Parthenon marble block IX South frieze

Marble relief (Block IX) from the South frieze of the Parthenon. The frieze shows the procession of the Panathenaic festival, the commemoration of the birthday of the goddess Athena. The block shows parts of three horsemen. They wear a chlamys draped over a short tunic. The manes of the horses, standing up like hard bristles as those of Arab horses, are distinctive. Metal reins, which are now lost, were inserted in drill-holes. For more information on the composition of riders see South frieze Block I. The horsemen of the South frieze are less well preserved than those of the North, and the composition is less varied. The explosion of the Parthenon in 1687 damaged the South frieze the most.