188 GALLERY OP ANTIQUITIES. [ELGIN 
Nos. 1—16. Sixteen of the metopes belonging to the j 
Parthenon, (of which No. 9 is a cast in plaster, from 
the original in the Royal Museum at Paris,) which, alter¬ 
nately with the triglyphs, ornamented the frieze of the 
entablature surmounting the colonnade: they represent the ! 
battle between the Centaurs and Lapithee, or rather between 
the Centaurs and Athenians, who under Theseus joined the 
Lapithae (a people of Thessaly) in this contest. In some of 
these sculptures the Centaurs are victorious, in others the 
Athenians have the advantage, while in others, again, the 
victory seems doubtful with respect to either of the com¬ 
batants. These magnificent specimens of ancient art are 
executed with great spirit in alto-relievo; they were seen 
at a height of nearly forty-four feet from the ground. 
(11, 2, 8, 12, 15, 6, 4, 5, 13, 7, 1, 3, 9, 14, 10.) 
The sculptures from 17 to 90 (inclusive) compose the 
exterior frieze of the eella 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 Panathenaea, 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 
