The
Parthenon Marbles
What is Where
The
sculptural decoration of the Parthenon has been preserved in fragments
only. During the transformation of the ancient temple to a Christian
church, the east pediment was severely damaged while the east,
north and south metopes suffered destructions because their representations
were an offence to the religious feeling of the early Christians.
In
1674, J. Carrey made sketches of the pediments, the frieze and
the south metopes which, due to their subject (Centauromachy or
Battle with the Centaurs) and to its symbolic interpretation by
the Christians as a fight between good and evil, escaped destruction.
These sketches represent an invaluable guide for those parts of
the monument that were destroyed by the explosion of 1687.
In
1812, Lord Elgin detached parts of the frieze, the pediments and
the south metopes from the monument and removed some more from
the adjacent area. These sculptures were transported tot the British
Museum in London. Other fragments are kept in various European
musea. The sculptures which remained on the monument, suffered
from air pollution. The have been removed and were placed in the
Acropolis Museum.
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London, British Museum |
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Athens, Acropolis Museum |
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Paris, Louvre Museum |
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Non-preserved parts (sketches by J. Carrey) |
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Vatican, Rome |
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Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna |
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Museo Salinas, Palermo |
North Frieze
West
Frieze
South Frieze
East Frieze
South Metopes
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