Pausanias_Travel_Writing_in_Ancient Greece [Maria_Pretzler]

8
Considering Works of Art
As you enter the temple they call the Parthenon, the sculptures in the
pediment represent the birth of Athena, and those on the other side show the
quarrel over the land between Athena and Poseidon. The cult statue itself is
made of ivory and gold. The image of a sphinx is set upon the middle of her
helmet … and on either side of the helmet are griffins. … the statue of
Athena is upright, with a chitôn (tunic) that reaches to her feet, and on her
breast she has the head of Medusa worked in ivory. She holds a statue of
Nike which is about four cubits [2 metres] high, and she has a spear in her
hand; by her feet lies a shield, and near the spear is a serpent. This serpent
would be Erichthonios. The birth of Pandora is shown on the base of the
statue. 1 (Paus. 1.24.5, 7)
This is Pausanias’ description of one of the most significant temples in the
Greek world, in his time as well as today. The details he provides are
valuable: this passage was instrumental in understanding the remains of
the pedimental sculptures of the Parthenon and it supported the identification
of replicas of Pheidias’ famous chryselephantine statue. 2 A closer
consideration of this passage, however, also shows just how much
Pausanias does not tell us. The description of the image focuses on the
material, basic posture and attributes of the statue, without giving readers
a sense of style or expression. While the statue is lost, the temple itself
and its elaborate sculptural decorations are very well-known. The statue
groups of the pediments and particularly the frieze with its depiction of a
Panathenaic procession caused a sensation when they were exhibited in
London in the early nineteenth century. The Italian sculptor Canova was
consulted on the artistic value of the marbles, and he could hardly have
expressed his admiration in more enthusiastic terms:
I admire in [the marbles] the truth of nature combined with the choice of
beautiful forms: everything about them breathes animation, with a singular
truth of expression, and with a degree of skill which is the more exquisite as
it is without the least affectation of the pomp of art, which is concealed with
admirable address. The naked figures are real flesh, in its native beauty. 3 (A.
Canova, 10 November 1815)
In spite of their damaged state, detached from their original setting and
without their original colouring, Pheidias’ designs made a great impression
and they are still considered seminal works of western art. Pausanias
had a chance to see the Parthenon complete and in a good state of repair,
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