The two main interpretations are Demeter or Amphitrite. On the There is no ancient description of metopes that could give a definitive interpretation.
At the same time, the god is also in the centre of the frieze and pediment.The other metope with three characters is located in XI.Two horses leap diagonally from right to left on the metope east XIV. Athens, 447–438 BC.
The centaur is pitched up and has grabbed the Lapith by the upper body: he pulls his opponent violently backwards, trying to flee.On the southern metope VI, an old man (apparent wrinkles, flaccid skin and drooping tail) Centaur, on the right is opposed to a young Lapith wearing a cloak. The metopes can thus be reasonably dated to the years 447-438 B.C.
The city’s empire stretched from the western Mediterranean to the Black Sea, creating enormous wealth. The position of Lapith's body and arms is reminiscent of those of Harmodios in the Tyrannonos group. His two left legs are still present at the bottom of the metope.On the metope north II, do not see more than the traces of the feet of two characters and a fragment of marble suggesting their torsos. (North : I, XXIX, XXXI and XXXII and east : VI and VIIHowever, the exact date of the destruction of the metopes is unknown and cannot therefore be contextualised. It was the centrepiece of an ambitious building programme on the Acropolis of Athens. Two figures face each other. A silhouette can be seen on the left; she has her right knee on the ground. In the left arm, he carries a large round shield that protrudes above his head. The artist began by drawing the contours of his characters; he then removed the marble outside the drawing, to the "bottom" of the metope; he went on detaching the figure from the bottom; he finished by refining the characters themselves. On the other hand, the head of Lapitha, in place in 1674, was found in 1913 near the On the metope south VII, with the left hand, a Lapith, sometimes identified with Pirithoos, on the left, diagonally assault, a punch in the face of a Centaur who rears himself under the effect of the blow and is pushed on the right edge of the metope; his head even protruded from the upper edge. However, a hole in Centaur's groin could give indications. The metope is at the British Museum. Marble metope from the Parthenon showing the battle between a Centaur and a Lapith. On these drawings there is no Centaur, which leads to a problem of interpretation of the general theme on this side. His left arm is stretched out to the right arm of the female figure on the right, who wears a peplos and has often been identified with Ethra, the mother of Theseus slave of Helen and released by Demophon son of Theseus (or his brother Acamas son of Theseus).Metope North XXVIII is one of the most "charged", with no less than four characters. Some of them appear "old", seeming due to older or more conservative artists; but they could also have been done first. Ascribing the act to Byzantine iconoclasticism is problematic since the pediments and the gods on the east frieze were not also systematically defaced. He wears a short-sleeved garment and a coat that leaves his right shoulder unobstructed. On the left arm, he has a skin of animal, perhaps of panther, which he had to use to protect himself. The intense heat cracked many marble elements, including entablatures and consequently metopes. In drama and philosophy, literature, art and architecture Athens was second to none.
It seems that Athena is the central figure; she would walk to the left, her left arm protected from her shield with the aegis.
The metope is VIII is extremely damaged: a bust is guessed on the left and a shield is discerned in the upper right quarter. This could represent the arrival of reinforcements or the rearguard. A Centaur rears over a Lapithe on the ground. A detail on the front made it possible to hypothesize that the Lapithe could have worn a Corinthian helmet. His two hands are resting on the shoulders of the next figure on the right. Anthony Kaldellis: The Christian Parthenon, Classicism and Pilgrimage in Byzantine Athens, Cambridge, 2009, p.42.South II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, XXVI, XXVII, XXVIII, XXIX, XXX, XXXI et XXXII.North I to III, XXIII (or metope designated by the letter « D ») to XXV, XXVII to XXXII, also one designated by the letter « A » which could be VAttributed to the Painter of Karlsruhe, inv.
If they are read from left to right, from east to west (from north to north, XXXII), then they tell of the arrival of the Greeks and the taking of Troy. This is a naked man in a coat that goes down his back and between the legs. Therefore, this man is sometimes identified as Theseus, founder of Athenian democracy.On the shield: on the outside, Amazons attack the Acropolis; inside, a gigantomachy. His right hand was to hold his veil. On the left, a curled Lapith seeks to protect himself from the attack of the Centaur; he might even beg for mercy.
The Lapithe would be piercing his opponent with a long metal object: lance or spit roasting.
The right arm of Lapith has completely disappeared and his gesture is unknown. The temple's great size and lavish use of white marble was intended to show off the city's power and wealth at the height of its empire.