Parthenon, North Frieze, Slab 39
By Phidias. High Classical 442-438BCE.
The Parthenon is related to the Greater Panathenaic festival. It took place for 8 days. To honour Athena.
Frieze is not architectural figure that you put on a Doric building. So Parthenon is really different. Unbroken, continuous, beautiful figures that you never see in any order of Greek buildings.
The meaning of the figures in the parthenon frieze is not a photograph or snapshot of everything that took place during the game. Idealized representation of the Greater Panathenaic festival
There must be a reason why Athenians choose to include certain things in the parthenon frieze.There is something shown in the Parthenon games that were not there. We don’t see the major participants at the games.
Multiple meanings: Athenian nationalism; imperialist messages; democratic system is also found in the context
We see mortals on the sacred building. These were idealized mortals.
The john-boardman theory says that these are horsemen that are heroic that died at the battle of marathon, being extraordinarily deified. In his reconstruction of the frieze, he feels that there are 192 figures on the frieze. There were 192 Marathon warriors that died at the battle of Marathon.
The Athenians may have been representing the falling historic warriors taking place in their last panathenaic game. Or, showing them leading the army to the battle. Or, the fallen warriors already dead, deified after their death.
Front of the buildings = Gods and Goddesses greeting them.
The housemen are taking up 70% of the frieze. Viewer are visually being led from the back to the front.
One set of the horsemen goes up from the southwest corner up to northwest corner and then it turns towards the northeast corners. They are being greeted in the front by Gods and Goddesses. On the other side, there is a row of horsemen from the Southwest going towards the Southeast corner, also being greeted by the Gods and Goddesses.
Everything in the frieze is largely capturing from the procession from sacred game to Athena's altar. Sacred sunrise = sunrise on day 8th of the festival. The procession marked itself so that it is arrives just at sunrise.
There is a Northwest Gate, this is the sacred gate, only used in the sacred festivals, only used for panathenaic procession. As we know, there is not actually any processions that took place in the festivals.
All these warriors look the same. This is because they represent the same thing. All the heads are beardless.
(Something about sunhats)
Warriors are grouped in 10s. Participation of Athenian men into the democratic system is groued in groups of 10. Thus, this is a reference to their political system.
The frieze was super hard to see because it was behind the doric columns and metopes and pediments.
The horse looks very lifelike. The human figures are very idealized. Some are bareheaded and some wearing travel hats.
Extraordinarily showing skill and depth. Its extraordinary to see all this when the stone is only 3 inches deep.
There are 2 horsemen on the 192 men are bearded. Perhaps they are military leaders. The horses are full of life. The horsemen are calm and plastic, but pulling on the horse to calm them down. Sophrosyne and the full of life and animalistic horses.
- Major participants of Panatheniac festival are missing
- Athenian citizens, male and female
- hoplite warriors
- There’s no separation of secular life and sacred world
- 70% cavalcade
- you should not have mortals on this sacred function building
- very radical
- they must have special meanings
- theory: heroic warriors that died at the battle of Marathon; extraordinary honored
- 192 heroicized horseman
- according to the technical historical record (the first source); Athenians lost 192 hoplite warriors at the battle of Marathon
- they are specially honored; they were buried there and Athenians went there every year to make offerings
-figure decorated band that wraps around the entire building
-order is important – a narrative chronological order (there are chapters)
-the starting point – SW
-horsemen taking up 70% of the frieze
- 2 sets of them
- they are moving (there are movement)
- they are taking you from the back of building and leading you to the front
- 2 sets of processions: up (W) – right (N); right (S)
- symbolism: sacred moment of immortalization of Marathon warriors being greeted by Gods and Goddesses
-when the story starts: gather before the sunrise of the day on the 5th day; they assembly and process to the altar of Athena; NW Gate of Athens (the main gate); The gate to the south (the sacred gate; only used during the sacred festival; only used for the sacred procession – warriors, sacrifices, etc.)
-Athenians are not representing the reality
-These horsemen have the same symbolism and same meaning
- Making them younger
- Heroically nude (they would be armed and on horses)
- Partially clothed (travelling clothes and hats)
-Maybe originally arranged in 10 groups
- The number 10 (very special meaning)
- The heart and basis of the democratic constitution is arranged in 10 separate voting tribes
- This might be a deliberate reference to the democratic order
- The glorification of their own political system (they are the only democratic system at the time)
-We lost a lot of finished, bronze details
-Variations in figures
-Horses are very naturalistic, making lots of noise
- Cosmological order
- Deliberately contrast in Sophrosyne, pathos and ethos, b/w animalistic horses and civilized, heroic warriors
-High technical quality
-Spatial depth
-There are 2 horseman that have beard
- Special
- Some military leaders, generals?