Commentary Prepared by Dr. Julia Lenaghan, Ashmolean Museum

A 081
Horsemen and Groom (Slab 47 [42]); Parthenon Frieze North

Marble (Pentelic)
Frieze
W 164 cm

The slab belongs to the large section of the frieze removed by Lord Elgin in 1802 and was subsequently transferred to London.
United Kingdom, London, British Museum
High Classical, ca. 440-432 BC

Preservation:
Both sides of the slab are preserved, the upper left corner has broken off and is restored on the cast (a small fragment joining there with the head of the horse and the head of a further horseman is preserved in the Acropolis Museum, but not included in the cast). The surface is in relatively good condition, with a few abrasions on some of the figures.

Description:
The slab depicts a total of four horses and five figures (the horseman on the outer left is not on the cast) occupying different planes of the relief ground. In the foreground are two horsemen standing next to their mounts, to the left almost frontally a youth clad only with a chlamys over his back, to the right a figure in a short chiton with long sleeves and high boots, attended by a boy servant. Behind them are two mounted horsemen moving to the left. There are large circular dowel holes on the horses’ heads for the attachment of bronze reins.

Discussion:
The north frieze of the Parthenon consisted of 47 slabs, 37 of which are preserved and now divided between various museums (not a single slab remains on the building). Some of the slabs were severely damaged when new windows were broken through the frieze at the time the Parthenon was converted into a Christian church, and a large section in the centre of the frieze was destroyed during the great explosion of 1687. The north frieze starts with a continuation of the cavalcade from the west, now organised into ten distinct ranks, followed by chariots with apobatoi (hoplites dismounting chariots in full race in a show of athletic and military prowess). Together they account for almost half of the north frieze, but whereas horsemen had some role in the Panathenaic procession, the apobatoi are not directly linked to it. Ahead of them are groups of figures walking in procession, among them elders, musicians, pitcher-bearers, tray bearers, and figures leading sheep and cattle as sacrificial victims. This slab forms the western end of the north frieze; it was the first to be seen by a spectator making his way along this side of the Parthenon. It forms a link to the west frieze, again showing horsemen both in preparation and already mounted, but now about to form close ranks rather than individual groups. On the Parthenon frieze in general see also A 79.

Bibliography:
F. Brommer, Der Parthenonfries (Mainz 1977) 68-70 pls. 107-108 A very detailed study of the Parthenon frieze including previous bibliography and ample photographic documentation.
I. Jenkins, The Parthenon Frieze (London 1994) 102 pl. 4 The latest official documentation of the frieze by the British Museum. Jenkins has renumbered some of the slabs and put them in a different order.
E. Berger and M. Gisler-Huwiler, Der Parthenon in Basel. Dokumentation zum Fries (Basel 1996) 104-105 pl. 79 Detailed study of the Parthenon frieze based on the reconstruction in the Basel cast collection, including an extensive bibliography.