re was
nothing to divert the mind of the spectator from contemplating the unity
as well as majesty of mass and outline; circumstances which form the
first and most remarkable characteristic of every Greek temple erected
during the purer ages of Grecian taste and genius."[14]

[Footnote 14: Leake's "Topography of Athens," p. 209 et seq.]

It would be impossible to convey any just and adequate conception of the
artistic decorations of this wonderful edifice. The two pediments of the
temple were decorated with magnificent compositions of statuary, each
consisting of about twenty entire figures of colossal size; the one on
the western pediment representing the birth of Minerva, and the other,
on the eastern pediment, the contest between that goddess and Neptune
for the possession of Attica. Under the outer cornice were ninety-two
groups, raised in high relief from tablets about four feet square,
representing the victories achieved by her companions. Round the inner
frieze was presented the procession of the Parthenon on the grand
quinquennial festival of the Panathenaea. The procession is represented
as advancing in two parallel columns from west to east; one proceeding
along the northern, the other along the southern side of the temple;
part facing inward after turning the angle of the eastern front, and
part meeting towards the centre of that front.

The statue of the virgin goddess, the work of Phidias, stood in the
eastern chamber of the cella, and was composed of ivory and gold. It had
but one rival in the world, the Jupiter Olympus of the same famous
artist. On the summit or apex of the helmet was placed a sphinx, with
griffins on either side. The figure of the goddess was represented in an
erect martial attitude, and clothed in a robe reaching to the feet. On
the breast was a head of Medusa, wrought in ivory, and a figure of
Victory about four cubits high. The goddess held a spear in her hand,
and an aegis lay at her feet, while on her right, and near the spear, was
a figure of a serpent, believed to represent that of Erichthonius.

According to Pliny, the entire height of the statue was twenty-six
cubits (about forty feet), and the artist, Phidias, had ingeniously
contrived that the gold with which the statue was encrusted might be
removed at pleasure. The battle of the Centaurs and Lapithae was carved
upon the sandals; the battle of the Amazons was represented on the aegis
which lay at her feet, and on the pedes