should at once turn to the slab marked 46. Here, a young man standing near his horse is about to crown himself; while a standing figure to the right appears to have dismounted, and to be suffering some adjustment of dress by a servant behind him. At the right end of this slab is a figure seen sideways, and representing the first part of the decoration of the

WESTERN FRIEZE.

Only one of the fifteen slabs of the western frieze is the original marble:--the rest are casts from the frieze still adorning the ruins of the temple. The western frieze is included in the slabs marked from 47 to 61. The marble in the possession of the museum from the western frieze is, however, one of great value. It represents two mounted horsemen--the whole exquisitely carved. Passing forward from this, the forty-eighth slab (48) represents a horse to which three men are attending. Mounted horsemen also fill up the next two slabs (49, 50). On the fifty-first a rider is represented habited in full armour, with another rider, dismounted, who appears to be rubbing a hurt on his left leg. The two following slabs (52,3) are horses and men;--on the latter, a dismounted man in a flowing robe endeavouring to curb a rearing steed. On the next slab (54) are two horsemen mounted, the one to the right wearing a hat that has a modern appearance, and is similar to those worn by dignitaries of the Greek church at the present time. A fine horse and graceful horseman occur in the right corner of the slab 55,--the action of the horse is finely sculptured. The remaining sculptures of the western frieze represent figures of mounted and dismounted horsemen, of which the visitor may notice the graceful figures on slab 57 (where the horse is rubbing his leg), and slab 60, where the figure to the right appears to be only preparing to join the procession. Having examined these, the visitor should at once proceed to examine the remarkable points of the

SOUTHERN FRIEZE.

These are numbered from 62 to 90, and reach back to the northern side of the entrance to the saloon. The slabs marked from 62 to 77 consist of horsemen, galloping, often two or three abreast: some with helmets and armour, and others nude; and the slabs marked from 78 to 82 have sculptures of chariots drawn by four horses (mostly) abreast. These, however, present no new points to which it is necessary to draw the visitor's particular attention. The business of the festival, &c., begins to be apparent in the seven last slabs (84-90). Here the victims appear. In the first (85) a bull appears to be giving no little trouble to some attendants, and to be utterly regardless of the solemnity of the occasion. A bull, full of action, is the principal object on the next slab (86): and on the next (87), one appears calmly walking to his doom. Upon the return of the slab (90) is a figure finely executed, supposed to be that of a magistrate surveying the progress of the procession. The sacrificial oxen are said to be masterly representations of the finest specimens of these animals.

Having examined these bas-reliefs, the visitor should at once turn to the groups which occupied central space in the saloon, and which originally adorned the eastern and western pediments of the Parthenon.

SCULPTURES FROM THE EASTERN PEDIMENT.

These occupy the central space towards the southern end of the saloon. The group on the eastern pediment originally represented the birth of Minerva. The visitor will probably be first attracted to the great recumbent figure marked 93, generally believed to have represented Theseus, the Athenian hero, whose biography opens the series of Plutarch's Lives. The figure is now much mutilated; the nose has been chipped, and the feet are wanting, but still the form reclining on a rock is majestic. Mr. Westmacott, in a lecture, gave his reasons for believing that this statue was meant for Cephalus, of whom Aurora was enamoured, and not Theseus. "This work [the pediment] it must be observed, related to the most remarkable event in Athenian mythology, and was confined only to that event. All the gods of Olympus were present at the birth of Minerva. Now Theseus was not only not in existence, but was patronised and protected by Minerva; it would seem, therefore, extraordinary that he should be admitted as a witness of her birth. If it is really Theseus, he could only have been introduced by Phidias in compliment to the Athenians; but whether this could on so very sacred an occasion have been allowed, may very reasonably be doubted. Hercules, even the older, or Idaean Hercules, was, upon the same principle, equally inadmissible, the Athenians acknowledging or worshipping no Hercules prior to the son of Alcmene, who was contemporaneous with Theseus, and consequently posterior also to Minerva. Now the mythology of Cephalus is not only in unison with Pausanias, but the admission of that person would in no degree affect the harmony of the Attic types, or principles of Athenian worship. Cephalus was as celebrated for heroic virtues as for his beauty."

The fragment numbered 91 is part of a figure of Hyperion rising out of the sea. It marked that angle of the pediment to the left of the spectator, and the arms are stretched forward urging his coursers. Near him are, alas, only the heads of two of his horses (92). The next group that presents itself for notice is that of two sitting figures (94), the one to the left leaning on the right shoulder of the other. This is a wreck of a group that represented Ceres and her daughter Proserpine on the pediment. Next in succession is a figure full of action (95): this is Iris, the messenger of the gods, but the particular property of Juno, on her way to carry to remote parts the interesting intelligence of the birth of Minerva. A torso of Victory is placed next in order of succession (96). The figure is now wingless, but holes can be seen which once attached them to the statue. Three Fates, beautifully draped (97), and a head of one of the horses (98) of the chariot of Night which occupied the angle of the pediment on the spectator's right, complete the recovered fragments of the eastern pediment.

Hence the visitor should turn to the fragments from the

WESTERN PEDIMENT.

The subject illustrated on the western pediment was the contest between Minerva and Neptune for the honour of giving a name to Athens. The relics of these sculptures will now engage the visitor's attention. Undoubtedly the first object that will attract his notice will be that numbered 99. This recumbent figure has a noble presence even now, headless and otherwise mutilated as it is. Canova stood undecided between this figure and that of Theseus (or Cephalus, according to Mr. Westmacott) as to which was pre-eminently beautiful. The figure before which the visitor now stands is generally received as the statue of Ilissus, who was the Athenian god of the river Ilissus, which watered the southern side of the Athenian plain. Others have declared it to be Theseus reposing after his herculean labours, and contemplating the contest between the two deities. Having fully examined this fine sculpture, the visitor should turn to the fragments of the Minerva. A small fragment of the upper part of a face (101) is all that remains of Minerva's head, the holes being still visible by which the goddess's bronze helmet was fastened to the statue. Hereabouts, also, is a fragment of the statue (102), and a coil of the serpent that was about the figure (104). The torso marked 100, from the western pediment, is conjectured to be part of a statue that represented Cecrops, the founder of Athens, at the contest. The next fragment is the torso of Neptune (103); and hereabouts is the cast of the group supposed to have originally represented Hercules and Hebe. The second object, marked 104, is the cast, presented by M. Charles Lenormand, of a head in the Bibliothèque Nationale at Paris, supposed to belong to one of the statues of the western pediment. A torso of a wingless or Athenian Victory is the next object that demands notice (105): the figure was represented without wings, in token of the inseparability of the goddess from the Greek capital. Another object is marked 105: this is the head of the Victory; or rather a cast from the original head presented to the trustees by Count de Laborde. Lastly, of the western pediment sculptures, the visitor will remark the lap of a figure, with a portion of an infant remaining: this ruin is all that is left of Latona and her two children, Diana and Apollo. Having fully examined these ruins of the Parthenon, the visitor must direct his immediate attention to the remains collected from the ruins of the celebrated