Page:Greek Buildings Represented by Fragments in the British Museum (1908).djvu/157

 THE PARTHENON AND ITS SCULPTURES. 141 on the hand of the Parthenos within ; is it not probable that Victories also surmounted the temple without ? The whole com- position of the west front would thus represent — -in the pediment Athena taking Athens under her protection of old time; her present help in the Persian War on the metopes ; the votive shields on the architrave ; a Victory as acroterion. Types ok Athena. The colcjssal statue of the interior must have been amazing in its glorious beauty, and yet severely restrained dignity. " The sweet white of the face and naked arms, set in the gold of hair and peplos, formed a vision of supernatural splendour." * It stood, with its pedestal, nearly 40 feet high ; several copies, though for the most part small and late, agree so closely together that the main facts are certainly known. The finest is now at Berlin ; it was found at Pergamos, is about 10 feet high, and dates probably from the second century B.C. At Berlin is also a coloured copy of the head. The goddess stood erect, gazing along the axis of the temple to the eastern door and the sky beyond. Her left leg was slightly bent, giving delightful diversity to the folds of her long peplos. Her e.x- tended right hand supported a winged Victory ; the left held her round shield edge-ways and rest- ing on the ground. On her breast was the Jegis, and her tower- ing helmet was magnificently crested with sphinx and horses.-f t -Some coins show a chariot and horses conducted by a Nike on each side. Other representations show projecting horses along the front. These are possibly the sources of the horses on some ornamental vases of the third <:cntury from Southern Italy; and proceeding from this it seems likely that there are many echoes of the Parthenos on these vases. .Some have fine heads of Athena with a Nike above, others have a Gorgon's head encircled by winged snakes set in front. The design of this is so fine that we may suppose the head on Athena's shield or a3gis was of this type. One vase in the Museum besides the horses has Hippocamps painted on the sides, and the rest of the body is covered with an interesting scale pattern, which last with the Gorgon may recall the pattern of .'Vthena's regis. Fig. 144- Athena.
 * Lechat.