: each side of her then Venus on the his fallen adversary, who has a lion's lap of Dione, and Tethys, and lastly skin. 2. A male figure contending Ilissus and Callirrhöe-the corners with another holding a bow, a panther being thus occupied by the local rivers, between them. 3. A hero bearing a so that the whole pediment represented shield, about to slay a bearded adAttica. versary. 4. Minerva Gigantophontis, another figure behind. 5. A female in a biga, perhaps Minerva, as the inventress of chariots for war or racing. 6. A hero, perhaps Hercules, destroying a bearded figure; rocks behind. 7. Minerva taming Pegasus for Bellerophon. 8. A hero in armour attacks a bearded figure seated. 9. Hercules with the stolen tripod is seized by Apollo. 10. A female in a biga. 11. Theseus delivering an Athenian from the Minotaur. 12. Minerva Gigantophontis. 13. A hero in armour about to slay a fallen adversary. 14. A biga rising from the water; two fishes near the wheels. The metopes, or the sculptures in high relief on the exterior frieze of the peristyle between the triglyphs, were 92 in number, 14 on the fronts, and 32 on the sides; their form is generally nearly square, 4 ft. 2 in. cach way. Part of the pre-eminence of the Parthenon over other Greek Doric temples was due to the fact that all the metopes were ornamented with sculpture: these metopes were of remarkable spirit and variety of treatment, and were executed, there is reason to believe, by different artists, under the superintendence of Phidias. All those towards the middle part of the flanks were thrown down by the explosion. Those of the two fronts remain in their places; and, together with those which remain on the N. side, are, and have been for a long time, in a very mutilated state. Those of the S. side escaped mutilation; and, in consequence of their better preservation, were drawn by Carrey in 1674, whilst he omitted the rest; and such as escaped the explosion were removed, 15 to London and 1 to Paris. One only, the westernmost, remains on the temple. This metope has reference to the war with the Centaurs, as had all those of the S. flank, with the exception of 9, from the thirteenth to the twenty-first from the western end, as appears from the drawings of Carrey. The following account of the metopes which remain on the building, and of the Panathenaic frieze, is abridged from Leake's description, p. 545. On the eastern front the metopes seem to relate to the actions of Minerva herself, and of the principal Athenian heroes, treated nearly in the same manner in which we often find them on the Ceramic paintings of Athens. Beginning from the S., the first metope represents a hero about to kill On the N. side three metopes remain in position at the E., and nine at the W. end. These generally represent female figures, and may have related to the contest of the Athenians with the Amazons, as the other side of the temple relates to their other great fabulous contest. It appears, however, that nine of the metopes on this side represented Centaurs (see Bröndsted, Voy., &c.,' p. 273). But the subjects of the greater number are scarcely distinguishable. The westernmost is very beautiful, and well preserved, and represents a woman draped holding a large veil with both hands, and standing before a draped figure seated upon a rock. The fourth from the W. represents Bellerophon, and Pegasus drinking: the eighth, two females before an altar. Besides these, a few pieces have been found among the fragments during the excavations, and were lately to be seen, some near the W. end, and others in the interior of the Naos. On the western front the seventh and eighth from the S. are obliterated; but it appears from the rest that alternately a man on horseback with a prostrate man below him, and two combatants on foot, were represented the whole probably relating to the warlike exploits of the Athenians. There is an Oriental character in the dress of some of the many trampling feet so full of motion. vanquished combatants. Panathenaic Frieze.-The frieze, which crowned the exterior of the σŋkòs, or cella, was covered throughout its whole extent with sculptures in low relief, about 3 ft. high, representing the procession of the greater or quadrennial Panathenæa. This composition, although treated very poetically, is yet on the whole correctly descriptive of what actually took place. Carrey's drawings, and the 335 ft. out of 525 which actually remain of this frieze, give us a tolerably adequate idea of the entire work. In the centre of the eastern end were twelve deities seated on chairs: six faced the S. and six the N. These two groups were separated by five standing figures, representing a priestess of Minerva and the girls called Arrhephore in the act of celebrating the mystery of Erichthonius, and the offering of the peplus. Towards these deities the procession advanced in two parallel lines from W. to E., one along the northern, the other along the southern side of the temple, and faced inwards after