DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.5253#0364
THE AGE OF PHEIDIAS AND OF POLYCLEITOS.
THE METOPES.
The metopes of the strong Done frieze surrounding the Parthenon,
ninety-two in number, were all sculptured, requiring an expenditure of labor
not found on the metopes of any other existing temple ; judging from their
style, they were executed before the remaining sculptures of the building.
Forty-one of these mutilated groups still crown the lofty pillars; one is in
Athens, detached from the building; eighteen are entirely gone; the best pre-
served, fifteen in number, are in the British Museum; and one is in the Louvre.
These sculptured squares (1.28 by 1.21 meter) present varied scenes, the exact
relationship of which to one another and the rest of the temple-marbles is not
in every case clear, on account of their ruined condition. On the east front
seems to be represented the battle of gods with giants, those personifications
of evil over whom the deities of Olympos came off victorious, chiefly through
the courage of Athena, who, with Zeus and Heracles, destroyed the "fierce
brood." On one of the metopes, still on the building, it is possible to recog-
nize the goddess herself in conflict with her foe. On the west side the sub-
ject seems to be either the mythic conflict of Greeks with Amazons, or the
battle of Marathon. In either case the meaning seems to be the expulsion
of invaders, and establishment of order. The scenes of the longer, the north
and south, sides, are from the conquest of Troy, and the conflicts with the
centaurs which arose at the wedding of the Lapith king, Peirithoos. On one
of them, according to Carrey's drawing, were represented two females, appar-
ently taking refuge by the stiff image of a god. Others represent the bearing
off of the women of the bridal party by the centaurs, or the conflicts of these
monsters with the Greeks; victory seeming now to turn to the side of the war-
riors, and now to that of their foe. In each metope two figures are wrestling;
and so well expressed are the positions, that it would be well-nigh impossible to
change the grip of a hand, or thrust of a foot, without breaking down the whole
artistic structure. In some this vigorous composition is coupled with a harsh-
ness of execution, both in the nude and drapery, in striking contrast to the
perfect freedom in others. An amusing but reliable characteristic of the better
metopes is to be found in the centaurs' tails. It will be seen throughout, that,
where they are thrown up, the sculpture is lively and excellent; but, where they
drop to the ground, there is much harsh archaism in the forms, calling to mind
in many instances the centaur-groups of the Olympia pediment by which the
sculptors of these metopes were evidently greatly influenced.652 To the harsher
class belongs that metope in the British Museum in which the bellicose centaur
rears up, while a youth thrusts one knee against his ponderous weight, and
catches him by the ear and hair. With an expression of great surprise, but
sly determination, the centaur clutches his antagonist by the throat, and slings
the front hoof around the Greek's raised leg, leaving us in uncertainty as to the
THE METOPES.
The metopes of the strong Done frieze surrounding the Parthenon,
ninety-two in number, were all sculptured, requiring an expenditure of labor
not found on the metopes of any other existing temple ; judging from their
style, they were executed before the remaining sculptures of the building.
Forty-one of these mutilated groups still crown the lofty pillars; one is in
Athens, detached from the building; eighteen are entirely gone; the best pre-
served, fifteen in number, are in the British Museum; and one is in the Louvre.
These sculptured squares (1.28 by 1.21 meter) present varied scenes, the exact
relationship of which to one another and the rest of the temple-marbles is not
in every case clear, on account of their ruined condition. On the east front
seems to be represented the battle of gods with giants, those personifications
of evil over whom the deities of Olympos came off victorious, chiefly through
the courage of Athena, who, with Zeus and Heracles, destroyed the "fierce
brood." On one of the metopes, still on the building, it is possible to recog-
nize the goddess herself in conflict with her foe. On the west side the sub-
ject seems to be either the mythic conflict of Greeks with Amazons, or the
battle of Marathon. In either case the meaning seems to be the expulsion
of invaders, and establishment of order. The scenes of the longer, the north
and south, sides, are from the conquest of Troy, and the conflicts with the
centaurs which arose at the wedding of the Lapith king, Peirithoos. On one
of them, according to Carrey's drawing, were represented two females, appar-
ently taking refuge by the stiff image of a god. Others represent the bearing
off of the women of the bridal party by the centaurs, or the conflicts of these
monsters with the Greeks; victory seeming now to turn to the side of the war-
riors, and now to that of their foe. In each metope two figures are wrestling;
and so well expressed are the positions, that it would be well-nigh impossible to
change the grip of a hand, or thrust of a foot, without breaking down the whole
artistic structure. In some this vigorous composition is coupled with a harsh-
ness of execution, both in the nude and drapery, in striking contrast to the
perfect freedom in others. An amusing but reliable characteristic of the better
metopes is to be found in the centaurs' tails. It will be seen throughout, that,
where they are thrown up, the sculpture is lively and excellent; but, where they
drop to the ground, there is much harsh archaism in the forms, calling to mind
in many instances the centaur-groups of the Olympia pediment by which the
sculptors of these metopes were evidently greatly influenced.652 To the harsher
class belongs that metope in the British Museum in which the bellicose centaur
rears up, while a youth thrusts one knee against his ponderous weight, and
catches him by the ear and hair. With an expression of great surprise, but
sly determination, the centaur clutches his antagonist by the throat, and slings
the front hoof around the Greek's raised leg, leaving us in uncertainty as to the