A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology. By various writers. Ed. by William Smith. Illustrated by numerous engravings on wood.

PHEIDIAS. PHEIDIAS. 251
with the hammer (aopvprXarzos). Its thickness was verses of coins of the Antiochi, engraved in this
not above a line; and, as already stated, all the gold work (vol. i. p. 199). These copies agree in every
upon the statue was so affixed to it as to be removable respect, except in the position of the left hand, and
at pleasure. (See Thuc. ii. 13, and the commen- of the spear and shield. In Mr. Hope's statue
tators.) The eyes, according to Plato (1. c.), were the left hand is raised as high as the head, and
of a kind of marble, nearly resembling ivory, per- holds the spear as a sceptre, the shield being altohaps painted to imitate the iris and pupil; there is gether wanting: on the medals, the left hand rests
no sufficient authority for the statement which is upon the shield, which stands upon the ground,
frequently made, that they were of precious stones. leaning against the left leg of the statue, while the
It is doubtful whether the core.of the statue was of spear leans slightly backwards, supported by the
wood or of stone. The various portions of the statue left arm. An attempt has been made at a restorawere most elaborately ornamented. A sphinx formed tion of the statue by Quatremere de Quincy in his
the crest of her helmet, and on either side of it were Jupi/er Olympien, and a more successful one by
gryphons, all, no doubt, of gold. The aegis was Mr. Lucas in his model of the Parthenon. (See
fringed with golden serpents, and in its centre was also Flaxman's Lectures on Sculpture, pl. 19.) The
a golden head of Medusa, which, however, was statue is described at length by Pausanias (i. 24),
stolen by Philorgus (Isocr. adv. Callim. 22; Biickh, by Maximus Tyrius (Dissert. xiv.), and by Pliny
Corp. Inscr. vol. i. p. 242), and was replaced with (II. N. xxxiv. 8. s. 19. ~ 1, xxxvi. 5. s. 4. ~ 4).
one of ivory, which Pausanias saw. The lower One of the best modern descriptions is that of Batend of the spear was supported by a dragon, sup- tiger (Andeutungen, pp. 86-93). It is also well
posed by Pausanias to represent Erichthonius, and described in The Elgin and Phiyaleian Marbles
the juncture between the shaft and head was (vol. i. pp. 136, 137).
formed of a sphinx in bronze. Even the edges of The other sculptures of the Parthenon belong
the sandals, which were four dactyli high, were less properly to our subject, since it is impossible
seen, on close inspection, to be engraved with the to say which of them were executed by the hand
battle of the Lapithae and Centaurs. The shield of Pheidias, though it cannot be doubted that they
was ornamented on both sides with embossed were all made under his superintendence. It is,
work, representing, on the inner side, the battle of the moreover, almost superfluous to describe them at
giants against the gods, and on the outer, the battle any length, inasmuch as a large portion of them
of the Amazons against the Athenians. All these form, under the name of the " Elgin Marbles," the
subjects were native Athenian legends. The base, choicest treasure of our national Museum, where
which of itself is said to have been the work of their study is now greatly facilitated by the adseveral months, represented, in relief, the birth of mirable model of the Parthenon by Mr. Lucas.
Pandora, and her receiving gifts from the gods: There are also ample descriptions of them, easily
it contained figures of twenty divinities. The accessible; for example, the work entitled Tle Elgiu
weight of the gold upon the statue, which, as and Phiyaleian Marbles.* It is, therefore, suffiabove stated, was removable at pleasure, is said cient to state briefly the following particulars.
by Thucydides to have been 40 talents (ii. 13), The outside of the wall of the cella was surrounded
by Philochorus 44, and by other writers 50: by a frieze, representing the Panathenaic procession
probably the statement of Philochorus is exact, in very low relief, a form admirably adapted to a
the others being round numbers. (See Wesseling, position where the light was imperfect, and chiefly
ad Diod. Sic. xii. 40.) Great attention was paid reflected, and where the angle of view was necesto the preservation of the statue: and it was fre- sarily large. The metopes, or spaces between the
quently sprinkled with water, to preserve it from triglyphs of the frieze of the peristyle, were filled
being injured by the dryness of the atmosphere. with sculptures in very high relief, ninety-two in
(Paus. v. 11. ~ 5.) The base was repaired by number, fourteen on each front, and thirty-two on
Aristocles the younger, about B.c. 397 (Bickh, each side; the subjects were taken from the leCorp. Inscr. vol. i. p. 237: Bi3ckh suggests that, as gendary history of Athens. Those on the south
Aristocles was the son of Cleoetas, who appears side, of which we possess fifteen in the British
to have been an assistant of Pheidias in his great Museum, represent the battle between the Atheworks, this artist's family may have been the nians and Centaurs at the marriage feast of Peiriguardians of the statue, as the descendants of thoiis. Some of them are strikingly archaic in their
Pheidias himself were of the Zeus at Olympia.) style; thus confirming our previous argument, that
The statue was finally robbed of its gold by La- the archaic style continued quite down to the time
chares, in the time of Demetrius Poliorcetes, about of Pheidias, who may be supposed, on the evidence
B. c. 296. (Paus i. 25, ~ 7.) Pausanias, however, of these sculptures, to have employed some of the
speaks of the statue as if the gold were still upon best of the artists of that school, to assist himself
it; possibly the plundered gold may have been and his disciples. Others of the metopes display
replaced by gilding. We possess numerous statues that pure and perfect art, which Pheidias himof Athena, most of which are no doubt imitated self introduced, and which has never been surfrom that in the Parthenon, and from the two passed. The architrave of the temple was adorned
other statues in the Acropolis. Bittiger has en- with golden shields beneath the metopes, which
deavoured to distinguish the existing copies of were carried off, with the gold of the statue of the
these three great works (Andeutungen, pp. 90-92).
That which is believed to be the nearest copy of ~ Among the numerous other copies of these
the Athena of the Parthenon is a mnarble statue in works, we may mention the authorised publication
the collection of Mr. Hope, which is engraved in of the Marbles of the British Jlluseuzn, the enthe Specimens of Ancient Sculpture, vol. ii. pl. 9, gravings in Miiller's Denkmisler der Allen lKunst,
and in MUiller's Denkl;niler, vol. ii. pl. xix. fig. 202. and in the plates to Meyer's Kunstgeschichte. The
A less perfect, but precisely similar copy, stood in miniature restorations in plaster by Mr. Hennings
the Villa Albani. Copies also appear on the re- also deserve attention.