172 
GALLERY OF ANTIQUITIES. 
[ELGIN 
exterior frieze of the cella of the Parthenon^ which em¬ 
bellished the upper part of the walls within the colonnade 
at the height of the frieze of the pronaos, and which was 
continued in an uninterrupted series of sculpture entirely 
round the temple. It is in very low relief. The subject 
represents the sacred procession which took place at the 
great Panathensea, a festival which was celebrated every 
fifth year, at Athens, in honour of Minerva, the patroness 
of the city. The bas-reliefs which compose this frieze are 
arranged, as nearly as can be ascertained, in the order in 
which they were originally placed in the Parthenon; se¬ 
veral alterations having been made on their removal to their 
present situation, in consequence of a more careful examina¬ 
tion and minute comparison of them with drawings made 
before their removal from the temple. Those on the prin¬ 
cipal front of the temple, namely the east, commence on 
the left hand of the visitor as he enters the room, then 
follow those of the north, and lastly those of the west 
and south. 
Nos. 17—24. That portion of the above-mentioned 
frieze which occupied the east end of the temple. On two 
of the slabs which compose this part of the frieze are 
represented divinities and deified heroes, seated; namely. 
Castor and Pollux, Ceres and Triptolemus, Jupiter and 
Juno, and iEsculapius and Hygeia. There was originally 
a third slab, which represented four other divinities, also 
seated, but it has disappeared for many years. On the 
right and left of these sacred characters, are trains of 
females with their faces directed to the gods, to whom they 
are carrying gifts : we see also directors or regulators of the 
procession, among whom are the officers whose duty it was 
to receive the presents that were offered. These females 
appear to have headed the procession, and to have been 
followed by the victims, charioteers, horsemen, &c., both 
on the north and south sides of the temple, which toge- 
gether formed a procession up to the same point in two 
separate columns. Nos. 20 and 23 are casts in plaster, pre¬ 
sented by Sir Francis Chantrey. The original of the latter 
is in the Royal Museum at Paris. The upper parts of two 
of the figures in No. 21, the legs and right arm of the 
youthful figure in No. 22, and the two figures placed under 
he latter number, are also of plaster, from moulds made 
