DESCRIPTION

No R 01
Athens, Acropolis Museum/London, British Museum.
East pediment of the Parthenon.
(The reconstruction of Mrs. Harrison)

Zeus is seated on a throne. He is represented almost facing. Seated, he is as tall as the surrounding standing figures. The feet rest on a footstool. The right arm is hanging down, the hand grasping a thunderbolt. The left forearm is extended obliquely upward, the hand holding a staff. The god has short-cropped beard and hair. His dress consists of a himation.

Athena is represented in a sprinting position, head in profile to the left, the body almost facing, the legs almost in profile to the right. Her dress consists of a peplos. She wears a helmet, carries a shield and holds a spear. She is standing at the right side of Zeus.

There are three groups of deities on each side of the picture. On the right Poseidon, characterised as such by his trident, and Amphitrite, on a horse, form the first group. The second group is composed of Hebe, Ares, and Hermes. The third group consists of Hestia, Dione and Aphrodite. On the left side Hephaistos, identified by the axe, his mother Hera and Dionysos form the first group. The second group is composed of Leto with her children: Apollo and Artemis. The third group consists of Demeter, her daughter Kore and Herakles. In the corners of the pediment Helios and Selene are complementary to each other.

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