Greek Classical Sculpture

Riders

North frieze, Parthenon, 442-438 BCE

This depiction of Riders is the section that most people find familiar because it is one of the most dramatic and well known sculptures within the entire frieze. Here the horsemen are not as tightly massed as in some other areas, for they tend to overlap each other fairly consistently in certain sections. The different groups of riders express their own individual formations but one here is seen holding the reins low in the left hand, as another reaches out his right hand and lightly places his fingers on the horse's mane between the ears. This sculpture emphasizes the Classical ideal of both man and horse. The action on the North frieze begins solemnly and then accelerates into the dramatic representation depicted here where the horses are in full gallop.