The Parthenon Sculptures in the British Museum

The Parthenon sculptures in the British Museum in London are also called the Elgin Marbles. This is because in 1806 Lord Elgin brought them to Britain from Athens. The Turks ruled Greece then and they sold them to him. Now the Greek government wants Britain to give them back. They have even built a new museum for them within sight of the Acropolis. There is an international campaign to get the Elgin Marbles returned to Greece. But the British government refuses, saying that if they did this, every museum would have to start giving back their ancient treasures to to the countries they got them from. What do you think? For more about this debate, go here.

The Panathenaic Frieze

The frieze on top of the cella showed the procession of the Great Panathenaia, a festival for Athena held every four years. Animals were led to sacrifice, other offerings such as wine were carried, people rose horses, sang, danced, and played music. One part of the frieze shows the gods of Olympus.

		The peplos - the dress woven for the statue of Athena
Gods		Leading an ox for sacrifice

The Pediments

The pediments on the Parthenon showed the gods on Olympus on one end, and the contest between Poseidon and Athena to be the god of Athens on the other. Only fragments remain. They are all of gods, and some horses.

The Metopes

The metopes were square sections from the entablature carved with mythical scenes. The metopes in the British museum show the fight between the Lapiths and the centaurs (half horse, half men). Some are very beautifully carved.