Erechtheion. North porch frieze. Part of a female figure

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Provision of image

Inventory number

Ακρ. 1281

Artist

Attic workshop

Category

Architectural sculpture

Period

Classical Period

Date

409-406 BC

Dimensions

Height: 0.24 m
Length: 0.26 m
Width: 0.13 m

Material

Marble from Paros

Location

First Floor, West

Description
Bibliography

Fragment from the frieze that decorated the Erechtheion's north porch on which depicted is a seated female figure. The woman sits sideways to the left and wears chiton and himation. Her garments cover the front side of her seat creating rich folds.

Like other frieze figures, the woman has been interpreted as a mere spectator who watches mythological scenes whereas according to another interpretation she is a heroine relating to the mythological past of Athens.

The Erechtheion's frieze ran along the upper part of the walls of the cella, as well as the north porch. It was adorned with figures of gods, heroes and mortals with the figures depicted on the porch frieze rendered slightly larger in size than the rest. They all were worked on all sides except the back side, carved in white marble from the island of Paros and fastened with metal brackets onto background slabs of gray stone from Eleusis. The surviving frieze fragments are just a few, therefore, our understanding of the frieze's original theme, which possibly relates to the myths and cults associated with the Erechtheion and more specifically Erichthonios, is not possible. The inscription Ακρ. 6667 δ preserves the names of some of the artists who sculpted the figures as well as their wages.

Rangabé, A.R., Antiquités Helléniques ou Répertoire d'inscriptions ou d'antiquités découvertes depuis l'affranchissment de la Grèce, I, Athènes, 1842, σελ. 73, εικ. III, αρ. κατ. 64
Stephani, L., «I. Monumenti. IV. Epigraphica. a. Titulus ad aedem Minervae Poliadis perstinente», Annali dell’Instituto Archeologico XV, 1843, σελ. 310-312, αρ. κατ. 11
Schöne, R., Griechische Reliefs aus athenischen Sammlungen, Leipzig, 1872, σελ. 6, πίν. ΙΙ.4, αρ. κατ. 4
Sybel, L. von, «Der Besland des Erechtheionfrieses», Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts. Athenische Abteilung 5, 1880, σελ. 288
Le Bas, M.P., Reinach, S., Voyage Archéologique en Grèce et en Asie Mineure 1842-1844, σχολιασμένη έκδοση, Paris, 1888, σελ. 56-57, εικ. 15.II, αρ. κατ. II
Pallat, L., «Friese des Erechtheion», Antike Denkmäler 1895-1898, 2, 1908, σελ. 6-15, εικ. 33
Pallat, L., «The Frieze of the Erechtheum», American Journal of Archaeology 16, 1912, σελ. 175-202
Casson, S., Brooke, D., Catalogue of the Acropolis Museum. Sculpture and Architectural Fragments, with a section upon the Terracottas, II, Cambridge, 1921, σελ. 203-204, αρ. κατ. 1281
Paton, J.M., Stevens, G.P., Caskey, L.D., Fowler, H.N., The Erechtheum, Cambridge, 1927, σελ. 263, αρ. κατ. 82
Τριάντη, Ι., Το Μουσείο Ακροπόλεως, Ο Κύκλος των Μουσείων, Αθήνα, 1998, σελ. 346, εικ. 360
Smoke, S.J., The Erechtheion: Deciphering the Fragments of the Ionic Frieze. masters in B.A., Louisiana State University, 2010, σελ. 90-91, εικ. 57
Jacob, R., «Une figure recomposée de la Frise de l'Erechtheion», Revue Archéologique Fasc. 2, 2014, σελ. 303-324
Λεβέντη, Ι., Πόλη σε κρίση, Αθήνα, 2014, σελ. 161-163