Summary

Description: The British Museum, Room 18 - The Parthenon Galleries (North Slip Room)

Room 18 is also known as the Duveen gallery. Here, and in two adjacent slip-rooms, the sculptures from the Parthenon are exhibited, along with other relevant material. The temple of Athena Parthenos (the maiden), known as the Parthenon, was built on the Akropolis in Athens probably between 447 and 438 BC, though the sculptures were perhaps not finished until about 432BC. The exhibition includes sculptures from the pediments - the triangular gables at each end of the building. These were decorated with sculptural groups showing, on the east end, the birth of Athena and on the west the contest between Athena and Poseidon for the land of Attica. Only fragments of each of these compositions survive. The metopes or relief panels showing scenes from the battle between the Lapiths and centaurs also originally decorated the exterior of the building. The magnificent relief frieze showing the Panathenaic procession decorated the outside of the cella or main room of the temple at a high level, and therefore originally had to be viewed through the colonnade. The south slip-room contains additional materials explaining the Parthenon and its sculptures, including a video showing how the sculptures were originally positioned on the building. The north slip room includes a section specially designed for museum visitors with visual impairment. Sound guides to the Parthenon sculptures are also available here.

Author: Mujtaba Chohan E-mail: m.chohan@gmail.com Source: British Museum Visit

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