The Parthenon Frieze. Block W XII

This is a composition of matchless artistry, comprising three human figures and a single horse. In the middle of the block, beside the horse with full and wavy mane, bending its head down between its forelegs to scratch its muzzle, stands a man (23) in almost frontal pose. His weight is on the right leg, with his left free to the side in relaxed stance. He wears a short chiton with overfold double belted and chlamys which hangs down his back and is wrapped around his left forearm. His right arm is raised as if he were giving an order of some sort. In his left he holds a rod (riding-crop), the applied ends of which will have been fastened in the holes in his forearm and thigh. The figure has been interpreted by various scholars as a marshal, a herald, or as Hermes and considered to be the archetypal depiction of the god. To the right stands a little servant (24) carrying his master’s himation over his left shoulder and holding an object of some sort, perhaps a strigil, in his right hand. At the left, another youth (22), with beautifully sculptured anatomy, wearing a chlamys, is represented frontally, his weight on the left leg and the right leg free to the side. He bends his head slightly to his left, examining an object (perhaps a strigil) that he holds with his right hand outstretched above his left.