Inventory number
Ακρ. 20708
Artist
Pheidias' workshop
Category
Architectural sculpture
Period
Classical Period
Date
445-440 BC
Dimensions
Height: 1.35 m
Length: 1.137 m
Material
Marble from Penteli
Location
Parthenon Gallery
Metope 1 depicts a mounted Amazon who rushes into battle. With her left hand she holds the reigns whereas with the right she brandishes a spear against an opponent. Many believe that she is queen Antiope herself, who fell in battle, fighting bravely on the side of her husband, Theseus. The episode occurs on the Areopagus where according to the legend the Amazonomachy took place.
The fourteen metopes on the west side of the Parthenon depict the Amazonomachy, the struggle of Athenian youths and their king Theseus against the Amazons. The Amazons, a mythical tribe of women-warriors from the Black Sea, invaded Athens threatening even the Acropolis. The reason for the invasion was the kidnapping of their queen Antiope by Theseus.
The regular alternating subjects on the west metopes are either a mounted Amazon that defeats her enemy, who has fallen on the ground, or two unmounted fighting opponents. All men are depicted naked whereas women are dressed. The damages were provoked mainly by intentional hammering perhaps during the conversion of the Parthenon into a Christian church.
The bombardment of the Parthenon by Fransesco Morosini in 1687 did not affect the west metopes. The damaged figures did not attract the attention of Thomas Bruce, lord of Elgin, who between 1801 and 1804 when Greece was under Ottoman occupation, detached big part of the Parthenon sculptures that ended up in the British Museum in London.
Today four of the west metopes are exhibited in the Acropolis Museum (nrs. 1, 2, 13, 14). They were removed from the monument in 2012 for their protection against air pollution and bad weather conditions. The remaining nine are still in their original position on the Parthenon as they cannot be taken off the monument for technical reasons. The Acropolis Museum displays their plaster copies with the exception of metope 6, a cast of which has not been made as its surface retains no trace of its relief decoration.
We use cookies to improve your experience on our site
The use of your data is described in the privacy settings