turning the two angles of the eastern front, so as to converge from both sides towards the centre. Jupiter, seated on a chair adorned with a sphynx and accompanied by Juno, with Hebe in attendance, Mars, Ceres, Bacchus, and Mercury received the southern procession. In front of them stood six magistrates; then eleven young women; then a magistrate occupying the southern corner, and looking round at that part of the procession which followed. First come the sacrificial oxen; some quietly moving along, others violently struggling against the men who are leading them. After these females; then quadrige; and lastly that most admirable part of the composition-the horsemen, the élite of Athens, imbued with the graceful elasticity of a youth trained in the gymnasium, their features lighted up with a modest pride and exultation, on account of the service they are called on that day to perform; and no less admirable are the horses and their These extended as far as the western angle, where the last horseman is accompanied by a man on foot. The deities at the middle of the E. end, who receive the northern procession, seem to be Esculapius and Hygieia, Poseidon, Theseus, Agraulos, and Pandrossus, and with them the young Erechtheus. Six magistrates stand before them, and a seventh, turning round to the young women that follow him. These follow singly, bearing vases, pateræ, &c., and are supposed to represent the daughters of noble citizens. The victims follow as on the S. After these, men, bearing trays filled with offerings, flute players, and a chorus who sing poems. After these, quadriga, like those on the S.; and from here to the extremity of the northern side is a procession of Ephebi on horseback, with the same admirable variety of action, costume, and drapery displayed in the horsemen of the southern frieze. The last is followed by a boy on foot, who terminates the N. side. The western frieze has this peculiar fortune, that it still adorns its original position. The figures face the N., so as to appear to be the continuation of the northern line. It is formed of dismounted horsemen, and seems intended to represent the rear of the procession, where the individuals had not yet fallen into their ranks. Some draw on their buskins and adjust their bridles; others are just mounting their horses; while some struggle with their horses which are trying to escape. One horse bends its neck downwards, as if to brush off a fly from its fore-leg. A magistrate at the N.W. angle appears to superintend this part of the procession, which terminates at the south-western angle, with a man on foot holding up his chlamys. Such were the works with which the master-mind of Phidias adorned the Parthenon. Their remains, albeit the finest sculptures existing, recall but faintly their ancient splendour. The statues and reliefs, as well as the members of the architecture, were enriched, but to what extent is not cer tain, with various colours; the weapons, | been painful to the eye. It is almost the reins of horses, and other acces- certain that the exterior of the cella sories, were of metal, as evidenced by walls of the Theseum, and probably numerous round holes and the remains also of the Parthenon, were painted of bronze fastenings in some of those with historical subjects. In the latter holes: the eyes also of some of the temple, however, Pausanias only menlarger statues were inlaid. Besides tions those within the pronaos. The the sculptures above mentioned, there ceilings were adorned with deep blue are traces of pedestals on the middle panels, with gilt stars and other ornasteps, in front of the columns of the ments. In these, as well as the polyperistyle of the N. and S. sides, on chromy in general, there was a perfect which doubtless figures were placed. analogy between the Parthenon, the Theseum, and the Propylæa. Very little has been noticed of remains of colour on the Erechtheum; but an inscription, found in the Propylæa in 1836, records the prices paid for polychromatic decoration of that temple, chiefly relating to the interior. (Consult Revue Archæologique,' May, 1851; Kügler's 'Handbook of Painting; Hittorff's work on Sicilian Temples, Principles of Athenian Architecture,' &c. With respect to the painting of the architecture and sculpture, called polychromy, very little is accurately known. At the same time, it is certain, both from historical evidence and that of the monuments themselves, that the architecture was painted, and to some extent also the sculpture. It is likely, however, that much may have been merely tinged in such a way as not to conceal the beauty of the marble. The traces on the sculptures are very scanty. Some have thought that the background was blue, others red. The draperies must certainly have been coloured, to match the metal arms and trappings with which we know that they were adorned; and that being the case, some degree of tint would be required upon the flesh. Of the architecture, a little more can be asserted. Many of