Parthenon Metope 27 Drew Layton. Facts c447-442 BC Currently held in the British museum Found on the Acropolis Pentelic Marble Damage in the.

Parthenon Metope 27

Drew Layton

Facts

c447-442 BC Currently held in the British

museum Found on the Acropolis Pentelic Marble Damage in the 1600s by a

bombshell

Definitions

Metope - a square space between triglyphs in a Doric frieze

Triglyph - a tablet in a Doric frieze with three vertical grooves alternating with metopes

Lapith - a member of a Thessalian people who fought and defeated the centaurs

Centaur - a creature with the head, arms, and torso of a man and the body and legs of a horse

The story behind the Metopes

About the Centauromachy, a battle between the Lapiths and Centaurs

A Lapith weeding that was disrupted by the drunken centaurs who attempted to abduct the Lapith women

Part of one myth suggests it was because the centaurs felt insulted because they were not invited to the celebrations

Another they were invited by the Lapiths and just got drunk and rowdy

This all resulted in the battle known as the Centauromachy

About the metope

In this metope the Lapith is holding the centaur by the back of the neck and pulling him back

Lapith possibly about to strike Centaur with right hand

Showing the Lapith as superior to centaur

Represents the Greeks triumph over their enemies?

About the Lapith

Holding/Wearing a chlamys Lapith represents Greeks? Missing head so can’t see expression Looking at other metopes the Lapith’s

have emotionless faces Realistic representation of a human? Heroic nudity

About the Centaur

Represents everyone else? Persians? Other enemies

Missing head so can’t see expression Centaurs were monsters and viewed

lower than the Greeks Human part is well defined with veins

and a rib cage

About the carving

Deep carving, almost free standing at points

The two figures have similar body positions

Kind of a mirroring between the two bodies

Opposing arcs of the Lapith’s body and the Centaur’s

Woodford says

‘The boldness of the design is matched by the quality of the execution: the telling depiction rippling muscles and tensed bodies contrasts with the geometric purity of the folds behind it’