Marble votive relief dedicated to the goddess Bendis, a Thracian goddess akin to the Greek Artemis. Bendis, standing to the right, is approached by a group of mortal votaries, eight naked athletes led by two bearded and draped officials, perhaps trainer and sponsor. The first official carries a torch and so identifies the athletes as members of a torch race relay team. The athletes wear wreaths in their hair. Bendis is dressed in a sleeved tunic hitched up so as to form a short skirt. An animal skin is draped over one shoulder, while an outer cloak pinned at the neck falls over her shoulders and down her back. Her legs are clad in knee-length boots, and she wears a Phrygian cap with a pointed crown. She holds a libation bowl (phiale). --The British Museum, Pryce, F N; Smith, A H, Catalogue of Greek Sculpture in the British Museum, I-III, London, BMP, 1892
erracotta relief plaque ('Melian relief') with Peleus and Thetis. A lion indicates one of Thetis's transformations. --The British Museum, Burn, Lucilla; Higgins, Reynold; Walters, H B; Bailey, D M, Catalogue of Terracottas in the British Museum, I-IV, London, BMP, 1903
Marble metope from the Parthenon (South metope XXXI). This metope is from the eastern half of the south side of the temple. The South metopes in the British Museum show the battle between Centaurs and Lapiths at the marriage-feast of Peirithoos. A Centaur, on the left, and a Lapith tussle like two wrestlers. The Lapith has seized the Centaur by the hair with his right hand, pressing his right knee on the Centaur’s breast, his left arm is drawn back. The Centaur, rearing up, grasps the Lapith by the throat, twisting his forelegs round the Lapith’s right leg. The Centaurs right arm, made separately, and right hind foreleg are missing, as are the Lapith’s left forearm and foot, and parts of the frame. --The British Museum, Pryce, F N; Smith, A H, Catalogue of Greek Sculpture in the British Museum, I-III, London, BMP, 1892; Smith, A, A Catalogue of Sculpture in the Department of Greek and Roman Antiquities, British Museum, London, William Clowes and Sons, 1892; Choremi-Spetsieri, Alkistis, The Sculptures of the Parthenon: Acropolis, British Museum, Louvre, Athens, Ephesus Publishing, 2004; Brommer, Frank, Die Metopen des Parthenon, Mainz, Verlag Philipp von Zabern, 1967; Smith, A, The sculptures of the Parthenon, London, William Clowes and Sons, 1910; Berger, Ernst, Der Parthenon in Basel; Dokumentation zu den Metopen, Mainz, Verlag Philipp von Zabern, 1986
Marble metope from the Parthenon (South metope III). The South metopes in The British Museum show the battle between Centaurs and Lapiths at the marriage-feast of Peirithoos. A Lapith, on the right, attacks a Centaur, from behind, resting his right knee on the Centaur’s hindquarters and extending his right arm to seize the Centaur’s neck. The upper body of the Centaur is turned back towards his attacker. An animal skin is wound around his left arm. A long chlamys hangs from the shoulders of the Lapith and he wears boots. Dowel holes, in his left side and at the junction of the chlamys, are visible and probably served for the attachment of metal weapons. The left arm and left foot of the Lapith, the Centaur’s right arm and three of his legs, and the heads of both figures and parts of the frame are missing. --The British Museum, Pryce, F N; Smith, A H, Catalogue of Greek Sculpture in the British Museum, I-III, London, BMP, 1892; Smith, A, The sculptures of the Parthenon, London, William Clowes and Sons, 1910; Choremi-Spetsieri, Alkistis, The Sculptures of the Parthenon: Acropolis, British Museum, Louvre, Athens, Ephesus Publishing, 2004; Smith, A, A Catalogue of Sculpture in the Department of Greek and Roman Antiquities, British Museum, London, William Clowes and Sons, 1892; Brommer, Frank, Die Metopen des Parthenon, Mainz, Verlag Philipp von Zabern, 1967; Berger, Ernst, Der Parthenon in Basel; Dokumentation zu den Metopen, Mainz, Verlag Philipp von Zabern, 1986
