Greek Classical Sculpture

Parthenon, East Frieze

Assembly of the Gods

The seven male figures and five women depicted in the Assembly of Gods are commonly known to be the twelve Olympians. The only goddess missing is Hestia who, according to Plato, stayed home while the rest of the Olympian gods went out. The artist replaced Hestia with Dionysus, who is sometimes given an honorary position as an Olympian. Originally, the figures would have been easily recognizable because they had attributes added in bronze or with paint, but these additions are no longer preserved. Today we rely on iconographical analysis and ancient texts to verify identification.

The Olympian gods are assembled near the center of the East frieze flanking the Peplos ceremony. The twelve gods are all seated to accommodate their great stature and to blend with the standing mortal figures in the frieze. Depicted on the frieze from left to right are Hermes, Dionysus, Demeter, Ares, Iris (or Nike or Hebe), Hera, Zeus (Peplos ceremony) Athena, Hephaistus, Poseidon, Apollo, Artemis, Aphrodite, and Eros. The figures are carved in very low relief with great subtlety, and look as though they emerge out of the Pentelic marble from which they were carved. The relief sculpture of the frieze describes elements of the Panathenaic procession, and it is our only known representation of the event.