Commentary Prepared by Dr. Julia Lenaghan, Ashmolean Museum

A 086 I
Poseidon, Apollo, and Artemis (Slab 6); Parthenon Frieze East

Marble (Pentelic)
Frieze
W 136 cm

The entire slab was drawn intact by Carrey; L. Ross in 1832 drew the left half only (this cast) that by then was kept inside the Parthenon. Later it was transferred to the Acropolis museum.
Greece, Athens, Acropolis Museum
High Classical, ca. 440-432 BC

Preservation:
The left half of the slab (this cast) is relatively well preserved. The upper and lower right corners with the feet of the middle figure have broken away and are restored; the upper left corner with most of the head of the left figure is preserved and joins break to break. A larger section of the relief ground with the left hand of the middle figure is missing, as is a part of the lower right arm of the female figure on the right. Several fingers and the right foot of the left figure are chipped, and so are some of the stool legs.

Description:
Depicted are three seated figures, all facing to the right, and the right arm of a fourth figure. To the left is a mature, bearded man wearing a himation that is tightly wrapped around his lower body, and sandals. His left arm is bent in the elbow, the lower arm raised, and the clenched left fist seems to have held an attribute of which no trace remains. His right arm is lowered. Further to the right and slightly overlapped by the first man is a second male figure. This man has turned back to the first, so that his torso appears almost frontally and his head in three-quarter profile from the left. His face is youthful and beardless; There are a number of dowel holes in the hair for the addition of a metal attribute. This figure wears a himation that is draped in the conventional fashion over his left shoulder and around his lower body. His left arm is raised, while the right arm almost touches the man further to the left. Next, seated on a slightly lower stool, is a female figure clad in a thin chiton with short sleeves that has almost slipped down her left shoulder, and a mantle that covers the lower part of her body. She is gazing to the right; her hair is held up in a sakkos. The woman’s right hand is raised to her shoulder; there is a small dowel hole in her right hand for the attachment of a metal attribute.

Discussion:
The three gods represented here are usually identified as Poseidon, Apollo, and Artemis. Poseidon sits furthest to the left, a trident may originally have been added in paint in his left hand. He seems to be in conversation with the youthful god next to him, surely Apollo, who has turned to face him. A laurel wreath in his hair and perhaps also a laurel stem in his left hand were originally added in metal. Apollo is probably followed by his sister Artemis, the youthful goddess on the right.

Bibliography:
F. Brommer, Der Parthenonfries (Mainz 1977) 117-121 pls. 163, 1.2; 165; 178-182 A very detailed study of the Parthenon frieze including previous bibliography and ample photographic documentation.
I. Jenkins, The Parthenon Frieze (London 1994) 80 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) 161-164 pl. 136 Detailed study of the Parthenon frieze based on the reconstruction in the Basel cast collection, including an extensive bibliography.