Commentary Prepared by Dr. Julia Lenaghan, Ashmolean Museum

A 094
Figures Land M ("Aphrodite") from the East Pediment of the Parthenon. London

Two female divinities -One sits upright and the other reclines luxuriously in the lap of the first. From the North Corner Zone of the East Pediment of the Parthenon, dated ca. 430s BC

Marble (Pentelic)
Pedimental Figure
L 2.33 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 1809.
United Kingdom, London, British Museum
438/7-434/3 BC

Preservation:
Figures L and M are carved from the same block of marble. Figure L is missing its head; left wrist and left hand; the right arm from just above the elbow down (including the hand); and the front portion of both feet. The right forearm was certainly lost between 1674 and 1765, presumably in the explosion of 1687. Figure M is missing its head; right wrist; left arm from just above the elbow down (including the hand); and both feet. Figure M lost its head again between 1674 and 1765, probably at the same moment that L lost its right forearm. There are two significant cut out areas with roughly picked surfaces in the back of L. One of these areas extends from behind the right shoulder down towards the waist. This area does not show the usual patination. The other cut out area occurs under L’s right buttock in the rocky seat in which the figure sits. There is a much smaller cut out area between the seat and the small of M’s back. On the bottom edge of there appears to be the trace of at least one pry hole. In M there is a hole in the right wrist for the attachment of jewelry. According to Sauer there is also a hole in the folds gathered on the left thigh for an attribute.

Description:
The single block of marble depicts two female figures, L and M (viewer’s left and right). Both sit on a rocky seat that is covered with drapery. Although both are now headless, they once looked toward the corner of the pediment (viewer’s right). L, turned slightly to its left, sits upright with its feet tucked under itself. M, smaller than L and positioned on a lower ledge of the rocky seat, reclines against the left side of L’s body. M’s legs are fully extended and the right ankle crosses over the left. The viewer sees primarily the right side of M’s body. L’s right upper arm is lowered and moves to the right of the body. From Carrey’s drawing we know that the right forearm was raised and poised so that the hand rest near the side of the head. Its left arm wraps around the shoulders of M. M’s right arm is bent at 45 degree angle and the elbow rests between the knees of L. M’s right arm is raised to shoulder level and projects forward from the shoulder, following the path of the extended legs. Both figures wear an inner garment buttoned along the shoulders (chiton) and a heavier outer garment (himation) wrapped mainly around the lower body. On figure L, the heavy outer garment covers the back of the figure is pulled around the legs. Figure L also wears a strap, visible between the right shoulder and the armpit on the front of the body. This strap is to hold the loose garment in place. Figure M wears the heavy outer garment only around her legs. An end or ends bunch between the legs. The inner garment, buttoned along the upper side of the arms, falls off the left shoulder, leaving the bare skin exposed. M has no strap to hold the garment in place. A belt, however, running around the waist is visible at certain points, especially around the back. In certain places bunches of material pull out and fall over the belt, thus concealing it. M also wore jewelry on the right wrist and held a cylindrical attribute in the left hand. The drapery is exquisitely rendered. It falls in abundant and tactile folds. It reflects the body underneath it but neither conceals it nor is subservient to it.

