Parthenon. East frieze. Block 6 (VI)
Inventory number
Ακρ. 856
Artist
Pheidias' workshop
Category
Architectural sculpture
Period
Classical Period
Date
442-438 BC
Dimensions
1.01 x 4.17 x 0.48 m
Left part of block: 1.01 x 1.31 x 0.48 m
Fragment of Artemis’ feet and garment: 0.355 x 0.31 x 0.105 m
Fragment of Artemis' garment: 0.18 x 0.1 x 0.09 m
Fragment of Aphrodite's dressed hand: 0.28 x 0.19 x 0.09 m
Fragment of Aphrodite's garment and seat: 0.33 x 0.29 m
Fragment of Aphrodite's head: 0.1 x 0.15 x 0.05 m
Fragment of Aphrodite's garment: 0.11 x 0.1 x 0.04 m
Upper right part of block with a teletarch's head: 0.14 x 0.52 x 0.155 m
Fragment of teletarch's foot: 0.12 x 0.13 x 0.05 m
Material
Marble from Penteli
Location
Parthenon Gallery
The left half of Block VI that adjoins the plaster cast of the original half right, exhibited today in the British Museum in London. On the plaster copy some original fragments have been adjusted, among which one with Artemis feet that was returned from the A. Salinas Museum in Palermo, Sicily and was permanently joined on the cast in June 2022. The sawing of the right part of the block was probably caused by Thomas Bruce, the lord of Elgin in order to easily transport it to London.
On the left side of Block VI, four deities seated comfortably on stools engage in conversation having turned their back to the central scene of the dedication of the Panathenaic peplos depicted on Block V (Ακρ. 855). The first from the left is Poseidon. Next to him are seated Apollo, his sister Artemis and Aphrodite. Little Eros rests his right hand on his mother’s, Aphrodite, knees whereas in his other hand holds a parasol to protect her delicate skin from the sun. Eros’ figure is not preserved, however, we know about his posture thanks to a plaster copy of Block VI commissioned in 1787 for Auguste de Choiseul-Gouffier.
The right part of Block VI depicts four male figures: one beardless youth and three older bearded men leaning on their staffs, usually recognised as Eponymous Heroes of Attica. The last two figures on the block with their himatia wrapped around their waist are interpreted as parade marshals (teletarches) who receive and make signals to the women’s procession of the Panathenaic festival approaching from the (Ακρ. 1258).
The frieze on the east side of the Parthenon shows the arrival on the Acropolis of the procession formed by the people of Athens during the festival of the Panathenaia in honour of the protectress of the city, Athena. The procession’s destination was the Temple of Athena Polias. Its purpose was the transportation of the Panathenaic peplos destined to adorn the age-old xoanon of the goddess and the offer of a grand sacrifice of animals at the Great Altar outside of the temple.
The converging groups of women from both sides of the east frieze hold ritual vessels and are received by supervisors. The central scene, right above the temple's entrance, depicts the giving of the Panathenaic peplos and takes place in the presence of the Olympian gods who are rendered at a larger scale than the mortals. The gods are flanked with ten male figures, possibly the Eponymous Heroes of Attica, the mythical progenitors of the Athenian tribes.
The east frieze is relatively well preserved as the explosion of the Parthenon by the Venetians under the command of the general Francesco Morosini, in 1687, did not cause many damages on this side of the temple. The drawings attributed to the painter Jacques Carrey, who visited the Acropolis in 1674, just thirteen years before the bombardment by Morosini, help our understanding of a few missing parts of this side of the frieze.
The total length of the east frieze is 21.18 m. It is formed of eight blocks, but sometimes scholarly work refers to nine blocks as one of the slabs was initially treated as being ma
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