roceeds fiercely on the second slab (2). A Centaur is tearing
the shoulder of a Lapitha with his teeth, while the Lapitha drives a
stout sword direct into his assailant's body. A dead Centaur lies in
the foreground, and the heels of the stabbed Centaur strike against
the shield of a second Lapitha. The origin of the battle begins to
appear on the third slab (3), where a woman is represented with a
child in her arms resisting the violence of a Centaur, while another
Centaur at the further end of the slab is getting the better of a
kneeling Lapitha. The fourth tablet would be probably unintelligible
to the general visitor without special explanation. Here the Centaurs
are endeavouring to crush an enemy with huge blocks of stone. This
particular enemy is the Caeneus of Greek fable, whom Neptune had
rendered invulnerable to the effect of swords and clubs, and whom
Centaurs are endeavouring to overcome by crushing his body with masses
of rock. The fifth slab (5) presents a more cheerful view of the
battle for the Lapithae; here two Centaurs are being overcome by two
of their enemies in revenge for their brutal conduct at the bridal
banquet. The sixth tablet (6) again illustrates the hazards of war.
Here a female is between two of the brutal Centaurs, one of whom has
felled a Lapitha to the ground; but the left hand part of the slab is
so mutilated that the merits of the sculpture are here hardly
appreciable. The seventh (7) slab also represents the Lapithae losing
ground. Here, it has been shrewdly conjectured the chief personages of
the battle are represented. The female in the arms of the Centaur is
supposed to be Hippodamia; and the figure struggling from the grasp of
another Centaur, that of King Pirithous fighting for his outraged
bride. The next tablet (8) is in a very dilapidated condition. The
central figure is that of a muscular Centaur, with his mantle flowing
from his neck, in the act of hurling something at a Lapitha who stands
stoutly on the defensive, while in the further corner a female with
her child is flying from pursuers. The ninth tablet (9) discovers two
vanquished Centaurs, and Lapithae in the act of dispatching their
mongrel enemies. The battle is represented at its climax on the next
slab (10). Here, as the wicked Centaur, Eurytion, is disrobing the
King's bride, and her bridesmaid is indulging in exaggerated attitudes
of despair, a figure supposed to be that of the renowned founder of
Athens, Theseus,