142 
room xv. relief. The subject represents the sacred proces- 
Antiquities. sion 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 it could be ascer¬ 
tained, and was compatible with the construction 
of the present room, in the same order as they 
were originally placed in the Parthenon. Those 
on the principal front of the temple, namely the 
east, are placed first, then follow those of the 
north, and lastly those of the west and south : 
they are arranged, in short, in the same manner 
in which they would be seen by the spectator 
who approached the temple by the east, and 
walked round it by the north, west, and south. 
No. 15—21. That portion of the above-men¬ 
tioned 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 Pol¬ 
lux, Ceres and Triptolemus, Jupiter and Juno, 
and Aesculapius and Hygeia. There was origi¬ 
nally a third slab, which represented four other 
divinities, also seated, buf it has disappeared for 
many years. On the right and left of these sa¬ 
cred characters, are trains of females with their 
faces directed to the gods, to whom they are car¬ 
rying 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 
