Pediments of the Parthenon in the context of "Parthenon Frieze"

⭐ In the context of the Parthenon Frieze, what sculptural elements, in addition to the frieze itself, constituted the majority of the surviving sculptural decoration of the Parthenon?

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⭐ Core Definition: Pediments of the Parthenon

The pediments of the Parthenon are the two sets of statues (around fifty) in Pentelic marble originally located as the pedimental sculpture on the east and west facades of the Parthenon on the Acropolis of Athens. They were probably made by several artists, including Agoracritos. The master builder was probably Phidias. They were probably lifted into place by 432 BC, having been carved on the ground.

Pausanias, a Greek geographer, described their subjects: to the east, the birth of Athena, and to the west the quarrel between her and Poseidon to become the tutelary deity of Athens.

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👉 Pediments of the Parthenon in the context of Parthenon Frieze

The Parthenon frieze is the low-relief Pentelic marble sculpture created to adorn the upper part of the Parthenon's naos.

It was sculpted between c. 443 and 437 BC, most likely under the direction of Phidias. Of the 160 meters (524 ft) of the original frieze, 128 meters (420 ft) survives—some 80 percent. The rest is known only from the drawings attributed to French artist Jacques Carrey in 1674, thirteen years before the Venetian bombardment that ruined the temple. Along with the 64 Metopes of the Parthenon and 28 figures Pediments of the Parthenon, it forms the bulk of surviving sculpture from the building.

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Pediments of the Parthenon in the context of Elgin Marbles

The Elgin Marbles (/ˈɛlɡɪn/ ELG-in) are a collection of Ancient Greek sculptures from the Parthenon and other structures from the Acropolis of Athens, removed from Ottoman Greece in the early 19th century and shipped to Britain by agents of Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin, and now held in the British Museum in London. The majority of the sculptures were created in the 5th century BC under the direction of sculptor and architect Phidias.

The term Parthenon Marbles or Parthenon Sculptures (Greek: Γλυπτά του Παρθενώνα) refers to sculptures—the frieze, metopes and pediments—from the Parthenon held in various collections, principally the British Museum and the Acropolis Museum in Athens.

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LINKED FROM (PARENTS)
← Elgin Marbles ← Parthenon Frieze ← Parthenon frieze
LINKS TO (CHILDREN)
Pentelic marble → Pedimental sculpture → Parthenon → Acropolis of Athens → Agoracritos → Phidias → Pausanias (geographer) → Athena → Poseidon → Tutelary deity → Athens →