254 GALLERY OF ANTIQUITIES. [ELGIN 
Oceanus, and the messenger of the celestial deities, parti¬ 
cularly of Juno. Iris is represented in quick motion, 
with her veil inflated and fluttering behind her; and she 
appears evidently in haste to execute the mission on which 
she is sent, that of communicating to the distant regions of 
the earth the important intelligence of the birth of Mi¬ 
nerva. (74.) 
No. 96. A torso of Victory. The wings of this figure 
were probably of bronze: the holes in which they were 
fastened to the marble may still be seen. ( 72 , 262.) 
No. 97. A group of the three Fates. (67, 63.) 
No. 98. The head of one of the horses belonging to the 
chariot of Night, which was represented plunging into the 
ocean on the right angle of the east pediment, that is to 
say, the right angle in reference to the spectator. The 
car of Day has been already described, (Nos. 91, 92,) as it 
was represented rising out of the waters on the opposite 
angle of the same pediment. (68.) 
No. 99. A recumbent statue, supposed to be of the 
river-god Ilissus. The Ilissus was a small stream that ran 
along the south side of the plain of Athens. This figure, 
which, with the exception of the Theseus, is the finest in the 
collection, occupied the left angle of the west pediment. (70.) 
No. 100. The torso of a male figure, supposed to be 
that of Cecrops, the founder of Athens. (70.) f 
No. 101. The upper part of the head of Minerva. (See 
the following No.) This head was originally covered with 
a bronze helmet, as appears from the holes by which it 
was fastened to the marble: and the sockets of the eyes, 
which were originally filled with metal or coloured stones, 
are now hollow. (118.) 
No. 102. A fragment of the statue of Minerva, one of 
the principal figures in the west pediment, and of nearly 
the same proportions as the torso of Neptune, from the same 
pediment. (No. 103.) This fragment consists of a portion 
only of the chest of the goddess, which is covered, as usual, 
with the aegis. The angles of the aegis appear to have 
been ornamented with bronze serpents, and the centre of 
it to have been studded with the head of Medusa, of the 
same metal; the holes in which these ornaments were 
fastened to the marble are plainly visible. The upper 
part of the head of this statue, the feet, and apportion of 