the mouldings retain traces of patterns of ornaments beautifully drawn upon them, of a character unquestionably contemporary with the building of the temple. In some of the best protected parts the pigment itself remains. The vehicle was chiefly wax. The underside of the cornice was for the most part deep blue, with occasional bands of red; the gutta seem to have been gilt. Blue was used in the channels of the triglyph. The strong colour seems to have been chiefly confined to the parts which were in shade. The columns, architraves, and broader surfaces were probably merely tinged with an ochreous colour, which the minerals of Laurium furnished, and to such an extent only, as to anticipate the rich golden hue produced by time on the Pentelic marble, without which the brightness of so large a body of white would have The visitor should not fail to look for a peculiar refinement recently discovered in the construction of the Greek temples of the best period, and of which the most remarkable instance is to be found in the Parthenon: namely, a systematic deviation from ordinary rectilinear construction, which has for its object the correction of certain optical illusions arising from the influence produced upon one another by lines which have different directions, and by contrasting masses of light and shade. Almost all lines which are straight and level in ordinary architecture are here delicate curves, and those lines which are usually perpendicular have here a slight inclination backwards or forwards as the case may be. It is further certain that they were advisedly built so, and have not arisen from any accident. This peculiarity may be readily tested by means of the steps at the eastern end of the Parthenon. If an object some 4 in. in height be placed at one extremity of a step, the eye placed at the corresponding opposite extremity will not be able to perceive the object, and will thus appreciate the elevation towards the centre of the step, an elevation which is nevertheless imperceptible to the eye looking from the front. This architectural formation must have had the effect of preventing water from resting on the steps. A nearly parallel line is found in the entablature, but is not quite so regular as in the stylobate, as is natural to suppose, owing to the concussions the building has received from explosions and earthquakes. Its less degree of regularity is attributable solely to this circumstance. In the Principles of Athenian Architecture,' p. 78, the reason for the origin of this curve is sought in the contrasting lines of the flat Greek pediment, which have the effect of apparently deflecting the straight line of the cornice in its neighbourhood. Respecting the inclination of the vertical lines, the lower drums, or frustra, of the columns should be noticed. If we measure from the pavement up to the first joint, we shall find a considerable difference between a vertical measurement on the outside nearest the step, and one taken at a corresponding point on the inside towards the temple. In the angle columns these differences will be the most considerable: the outside dimension measured on the angle will exceed the inside by nearly 2 in. About half of this difference is due to the convexity of the pavement before mentioned, and the remaining half to the inclination of the axes of the columns, which lean inwards towards the temple to the extent of nearly 3 in. in their height. 228 ft. in 34 25 is the exact dimension. The effect of the pyramidal character thus imparted is very grateful to the eye, and but for it, owing to various contrasts, the columns would actually have appeared to lean outwards. cleared of rubbish so as to enable a person to look along their whole length that the curves were noticed, first by Mr. John Pennethorne, in 1837, and shortly afterwards by the German architects, Hn. Hofer and Schaubert. There is a similar history respecting the entasis or convexity of the profile in the columns of the Greek temples. These were long considered to be straight lines, so exactly do they balance the optical illusion which gives an attenuated appearance to columns which have straight sides. But if the eye be placed in a proper position at the base, the curve, although delicate, becomes perceptible. In the optical corrections just mentioned, there is an almost perfect analogy in the Propylæa, and, though on a much smaller scale, in the Theseum; and to some extent in the Erechtheum and Temple of Jupiter Olympius at Athens, as also in some other of the temples of Greece and Sicily, and in Italy at Pæstum. They are always found most fully developed in temples of the Doric order. A model of the W. front of the Parthenon, at the Crystal Palace at Sydenham, is intended to embody all these peculiarities, as well as to represent, so far as can be recovered, the polychromy and sculpture of the ancient temple. There are two models of the Parthenon, by Mr. Lucas, in the Elgin Room of the British Museum, which are useful in explaining