Perry, Walter Copland: Greek and Roman sculpture: a popular introduction to the history of Greek and Roman sculpture (London, 1882)

THE FRIEZE OF THE CELLA.

273

CHAPTER XXIV.

THE SCULPTURES OF THE PARTHENON

(CONTINUED).

The Frieze of the Cella.

BEHIND the Triglyphon, or Doric frieze, with its metopes and triglyphs,
which ran round the whole building above the external columns, we
find another frieze on the Temple itself, under the portico. The inner
Epistyle, or Architrave, above the walls of the Cella, is bordered at its
upper extremity by a slightly projecting tcenia, or fillet, under which
are narrow rcguhr, with the Doric giittcc, as if a triglyphon were
coming above ; instead of which we find the continuous Ionic frieze,
sometimes called Zox^opos (' bearing the figures of living creatures').
This frieze is at nearly the same height (39-40 ft.) from the floor of
the portico as the triglyphon itself, and is about 3 ft. 3 in. in breadth,
and S22_3 ft. long. It is evident from its position that no direct
light could fall upon it, but only the reflected light from the pave-
ment. The high relief of the metopes, therefore, would have been
out of place, as the light streaming from below would have thrown
the upper part of the figures into shade.1 The reliefs of this frieze
consequently are remarkably low, not more than i£-2 in. above the
surface, except in the case of the heads, which arc a little higher.
Even this slight depth was sometimes divided into several surfaces, to
give clearness to the outlines, and the edges are very sharp, and almost
perpendicular to the background. Sometimes, too, in furtherance of
the same object, the surfaces are placed obliquely, and a deep channel

1 Cockcrcll, Anc. Mar. vi. 31. Ellis, Elgin Mar. i. 161.
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