A catalogue of sculpture in the Department of ... - Warburg Institute

FRIEZE OF PARTHENON. 147The subject of the frieze of the Parthenon has beenconsidered, by most of the writers who have discussedit, to be connected with the Pauathenaic procession atAthens. Those who have held a different view havebeen the eaily travellers, such as Cyriac of Ancona, whodescribed the subject of the frieze as Athenian 'victoriesin the time of Pericles,' and a few recent authors.Davidson (TAe Parthenon Frieze) sees in the frieze a repiesentationof a Panhellenic assembly, which Periclestried to collect at Athens without success. Weber andBoetticher held that the scene represented is the preparationand reheartsal, rather than the procession itself.C. Petersen thought that different festivals are representedon different sides * (cf. Michaelis, p. 205).* The frieze of the Parthenon records in sculpture the passionatedelight with which Greeks, and more particularly Athenians ( cf. Hel.Aeth., III. 1), regarded festal processions.A vivid commentary on the Parthenon frieze is to be found in the thirdbook (chaps, i.-iii.) of the Aethiopica of the novelist Heliodorus. Thepassage adds the sound, colour, and movement needed for a complete conceptionof the scene. The writer, however, is describing the procession ofa Thessalian embassy at Delphi, and some of the details only partially agreewith those of the frieze. "The Hecatomb led the procession, escorted bymen initiated in the mysteries. These were somewhat rustic in dress andmanner, and had their white tunics closely girded. The right shoulderand breast were bare, and they carried an axe in the right hand. Thebulls were followed by a crowd of other victims, each kind being ledseparately and in order. Meanwhile flute and pipe were playing a melodywhich was, as it were, an introduction to the sacrifice. The cattle andtheir escort were followed by maidens with flowing hair. They were intwo troops ; the first carried baskets of fruits and flowers, the secondtroop carried flat baskets (Kava Kavriopovffai) with sweetmeats andincense, and filled the place with sweet smells. They bore their burdenson their heads leaving their hands free, and kept their ranks true bothfrom front to rear and from side to side, that they might march anddance while the first troop gave the time, singing a hymn in honour ofThetis. The troops were so harmonious and the sound of marching wasso accurately timed to the song, that hearing seemed better than seeing,and the spectators followed the maidens as they passed as if they wereL 2