the reference which the sculptures there preserved bore to the temple. (Comp. Laborde et Paccard, 'Le Parthénon: Documents pour servir à une Restauration,' Paris, 1848.) It has been already stated that the Parthenon was converted into a ch., dedicated to the Virgin-Mother, proThese deviations from ordinary con- bably late in the sixth centy. Upon the struction are so admirably adjusted as conquest of Athens by the Turks, it to be quite imperceptible from the was changed into a mosque, and down usual points of view. The effect pro-to the year 1687 the building remained duced is to give an appearance of perfect straightness and perpendicularity to lines which would otherwise have appeared bent or inclined in a wrong direction and it was not until after the steps of the Parthenon had been [Greece.] almost entire with the exception of the roof. Of its condition before this year we have more than one account. In 1674 were made the drawings of its sculptures by Carrey, which have been of so much service in the restoration I of the sculptures, especially in the pediments. In 1676 Athens was visited by Spon and Wheler, each of whom published an account of the Parthenon (Spon, 'Voyage du Levant.' 1678; Wheler, Journey into Greece,' 1682). In 1687, when Athens was besieged by the Venetians under Morosini, a shell, falling into the Parthenon, as we have before mentioned, destroyed the central part of the building. Of the northern side of the peristyle 8 columns were wholly or partially thrown down; and of the southern, 6 columns; while of the pronaos only 1 column was left standing. The fronts escaped, together with a portion of the Opisthodomus. Morosini, after the capture of the city, attempted to carry off some of the statues in the western pediment; but, owing to the unskilfulness of the Venetians, they were thrown down as they were being lowered, and were dashed in pieces. At the beginning of the present centy., many of the finest sculptures of the Parthenon were removed to England. In 1827 the temple received fresh injury, from the bombardment of the city in that year; of which the most conspicuous marks are the white fractures which so deface the columns of the western portico; but even in its present desolate state, its ruins strike the spectator with astonishment and admiration. The following account of the Erechtheum is abbreviated and the plan borrowed from Dr. Smith's Dictionary, p. 275. Earth, and brought up by the goddess Athena, who adopts him as her ward, and instals him in her temple at Athens, where the Athenians offer to him annual sacrifices (Hom., Il., ii. 546, Od., vii. 81). Later writers call Erechtheus or Erichthonius the son of Hephaestus and the Earth, but they also relate that he was brought up by Athena, who made him her companion in her temple. According to one form of the legend he was placed by Athena in a chest, which was entrusted to the charge of Aglaurus, Pandrosus, and Herse, the daughters of Cecrops, with strict orders not to open it; but that Aglaurus and Herse, unable to control their curiosity, disobeyed the command; and upon seeing the child in the form of a serpent entwined with a serpent, they were seized with madness, and threw themselves down from the steepest part of the Acropolis. Another set of traditions represented Erechtheus as the god Poseidon. This temple "The foundation of the Erechtheum is thus connected with the origin of the Athenian religion. We have seen that according to Homer a temple of Athena existed on the Acropolis before the birth of Erechtheus; but Erechtheus was usually regarded as the founder of the temple, since he was the chief means of establishing the religion of Athena in Attica. was also the place of his interment, and was named after him. It contained several objects of the greatest interest to every Athenian. Here was the most ancient statue of Athena Polias, that is, Athena, the guardian of the city. This statue was made of olive-wood, and was said to have fallen down from heaven. Here was the sacred olive-tree, which Athena called forth from the earth in her contest with Poseidon for the possession of Attica; here also was the well of salt water which Poseidon produced by the stroke of his trident, the im 4. The Erechtheum.-"The Erechtheum ('Epexetov) was the most revered of all the sanctuaries of Athens, and was closely connected with the earliest legends of Attica. Erechtheus or Erichthonius, for the same person is signified under the two names, occupies a most important position in the Athenian religion. His story is related variously; but it is only neces-pression of which was seen upon the sary on the present occasion to refer to those portions of it which serve to illustrate the following account of the building which bears his name. Homer represents Erechtheus as born of the rock; and here, lastly, was the tomb of Cecrops as well as that of Erechtheus. The building also contained a separate sanctuary of Athena Polias, in which the statue of the goddess was |