| Description: |
Parthenon East Frieze VI. London, British Museum. H. 1.06m. From the left: Poseidon, bearded, sits straight-backed, raising his left hand in which he held his sceptre of office. In front of him, Apollo turns in his chair to converse with his uncle, his pose relaxed and casual. Before him sits his twin sister Artemis, her hair bound in a sakkos, her right hand holding her dress over her breasts as she gestures to Aphrodite on the next section of the frieze. |
| Discussion: |
The gods here are life-size, larger than the humans that surround them on the frieze. There is still some discussion on the meaning behind the Parthenon frieze, but all scholars agree that it represents the Panathenaea, the great festival celebrating Athena's birth that took place every Hekatombaion (July), with a special event every four years. Each year, the cult statue was presented with a new peplos; every fourth year, it was carried on board a wheeled ship. The festival depicted on the Parthenon frieze seems to be a mixture of Great Panathenaea and normal Panathenaea; the peplos was carried through the city accompanied by the cavalry, maidens, elders, metics, etc. But the frieze, some people believe, also |