Marble metope from the Parthenon (South metope XXVII). This metope is from the eastern half of the south side of the temple. The South metopes in the British Museum show the battle between Centaurs and Lapiths at the marriage-feast of Peirithoos. A young Lapith, on the left, holds a Centaur’s head from behind with his left hand, while preparing to deliver a blow with the other. The Centaur, wounded in the back, rears up and presses his right hand against the wound. A chlamys falls over both Lapith’s arms, hanging behind his back. Both heads, the Lapith’s foreleg and right forearm, and the Centaurs left arm and right leg are missing. Parts of the frame in the top left hand corner are restored. --The British Museum, Pryce, F N; Smith, A H, Catalogue of Greek Sculpture in the British Museum, I-III, London, BMP, 1892; Smith, A, A Catalogue of Sculpture in the Department of Greek and Roman Antiquities, British Museum, London, William Clowes and Sons, 1892; Choremi-Spetsieri, Alkistis, The Sculptures of the Parthenon: Acropolis, British Museum, Louvre, Athens, Ephesus Publishing, 2004; Brommer, Frank, Die Metopen des Parthenon, Mainz, Verlag Philipp von Zabern, 1967; Smith, A, The sculptures of the Parthenon, London, William Clowes and Sons, 1910; Berger, Ernst, Der Parthenon in Basel; Dokumentation zu den Metopen, Mainz, Verlag Philipp von Zabern, 1986
Marble metope from the Parthenon (South metope VII). The South metopes in The British Museum show the battle between Centaurs and Lapiths at the marriage-feast of Peirithoos. With his left hand a Lapith, on the left, grasps a Centaur. His right arm is drawn back and he probably once held a metal sword, now lost, in his hand, about to strike the Centaur. A chlamys fastened on his right shoulder falls over his left arm and flies out behind his back. The Centaur, rearing up, tries to pull away the Lapith’s left hand. From the shoulders of the Centaur hangs a small chlamys. The head of the Centaur is in the Acropolis Museum, Athens, and the Lapith’s head is in the Musée du Louvre, Paris. The Lapith’s hands, left foot and the right leg below the knee are missing. As are the Centaur’s left arm below the shoulder and part of his left hind leg and parts of the frame. --The British Museum, Pryce, F N; Smith, A H, Catalogue of Greek Sculpture in the British Museum, I-III, London, BMP, 1892; Smith, A, A Catalogue of Sculpture in the Department of Greek and Roman Antiquities, British Museum, London, William Clowes and Sons, 1892; Choremi-Spetsieri, Alkistis, The Sculptures of the Parthenon: Acropolis, British Museum, Louvre, Athens, Ephesus Publishing, 2004; Brommer, Frank, Die Metopen des Parthenon, Mainz, Verlag Philipp von Zabern, 1967; Smith, A, The sculptures of the Parthenon, London, William Clowes and Sons, 1910; Berger, Ernst, Der Parthenon in Basel; Dokumentation zu den Metopen, Mainz, Verlag Philipp von Zabern, 1986
Marble fragment of frieze-crown of the Parthenon. The frieze-crown was painted with a maeander pattern and surmounted the frieze on all four sides of the building. --The British Museum, Pryce, F N; Smith, A H, Catalogue of Greek Sculpture in the British Museum, I-III, London, BMP, 1892
Bronze circular tanged mirror. Chased decoration. Edge has a channel between two rows of beading. Palmette motif on base of obverse. On the reverse, there is a border decoration of intertwined ivy trails. The main scene is of two confronted people - a naked standing man and a seated woman. They could be interpreted as Utuse (Odysseus) and either Kirke (Circe) or Antikleia, Odysseus' mother . The owner's name is inscribed vertically in the centre. --The British Museum, Walters, H B, Catalogue of the Bronzes in the British Museum. Greek, Roman & Etruscan., I-II, London, BMP, 1899; Corpus Speculorum Etruscorum, London, BMP, 2002
The Nereid Monument takes its name from the Nereids, sea-nymphs whose statues were placed between the columns of this monumental tomb. It was built for Erbinna (Greek Arbinas), ruler of Lycian Xanthos, south-west Turkey. Although he was not Greek, Erbinna chose to be buried in a tomb that resembles a Greek temple of the Ionic order. --The British Museum
The Nereid Monument takes its name from the Nereids, sea-nymphs whose statues were placed between the columns of this monumental tomb. It was built for Erbinna (Greek Arbinas), ruler of Lycian Xanthos, south-west Turkey. Although he was not Greek, Erbinna chose to be buried in a tomb that resembles a Greek temple of the Ionic order. --The British Museum