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Primary sourceSculpturec. 443-437 BCE

Parthenon Frieze

Phidias · c. 443-437 BCE

The sculpted marble frieze that decorated the Parthenon, created under Phidias during Pericles' building programme.

Phidias created this frieze as part of Pericles' Parthenon building programme, showing his cultural ambitions.

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A long gallery with dim lighting and a grid ceiling. Carved marble relief panels line the left wall and are displayed along the right wall; a visitor walks toward a distant display of marble heads and sculptures. A dark bench sits in the foreground.
Parthenon Frieze, c. 443-437 BCE, attributed to Phidias. Acropolis Museum, Athens.

About this source

What it is

The Parthenon Frieze is a low-relief marble sculpture that ran around the upper part of the Parthenon's inner chamber, carved around 443–437 BC most likely under the direction of the sculptor Phidias. Most of it survives, split between the British Museum, the Acropolis Museum in Athens, and several other collections.

Why it matters

The frieze depicts a great procession with hundreds of figures and animals, and was part of the sculptural programme Phidias directed for Pericles' Parthenon. According to Plutarch, Phidias oversaw the artists working on Pericles' building projects because of his friendship with Pericles. The frieze reflects the wealth, religious life and civic pride of Periclean Athens, and its later removal and division between countries shows how ancient art can become a point of modern dispute.

Look closer

  • What does the scale and detail of the frieze suggest about the resources Pericles put into the Parthenon?
  • Why might the frieze now be split between different museums in different countries?
  • What story does a procession carved in stone tell about a city's values?

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Manuscript page in Greek handwriting with a decorative heading at top, showing the text of a speech in dense lines of script on aged parchment with marginal notes at left and right edges.Speech

Secondary source

Pericles' Funeral Oration

Thucydides · 431/430 BCE

Photograph of the Parthenon temple on the Athenian Acropolis, seen from the front-left under a deep blue sky. White marble Doric columns and a partly damaged pediment stand on a stepped base, with scattered marble blocks and ruins in the foreground.Artifact

Primary source

Parthenon

447-432 BCE

Marble bust of a bearded man wearing a tall Corinthian-style helmet with a raised crest and cheek guards. Curly hair and beard are carved in detail. The bust rests on a tan stone pedestal against a grey wall.Sculpture

Secondary source

Pericles with the Corinthian Helmet

Kresilas · Roman copy, from a Greek original near Pericles' lifetime

Facsimile page of Greek manuscript handwriting in minuscule script, nine lines of dark ink on white, headed 'Facsimile No. 57', with a transcription and caption 'Thucydides.—Tenth Century' below.Book

Primary source

History of the Peloponnesian War

Thucydides · 5th century BCE

Book

Secondary source

Life of Pericles

Plutarch

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