MARBLE Block IX, X & XI: Parthenon SOUTH frieze

Marble relief from the South frieze of the Parthenon. The frieze shows the procession of the Panathenaic festival, the commemoration of the birthday of the goddess Athena.

Left: Block IX shows parts of three horsemen. They wear a chlamys draped over a short tunic. The manes of the horses, standing up like hard bristles as those of Arab horses, are distinctive. Metal reins, which are now lost, were inserted in drill-holes.

Centre: Block X represents three horsemen, dressed in body armour worn over a short tunic with a cloak and animal skin boots with a top flap. The armour is made out of two parts hinged at the sides, beaten to the shape of a male torso. The three riders of this block and the three of the next are dressed identically and form a uniform group of six. Metal reins, which are now lost, were inserted in drill-holes.

Right: Block XI represents parts of three horsemen. They are dressed identically to the ones on the previous block, Block X: body armour worn over a short tunic, probably a cloak and boots. The armour is of the kind made out of two metal parts hinged at the sides, beaten to the shape of a male torso. The head of the middle figure is in the Acropolis Museum, Athens. Metal reins, which are now lost, were inserted in drill-holes. The remains of the three horsemen on this block are uniform in style. However those of the horses on the previous block, Block X, although part of the same group of riders, are carved differently. They were, perhaps, carved by different hands.