114 
GREEK GALLERIES. 
No. 16 c. Cast of a metope ; Centaur bearing off a female. Re¬ 
cently discovered at Athens. 
The sculptures from 17 to 90 (inclusive) compose the exterior frieze 
of the cella of the Parthenon, which embellished 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 Panathenaea, a festival 
which was celebrated every firth 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, several alterations having been 
made on their removal to their present situation, in consequence of a 
more careful examination and minute comparison of them with draw¬ 
ings 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. 
2. The Frieze. 
Nos. 17—24. That portion of the above-mentioned frieze which 
occupied the east end of the temple. On two of the slabs which com¬ 
pose this part of the frieze are represented divinities and deified heroes, 
seated; namely, Castor and Pollux, Ceres and. Triptolemus, Jupiter 
and Juno, iEsculapius and Hygeia. A third slab, which represented 
four other divinities, also seated, has been destroyed. 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 fe¬ 
males 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 together formed a procession up to the 
same point in two separate columns. Nos. 20 and 23 are casts in 
plaster, presented 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 the latter number, are also 
of plaster, from moulds made before the destruction of these figures, 
which took place before the marbles came into the possession of Lord 
Elgin. (16, 17, 18, 18*, 19, 20, A 100, 21.) 
Nos. 25—46. A portion of the same frieze, taken from the north 
side of the temple. No. 25 is a fragment of a much larger slab; it 
represents two of the Metceci , or strangers, who settled at Athens, and 
were allowed to take part in the procession. They carry on their 
shoulders a kind of tray filled with cakes and other articles. The re¬ 
mainder of this part of the frieze represents charioteers and horsemen. 
Among the latter are seven slabs, (Nos. 37—43,) which, whether we 
consider the elegance of the compositions, or the spirit with which the 
figures of the men and horses are executed, present us with the highest 
effort of the art of sculpture in the class of low relief. No. 46 having 
been placed at the south-west corner of the temple, the figure sculptured 
