Women on the Parthenon Frieze

Power on the Parthenon frieze:

How to show you’re better than your enemy in art.

Written by Athina Mitropoulos-Monk

This panel from the Parthenon frieze, currently in the British Museum is fairly well known:

Five maidens, unmarried women, stand in a line, facing forwards, holding a range of objects. They are all dressed very modestly, with their himations (types of dress) covering their whole bodies. Their many-folded drapery reaches their feet, to provide maximum coverage; the two at the back even have cloaks to cover their left arms and even their hands. This demonstrates and celebrates how noble women in Classical Athens should dress and behave; we can never forget Thucydides’ account of Pericles’ Funeral Oration when he supposedly said that the greatest glory for a woman is to be least talked about (Thucydides, 2.45.2). Covering up your bodies with multiple layers certainly plays into this ideal. Their constrained movements, their orderly stance, and their downward facing heads likewise showcases this expectation. The sculptures were, after all, commissioned and sculpted by men, to promote an image of civic piety and unity.

Despite this, each maiden is carved distinctly from the others around her. No two women are the same. This applies to all the figures on the frieze, but let’s stick to this panel. The young woman in the front has her left arm bent at the elbow, holding the drapery across her chest; her hair seems to be tied up in a bun and she has a cloak covering her, which stops at her calves. The figure behind her lets both arms rest down past her hips; has longer hair which falls on her neck, and does not wear a cloak over her himation. The maiden behind her, the central figure in the panel, rests her arms in a similar position as the woman in front of her, and likewise does not have a cloak, but her clothing falls flatter across her chest with fewer folds, and her himation has wider folds over her legs. The fourth and fifth women of the panel both wear cloaks to cover their left arms but the arms are not in the same position, and the folds of the cloak are therefore varied also. Not enough survives of their heads to compare those, but we see enough subtle differences to confirm distinct figures have been carved.

Why bother? If the message is that women should not be talked about, why not rob them of their individuality and have them as carbon copies of one another. It’s easier to see why this hasn’t happened for the men on the frieze; they represent the political system known as democracy, where every man’s vote counts in the running of Athens. To rob them of their individuality would be to suggest that they don’t matter, and, in a system where every man can be called to vote and to serve, they certainly do matter.

So, what of the women? Well, I think it’s the same principle, with an extra dimension. No women do not vote in Athenian democracy, and no their voices are not heard on a public sphere, but they do contribute to society: they bear children and they worship the gods. Both of these are significant and vital for Athens’ continued success. Greek authors from this time echo Pericles’ sentiment in many ways, with Sophocles’ Ajax telling his wife ‘Silence adorns a woman’ (Sophocles Ajax line 284), but numerous also acknowledge the value of women:

‘My wife is perfectly capable of managing my household affairs by herself.’ (Xenophon Oeconomicus 7.3)

Moreover, there could be another angle, one that looks at Athens’ enemies: the Persians.

Persian equivalent: Persepolis

The Persian palace at Persepolis, in the heart of the Persian empire, modern day Iran, was a declaration of Achaemenid power, supremacy and royalty. Built during the reign of Darius I, it was an enormous complex of palatial buildings including housing for the royal family, administrative centres, and impressive and imposing ceremonial halls. This palace was similarly adorned by an elaborate frieze, parts of which can be seen in the British Museum:

his panel shows four soldiers standing in a row, each holding a spear and facing forwards. This is comparable to the women. Except for a big difference – these soldiers are all identical whereas the women were not. Why? If we return to our point earlier about politics, we can get halfway to an answer. While the Athenian system was one of democracy, and the involvement of individuals, the Achaemenid system was a monarchy, with a single king at the top. Darius’ title, as inscribed at the Apadana (entrance hall) at Persepolis is:

‘Darius the great king, king of kings, king of countries.’

This is a very different system, one where there is a single leader at the top, and everyone else is his subservient. It makes sense, therefore, that here, the figures who are not Darius, can appear the same: they are all his servants. And while here they all stand in procession to him, the Athenians are processing to their goddess, Athena. The Persians honour a man, the Athenians a goddess.

An object of power

Let’s return to our Parthenon panel and look closely at what the women are carrying, in particular the first woman on the left of the relief: she holds a thymiaterion, an incense-burner. The two behind her hold oinochoai (vessels for pouring liquids), and thelast two hold an omphalos phile (shallow bowls for pouring liquid offerings to the gods). All five therefore hold objects that relate to sacrifices. This celebrates their role in religion.

The incense-burner, however, does something more than just honour the gods; it celebrates Athens’ victory over the Persians. Such objects were not typically Greek, and certainly not Athenian. They are more customary in Persian court life. A recent exhibition by the British Museum, entitled “Luxury and Power: Persia to Greece” made this clear, and the curator Dr James Fraser, wrote persuasively about this in his exhibition book. By having women holding these objects, the Athenians do something clever: having men hold these symbols of luxury might conflict with the Athenian ideal that they are tougher than the Persians, and less corrupt by money and wealth. If women hold them, however, it can slightly feed into the idea that women like pretty things and show that Athenians are so wealthy and powerful that what was previously used by Persian men, is now used by Athenian women. It’s a classic case of having their cake and eating it too!

Conclusions

This one panel therefore reveals a number of seemingly contradictory ideas about Athenian identity and power:

Women should be modest and restrained, but they are also important.

Athenians were better than the Persians in their political system and use of luxury items, but also wanted to use these items in their lives because wealth is fun.

How can you use these ideas?

Classical Civilisation: Women in the Ancient world.

Evidence on the expectations of women. You can link it to the grave stele of Hegeso to discuss use of clothes and modesty for women.
Evidence for the role of women in religion, and their participation in the Panathenaic Festival.

Ancient History: Persian Empire

A means of understanding the values of the Persian Empire under Darius I.

Ancient History: Athens in the Age of Pericles.

Pericles’ building program.
The Panathenaia.
The role of women in daily life and the democratic system.

Questions

How important were women in Classical Athens?

How far can artworks be used to make political statements?