Discussion:
This group of two seated female divinities (L and M) once adorned the north corner zone of the Parthenon’s East Pediment which depicted the Birth of Athena. Building records from the Parthenon allow us to date the sculpture of the pediments to the 430s BC and perhaps as specifically as 438/7-434/3 BC. The first modern testimony of L and M is a drawing made by Jacques Carrey, the artist of the French Ambassador, who saw it still in situ in 1674. In this drawing the head of M and the right arm of L were depicted. In 1765 when William Pars drew the pediments, neither the head nor the arm were still preserved; both presumably were lost during the explosion of 1687 (see cat.no. A 91). The statue group was removed by Lord Elgin’s agent in 1802 and is now on display at the British Museum. For more information on the East Pediment of the Parthenon, see cat.nos. A 91and D 107. The group is admired for its virtuoso carving and is considered the most stylistically advanced of the Parthenon sculptures. The balance between rational, yet decorative, drapery and naturalistic body forms is notable. Figures L and M were close to north corner (viewer’s right) of the Pediment. Figure N, immediately adjacent (to the viewer’s right), of M was a female charioteer, probably Selene (the Moon) or Nyx (Night). The heads of the horses of N’s chariot, (East Figures O, cat.no. A 95, and P) are the final figures in the Pediment. Figures L and M, though now headless, both once looked towards N and the corner of the pediment, away from the central action. Directly next to Figure L was another seated female figure, K, whose body and head turn toward the center of the pediment. L’s right arm, involved in the bridal gesture of pulling the mantle away from the head, actually overlapped this figure K who was still upright and preserved with a head in Carrey’s drawing of 1674. It also been suggested that cut out area in the back of L was for K’s elbow. The large size of the cut out area has also led scholars to postulate a small standing figure, a child, behind L. Regardless of the reason for the cut out area in L’s back, the proximity and contiguous relationship of K, L, and M, suggest a tight connection among the figures. This has led both to now unpopular triadic identifications such as the Fates and to more interesting proposals that they might represent bride, mother, and virgin. The sensuous posture of M, the drapery that slips off its right shoulder, the jewelry, and similarity in pose between M and the figure of Aphrodite on the Parthenon East frieze (cat.no.A 86j) have led almost all scholars to identify M as Aphrodite, an important deity who appears in scenes of the Birth of Athena on vase paintings. The attribute that she held in the left hand is thought to have been a mirror. The other two figures, K and L, have been more variously identified. The most commonly accepted identifications are Hestia, the goddess of the hearth, who is generally a seated figure, and Dione, the mother of Aphrodite, for L, since Aphrodite rests in her lap. Dione, though she may be related to Aphrodite, is not an important deity and does not appear in depictions of the Birth of Athena on vases. (This is true also for Peitho an alternative identification for L.) Therefore, two other noteworthy identifications, Artemis and Themis, have been justifiably proposed for L. Artemis, an important deity and one certainly present at the Birth of Athena, appears on the Parthenon East frieze (cat.no. A 86i) between Apollo and Aphrodite. In addition, the shoulder cord would be appropriate to an active deity. The bridal gesture is interpreted as a connection to Artemis of Brauron who oversaw the maturation of young girls. This identification, however, would compel one to identify Figure G (cat.no. A 92) as a divinity other than Artemis. It also permits one to consider Figure K as Leto, mother of Artemis. Although the Themis identification, proposed by E. Harrison, has gained no written acceptance, it is nonetheless interesting since it allows for various levels of symbolic interpretation. The shoulder cord of Figure L would be appropriate for this female who represented order as would be the bridal gesture since Themis was a bride of Zeus and thus, might use the same iconography of Hera. Themis has various connections with Aphrodite (even perhaps a maternal one) and certainly as the representation of order could be properly seen as embracing and controlling Aphrodite, the representation of sex and marriage. Harrison interprets figures D, E, and G as Demeter, Kore, and Artemis and their pendants, figures K, L, and M, as Hestia, Themis, and Aphrodite on the other. The first three are divinities, who might equally be interpreted as Horai, a threesome concerned with growth and nurturing, and the second three might be associated with the Moirai, a triad concerned with social order. Each group would feature a mother (Demeter and Themis), a bride (Kore and Aphrodite), and a virgin (Artemis and Hestia). J. Lenaghan

Bibliography:
A.H. Smith, British Museum. The Sculptures of the Parthenon (London 1910)
F. Brommer, Die Skulpturen der Parthenon Giebel. Katalog und Untersuchung (Mainz 1963) 18-21, 155-156 catalogue entry with bibliography and discussion of previous research, considers M to be likely to be Aphrodite and leaves the identification of L open
W. Fuchs, "F. Brommer,Die Skulpturen der Parthenon Giebel. Katalog und Untersuchung" (Gnomon 39 1967) 164 in regard to Brommer's assessment of L and M has little to add
E. Harrison, "Athens and Athena in the East Pediment of the Parthenon" (AJA 71 1967) 45 here accepts that M is Aphrodite in the lap of Dione, L
E. Berger, Die Geburt der Athena im Ostgiebel des Parthenon (Basel 1974) 35-36, 40-43 argues that M is Aphrodite, K is Leto, and L is Artemis, not as a huntress but as a goddess concerned with women
E. Harrison, "The Shoulder Cord of Themis" Festschrift für F. Brommer (Mainz 1977) 155-161 identifies figure L as Themis in response to Berger's observations of dress
F. Brommer, Die Parthenon Skulpturen-Metopen, Fries, Giebel, Kultbild (Mainz 1979) pp.48-49 pls.140-141 brief statement that identifies M and L as Aphrodite and Dione
B. F. Cook, The Elgin Marbles (London 1984) 50-51 fig.65 brief discussion in catalogue for general public, adheres to accepted identification as Aphrodite and Dione
J. Boardman, The Parthenon and its Sculptures (London 1985)
E. Simon, "El Nacimiento de Atenea en el Frontón Oriental del Partenón" Coloquio sobre el puteal de la Moncloa (Madrid 1986) 74-75 fig.16 L and M are Artemis and Aphrodite on island in the Ocean
O. Palagia, The Pediments of the Parthenon (Leiden 1998) 21-22 figs.42-43, 45-46 discussion of preservation, appearance, and identity, considers L and M to be Artemis and Aphrodite
M. Lagerlöf, The Sculptures of the Parthenon: Aesthetics and Interpretation (New Haven 2000)