P 23

Athens Page 24

 P 25

THE PANATHENAEA

In opposition to the Doric frieze, the Ionic frieze of the Parthenon is sculptured in low-relief, the sculptures slightly protrude from the slab where they are carved. The frieze begins on the West side, the only side where slabs have been left in their proper place; but it is difficult to see them from the outside.
We are going to restitute the largest part( the most meaningful and the least damaged ones), of the existing slabs to be found in museums( for some of them have been lost) in their original order. We will mention where these slabs are to be found nowadays(BM for the British museum in London; ACR for the museum of the Acropolis in Athens; LOUVRE for the museum of the Louvres in Paris) .
A little trip to London was necessary to achieve this work. The slab below is not an original one; it is a restitution of B.M. of the slab 24 (still in its right place) on the West side; but it clearly shows off what a low-relief means . A young man (ephebe) is pointing at a horse he has to mount for the procession of the Panathenaea. In the centre, a master of ceremonies is giving his instructions for the parade..