DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.14134#0018
10
right wrist of the figure nearest the angle (E) is a dowel
hole, probably for the attachment of a bracelet. Her
companion (F) extends her left arm towards Iris, who is
advancing towards her on the right. Her head has been
broken off at the base of the neck, but it has probably
been turned towards her companion, who rests her left arm
affectionately on her shoulder, and who probably looked
towards her, as if listening to the news brought by Iris,
though the want of the neck makes it difficult to decide
the motive of this figure. The seats, on which are laid
cushions or folded carpets, are carved out of the marble
with great care and delicacy of finish, the regular
geometrical lines being valuable in opposition to the
varied undulations of the drapery. In the sides and backs
of both seats are oblong sunk panels, in one of which are
illegible graffiti, which more than one archaeologist has
tried unsuccessfully to read as the name of an artist (see
Michaelis, p. 174; Brunn, Griech. Kunstler, I. p. 104),
and the one nearest the angle is ornamented with two
large studs. Most of the writers on the Parthenon, from
Visconti downwards, have named this group Demeter and
Persephone, two Athenian deities, whose cult in Attika
ranked second only to that of Athene herself. This
attribution would be strengthened if the reclining male
figure could be identified with Dionysos, a deity whose
worship in Attika was closely connected with that of the
Eleusinian goddesses. The composition of this group has
suggested to other archaeologists a sisterly rather than a
filial relation. Brondsted was the first to suggest that
they were the two Seasons, and in that case we may either
attribute to them the names Thallo and Auxo, or Thallo
and Karpo, under which appellations the Seasons were
worshipped in Attika, or suppose with Brunn that they
are the Horae who guarded the gates of Olympos. On
this latter assumption the position of Iris would repre-
right wrist of the figure nearest the angle (E) is a dowel
hole, probably for the attachment of a bracelet. Her
companion (F) extends her left arm towards Iris, who is
advancing towards her on the right. Her head has been
broken off at the base of the neck, but it has probably
been turned towards her companion, who rests her left arm
affectionately on her shoulder, and who probably looked
towards her, as if listening to the news brought by Iris,
though the want of the neck makes it difficult to decide
the motive of this figure. The seats, on which are laid
cushions or folded carpets, are carved out of the marble
with great care and delicacy of finish, the regular
geometrical lines being valuable in opposition to the
varied undulations of the drapery. In the sides and backs
of both seats are oblong sunk panels, in one of which are
illegible graffiti, which more than one archaeologist has
tried unsuccessfully to read as the name of an artist (see
Michaelis, p. 174; Brunn, Griech. Kunstler, I. p. 104),
and the one nearest the angle is ornamented with two
large studs. Most of the writers on the Parthenon, from
Visconti downwards, have named this group Demeter and
Persephone, two Athenian deities, whose cult in Attika
ranked second only to that of Athene herself. This
attribution would be strengthened if the reclining male
figure could be identified with Dionysos, a deity whose
worship in Attika was closely connected with that of the
Eleusinian goddesses. The composition of this group has
suggested to other archaeologists a sisterly rather than a
filial relation. Brondsted was the first to suggest that
they were the two Seasons, and in that case we may either
attribute to them the names Thallo and Auxo, or Thallo
and Karpo, under which appellations the Seasons were
worshipped in Attika, or suppose with Brunn that they
are the Horae who guarded the gates of Olympos. On
this latter assumption the position of Iris would repre-