The East Pediment

I chose to talk about a relatively small part of the Parthenon, the east pediment figures. There are nine surviving figures on the east pediment, including the two horses. The first horse is that of Helios, the sun god, while the horse on the right side is Selene's, the moon goddess. The central figures are missing, but were likely Zeus with his daughter Athena. The reclining male on the left side is either Herakles or Dionysos, the two seated women next to him are possible Demeter and Persephone, the earth and grain goddesses respectively. The next figure is Iris, a messenger of the gods. To the right of the missing central figures are likely Hestia, Dione, and Aphrodite, the goddess of love. 

The figures of the reclining Dione and Aphrodite are stunning to me. The folds of their dresses are so complicated and natural, clinging to the bodies of the two goddesses with surprising lightness. Their heads are missing, but you can still see that they look like they are just waking up and are very relaxed. These, like the other statues in the pediment, were once painted, which must have added to their lifelike nature. Though, at the height where they were situated, I wonder how much of the detail in these statues would have been visible.