Parthenon marble Block XIX South Frieze

Marble relief (Block XIX) 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. This block shows parts of two horsemen, one of whom wears a short tunic with a chlamys and long boots which are visible on a block (Block XX) in the Acropolis Museum, Athens. A large gap is opened in the riders, which is a deliberate device for marking the end of the cavalcade. 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.