temple-relief

Marble relief (Block XII) from the North frieze of the Parthenon. The frieze shows the procession of the Panathenaic festival, the commemoration of the birthday of the goddess Athena.
Block XII represents part of a chariot, its driver, a marshal and a foot soldier. The driver is leaning backwards in the chariot. He is pulling on the reins. Metal reins, which are now lost, were inserted in drill-holes. A marshal, standing on the far side of the chariot, signals with his extended right arm to the chariots that follow. Behind the carriage a foot soldier, who has alighted, is preserved from the waist down. The fragment of the foot soldier’s head is in the Acropolis Museum, Athens. The rest of the chariot was carved on Block XI, remains of which are in the Acropolis Museum, Athens.
For more information on the North frieze see North frieze Block XLVII.
The northern branch of the procession follows a similar pattern to the southern.