Commentary Prepared by Dr. Julia Lenaghan, Ashmolean Museum

A 091
Figure D ("Dionysos" or "Herakles") from the East Pediment of the Parthenon. London

Beardless Male Divinity Seated on an Animal Skin. From the South Corner of the East Pediment of the Parthenon, dated ca. 430s BC

Marble (Pentelic)
Pedimental Figure
H. 1.30 m, L. ca. 1.75 m

From the Parthenon in Athens. The statue belongs to the South Corner of the East Pediment. It was removed by Lusieri, the agent of Lord Elgin, in 1802 and was assuredly in London in 1810.
United Kingdom, London, British Museum
438/7-434/3 BC

Preservation:
The figure is missing both wrists and hands, the right ankle and right foot, and the left foot. The original surface is not preserved. The statue was fully worked on all sides. The head is battered. The left ear has been removed: There remains an indentation where it once was. The right ear is partially broken off. The hair, on the left side, is worn. On the right side there are indications of long locks. Between the ears at the back of the head are two parallel indentations, possibly a braid or fillet. Below the hairline on the back of the neck the surface has been taken back. The top of the head is only rough picked and at the crown there is a chunk missing that creates a trough down and to the left on the back of the head. The vertical area under the left elbow is roughly picked whereas the drapery on the ground below is carefully worked. It seems, therefore, that the vertical area was not visible. The rear and side of the plinth were cut back so as to fit it into the pediment. There is a drill hole in the right leg along the main axis of the leg where it seems that the separately worked foot was attached. There is another drill hole on the underside of the right lower leg. There is a drill hole in the left foot. It has been suggested that it was for the metal part of a sandal, a piece of the attributed held in the right hand, or for an anklet. The Cast Gallery Cast is missing the drapery and the important animal skin on which the body lies.

Description:
The figure shows a muscular, nude, short-haired, clean-shaven male who reclines. The posture is that of one partaking in a banquet or meal. The figure faces the corner of the pediment and the charioteer who rises from the corner of the pediment. Consequently, the left side of the body faced the viewer. Seated, the figure uses its left arm to support itself. The left arm is bent in an L-shape and the elbow rests on a rocky structure. The right upper arm is lowered but the forearm is raised. Both legs are bent with the knees raised off the ground. Only the buttocks and the heels would have touched the ground. The left leg falls outwards and would have hung over the cornice by about 22 cm. The body is beautifully rendered in a fluid and natural manner.

Discussion:
This reclining male divinity, Figure D, comes from the East Pediment of the Parthenon. Building records from the Parthenon allow us to date the sculpture of the pediments in the 430s BC and perhaps as specifically as 438/7-434/3 BC. The first modern testimony of Figure D is a drawing made by Jacques Carrey, the artist of the French Ambassador, who saw it still in situ in 1674. In 1802 it was removed from the pediment for Lord Elgin, who, initially wanting only to make casts, was so dismayed at the Parthenon sculpture’s state of preservation that he brought it to England. The statue is now on display at the British Museum. Pausanias (1.24.5) writes “All the figures in the gable over the entrance [the East pediment] of the temple called the Parthenon relate to the birth of Athena”. Thus, we are sure of the original subject of the East pediment. The East pediment unfortunately suffered serious damage after the Classical Period. First, when the Parthenon was converted to a church, the center of the East Pediment was destroyed in order to make room for an apse. Second, in 1687 the Venetians, besieging the Turks, shelled the Parthenon which was being used as a powder magazine, causing it to explode. Notwithstanding the damage, modern scholars have been able to reconstruct the principal features of the pediment. At the center was Zeus who had just given birth (from his head) to Athena. Athena and Hera must also have been featured prominently at the center. Hephaistos, who delivered the blow to Zeus’ head that caused Athena to emerge, was also assuredly present. At each corner of the pediment were figures accompanied by chariots. On the viewer’s left side the figure and the team of horses in front of him rise; the figure is generally identified as Helios, the sun God. On the corner to the viewer’s right a female charioteer with a team of horses descends. This figure is identified as Selene (the Moon) or Nyx (Night). For further discussion on these figures and the various interpretations of the pediment, see cat.no. D 107. Figure D is adjacent to and facing the rising Sun. His back is to the center of the pediment and directly against two seated female figures (E and F) usually identified as Demeter and Kore. He sits in the position of a traditional banqueter on his mantle and an animal skin. He lacks all other attributes, although some metal object seems to have been connected to his left ankle and he probably held a drinking vessel in his right hand. The odd carving of the head and missing ears suggests that at some point he might have worn a helmet or a skin cap over his head. Certainly Carrey’s drawing suggests this. Yet it should be kept in mind that the top of his head probably touched the raking cornice of the pediment. Most scholars identify him as either Dionysos or Herakles. Both appear on vase paintings at the Birth of Athena. Both are often shown reclining partaking of drink. Both usually feature a feline animal skin, respectively that of the panther or that of the lion. The argument in favor of Dionysos rests heavily on the fact that the Dionysos of the Lysikrates Monument in Athens (cat.no.A 141), dated 335/334 BC, uses this body type and pose for Dionysos. The argument in favor of Herakles emphasizes that heroic nudity and the muscular male body were trademarks of Herakles. Moreover, as a mortal given immortality, one initiated in the Eleusinian Mysteries, he sits appropriately near to Demeter and Kore. Herakles also had a special relationship to Helios. Finally, as a mortal and a laborer, perhaps he is most suited to be greeting the rising sun. If the figure were wearing headgear, this too would encourage the identification with Herakles. Herakles often wears the lion skin on his head whereas Dionysos is bare-headed. E. Pochmarski has most recently suggested.... J. Lenaghan

Bibliography:
A.H. Smith, British Museum. The Sculptures of the Parthenon (London 1910) 9-10 fig.16
F. Brommer, Die Skulpturen der Parthenon Giebel. Katalog und Untersuchung (Mainz 1963) 7-9, 148-150 pls.26-32 catalogue entry with full bibliography, identifies the figure as Dionysos
W. Fuchs, "F. Brommer,Die Skulpturen der Parthenon Giebel. Katalog und Untersuchung" (Gnomon 39 1967) 161-162 critique of Brommer, considers the skin on which D sits to be decidely that of a panther so Herakles identification should be entirely excluded
E. Harrison, "Athens and Athena in the East Pediment of the Parthenon" (AJA 71 1967) 43-45 presents argument for identifying figure D as Herakles
E. Berger, Die Geburt der Athena im Ostgiebel des Parthenon (Basel 1974) 36 interprets the figure as Dionysos
F. Brommer, Die Parthenon Skulpturen-Metopen, Fries, Giebel, Kultbild (Mainz 1979) 46-47 pl.133 considers the figure to be Dionysos
E. Pochmarski, "Zur Deutung der Figur D im Parthenon-Ostgiebel" Parthenon-Kongress (Mainz 1984)
J. Boardman, The Parthenon and its Sculptures (London 1985) pls.5-8
E. Simon, "El Nacimiento de Atenea en el Frontón Oriental del Partenón" Coloquio sobre el puteal de la Moncloa (Madrid 1986) 70 D is Dionysos
O. Palagia, The Pediments of the Parthenon (Leiden 1998) 19-20 figs.32-35 discussion of preservation status and identity, seriously considers Herakles and Dionysos, opts for Dionysos
M. Lagerlöf, The Sculptures of the Parthenon: Aesthetics and Interpretation (New Haven 2000)