DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.18216#0161
FRIEZE OF PARTHENON.
147
The subject of the frieze of the Parthenon has been
considered, by most of the writers who have discussed
it, to be connected with the Panathenaic procession at
Athens. Those who have held a different view have
been the early travellers, such as Cyriac of Ancona, who
described the subject of the frieze as ' Athenian victories
in the time of Pericles,' and a few recent authors.
Davidson (The Parthenon Frieze) sees in the frieze a re-
presentation of a Panhellenic assembly, which Pericles
tried to collect at Athens without success. Weber and
Boetticher held that the scene represented is the pre-
paration and rehearsal, rather than the procession itself.
C. Petersen thought that different festivals are repre-
sented on different sides * (cf. Michaelis, p. 205).
* The frieze of the Parthenon records in sculpture the passionate
delight with which Greeks, and more particularly Athenians ( cf. Hel.
Aeth., III. 1), regarded festal processions.
A vivid commentary on the Parthenon frieze is to be found in the third
book (chaps, i.—iii.) of the Aethiopica of the novelist Heliodorus. The
passage adds the souDd, colour, and movement needed for a complete con-
ception of the scene. The writer, however, is describing the procession of
a Thessalian embassy at Delphi, and some of the details only partially agree
with those of the frieze. " The Hecatomb led the procession, escorted by
men initiated in the mysteries. These were somewhat rustic in dress and
manner, and had their white tunics closely girded. The right shoulder
and breast were bare, and they carried an axe in the right hand. The
bulls were followed by a crowd of other victims, each kind being led
separately and in order. Meanwhile flute and pipe were playing a melody
which was, as it were, an introduction to the sacrifice. The cattle and
their escort were followed by maidens with flowing hair. They were in
two troops ; the first carried baskets of fruits and flowers, the second
troop carried flat baskets (icava Kavr)(popov<jai) with sweetmeats and
incense, and filled the place with sweet smells. They bore their burdens
on their heads leaving their hands free, and kept their ranks true both
from front to rear and from side to side, that they might march and
dance while the first troop gave the time, singing a hymn in honour of
Thetis. The troops were so harmonious and the sound of marching was
so accurately timed to the song, that hearing seemed better than seeing,
and the spectators followed the maidens as they passed as if thev were
L 2
147
The subject of the frieze of the Parthenon has been
considered, by most of the writers who have discussed
it, to be connected with the Panathenaic procession at
Athens. Those who have held a different view have
been the early travellers, such as Cyriac of Ancona, who
described the subject of the frieze as ' Athenian victories
in the time of Pericles,' and a few recent authors.
Davidson (The Parthenon Frieze) sees in the frieze a re-
presentation of a Panhellenic assembly, which Pericles
tried to collect at Athens without success. Weber and
Boetticher held that the scene represented is the pre-
paration and rehearsal, rather than the procession itself.
C. Petersen thought that different festivals are repre-
sented on different sides * (cf. Michaelis, p. 205).
* The frieze of the Parthenon records in sculpture the passionate
delight with which Greeks, and more particularly Athenians ( cf. Hel.
Aeth., III. 1), regarded festal processions.
A vivid commentary on the Parthenon frieze is to be found in the third
book (chaps, i.—iii.) of the Aethiopica of the novelist Heliodorus. The
passage adds the souDd, colour, and movement needed for a complete con-
ception of the scene. The writer, however, is describing the procession of
a Thessalian embassy at Delphi, and some of the details only partially agree
with those of the frieze. " The Hecatomb led the procession, escorted by
men initiated in the mysteries. These were somewhat rustic in dress and
manner, and had their white tunics closely girded. The right shoulder
and breast were bare, and they carried an axe in the right hand. The
bulls were followed by a crowd of other victims, each kind being led
separately and in order. Meanwhile flute and pipe were playing a melody
which was, as it were, an introduction to the sacrifice. The cattle and
their escort were followed by maidens with flowing hair. They were in
two troops ; the first carried baskets of fruits and flowers, the second
troop carried flat baskets (icava Kavr)(popov<jai) with sweetmeats and
incense, and filled the place with sweet smells. They bore their burdens
on their heads leaving their hands free, and kept their ranks true both
from front to rear and from side to side, that they might march and
dance while the first troop gave the time, singing a hymn in honour of
Thetis. The troops were so harmonious and the sound of marching was
so accurately timed to the song, that hearing seemed better than seeing,
and the spectators followed the maidens as they passed as if thev were
L 2