Parthenon Frieze _ West II, 2-3

Here two horsemen are shown reining back their horses. The leading horseman turns round to look back at his companion, while raising his left hand to his head. He wears a cloak that is pulled close against his neck, while billowing out to the side. Holes in his hair probably once served for the insertion of a metal wreath. The other horseman wears a chlamys. The horses are pierced with drill-holes where metal reins were inserted. The second horse overlaps the first only slightly. The first rider with his right hand he holds the reins and he turns back so that his body is almost frontal and his head turned even more toward the figure behind him (3). His left arm is raised in a gesture not entirely clear, perhaps to adjust the stephane on his head, perhaps to give a signal to the next horseman. The youth (133) on block N-XLVII makes a similar gesture. Horseman (3) wears a modelled cuirass over a short chiton, just as do figures (7) and (18), and he is shod in boots. The frieze of the Parthenon forms a continuous band with scenes in low relief that encircles the upper part of the cella, the main temple, within the outer colonnade. The theme represented was the procession toward the Acropolis that took place during the Great Panathenaia, the commemoration of the birthday of the goddess Athena. The West frieze comprises sixteen Blocks (counting the corner Blocks as I and XVI). It shows horsemen in scenes of preparation for the cavalcades of the North and South friezes.画面呈现两名正勒马收缰后退的骑手。先导骑手转身回望同伴，同时将左手抬至头部位置。他身着紧束颈部、向一侧鼓胀扬起的披风，发间的孔洞推测曾用于嵌入金属花冠（metal wreath）。另一名骑手身着古希腊短披风（chlamys）。马匹躯体上带有钻孔，这些孔曾用于安装金属马缰。第二匹马仅与第一匹马略有叠压。 骑手（3）以右手握持马缰，转身时身体几乎正对观者，头部则更转向后方的骑手。他抬起左臂，动作含义不甚明确，或用于调整头上的头带（stephane），或用于向后方骑手示意。编号为N-XLVII的浮雕块上的青年（133）做出了类似动作。骑手（3）身着覆盖短长衫（chiton）的塑形胸甲（cuirass），与编号7、18的形象一致，且脚蹬长靴。 帕特农神庙的檐部饰带（frieze）以浅浮雕（low relief）工艺打造连续场景，环绕于外柱廊内主神殿的内殿（cella）上部区域。该饰带的主题为大泛雅典娜节（Great Panathenaia）期间前往雅典卫城（Acropolis）的游行庆典——该节日是为纪念雅典娜女神诞辰。西檐部饰带包含十六块浮雕（转角浮雕块编号为I与XVI），其展现的是为南北檐部饰带中的骑兵游行做准备的骑手场景。