Parthenon Frieze

View of a small portion of the frieze that depicted the Panathenaic procession.  Three standing men are bearing water jars while the fourth, kneeling, is about to pick up his jar.  On the far right of the relief a double flute (a diaulos) is visible in the raised hands of the musician.

This Panathenaic Procession was held every summer in honor of the birthday of Athena, the city’s patron goddess.  The procession began at the Dipylon Gate, near the Keramikos, and processed through the agora to the Acropolis.  At the acropolis select women entered the Erechtheum and replaced the year old garment (peplos) on the statue of Athena with a newly woven one.

 

This image courtesy of Mark Connally.