Editing Parthenon (section)

===Metopes===
{{Main|Metopes of the Parthenon}}
[[File:Parthenon XL.jpg|thumb|left|Detail of the West metopes|upright=1.2]]

The frieze of the Parthenon's entablature contained 92 [[Metope (architecture)|metopes]], 14 each on the east and west sides, 32 each on the north and south sides. They were carved in high relief, a practice employed until then only in treasuries (buildings used to keep votive gifts to the gods).<ref name="Parthenon">{{cite web |last1=Harris |first1=Beth |last2=Zucker |first2=Steven |title=Parthenon (Acropolis) |url=https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/ancient-mediterranean-ap/greece-etruria-rome/v/parthenon |website=Khan Academy |access-date=27 January 2020 |archive-date=27 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200127173505/https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/ancient-mediterranean-ap/greece-etruria-rome/v/parthenon |url-status=live }}</ref> According to the building records, the metope sculptures date to the years 446–440. The metopes of the east side of the Parthenon, above the main entrance, depict the [[Gigantomachy]] (the mythical battle between the Olympian gods and the [[Gigantes|Giants]]). The metopes of the west end show the [[Amazonomachy]] (the mythical battle of the Athenians against the [[Amazons]]). The metopes of the south side show the Thessalian [[Centauromachy]] (battle of the [[Lapiths]] aided by [[Theseus]] against the half-man, half-horse [[Centaur]]s). Metopes 13–21 are missing, but drawings from 1674 attributed to Jaques Carrey indicate a series of humans; these have been variously interpreted as scenes from the [[Lapith]] wedding, scenes from the early history of Athens, and various myths.<ref name=Barringer2008 >{{Cite book |last=Barringer |first=Judith M |year=2008 |title=Art, myth, and ritual in classical Greece |publisher=Cambridge |isbn=978-0-521-64647-5 |page=78 |oclc=174134120}}</ref> On the north side of the Parthenon, the metopes are poorly preserved, but the subject seems to be the [[Iliou persis|sack of Troy]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Titi |first=Catharine |url=https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-26357-6 |title=The Parthenon Marbles and International Law |date=2023 |isbn=978-3-031-26356-9 |pages=42, 45 |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-3-031-26357-6 |s2cid=258846977 |access-date=30 May 2023 |archive-date=29 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230529083331/https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-26357-6 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The mythological figures of the metopes of the East, North, and West sides of the Parthenon had been deliberately mutilated by [[Persecution of pagans in the late Roman Empire|Christian iconoclasts]] in late antiquity.<ref>Pollini 2007, pp. 212–216; Brommer 1979, pp. 23, 30, pl. 41.</ref>

The metopes present examples of the [[Severe Style]] in the anatomy of the figures' heads, in the limitation of the corporal movements to the contours and not to the muscles, and in the presence of pronounced veins in the figures of the [[Centauromachy]]. Several of the metopes still remain on the building, but, with the exception of those on the northern side, they are severely damaged. Some of them are located at the [[Acropolis Museum]], others are in the [[British Museum]], and one is at the [[Louvre]] museum.<ref>{{Citation |title=Tenth metope from the south façade of the Parthenon |url=https://www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvre-notices/tenth-metope-south-facade-parthenon |access-date=30 January 2018 |archive-date=31 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180131140847/https://www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvre-notices/tenth-metope-south-facade-parthenon |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In March 2011, archaeologists announced that they had discovered five [[Metope (architecture)|metopes]] of the Parthenon in the south wall of the Acropolis, which had been extended when the Acropolis was used as a fortress. According to ''Eleftherotypia'' daily, the archaeologists claimed the metopes had been placed there in the 18th century when the Acropolis wall was being repaired. The experts discovered the metopes while processing 2,250 photos with modern photographic methods, as the white [[Pentelic marble]] they are made of differed from the other stone of the wall. It was previously presumed that the missing metopes were destroyed during the Morosini explosion of the Parthenon in 1687.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://greece.greekreporter.com/2011/03/04/archaeologists-discover-new-metopes-of-parthenon/Discovery |title=Discovery Reveals Ancient Greek Theaters Used Moveable Stages Over 2,000 Years Ago |website=greece.greekreporter.com |access-date=14 August 2011 |archive-date=28 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728071035/https://greece.greekreporter.com/2017/07/12/discovery-reveals-ancient-greek-theaters-used-moveable-stages-over-2000-years-ago/ |url-status=live }}</ref>