Commentary Prepared by Dr. Julia Lenaghan, Ashmolean Museum

A 089
Youths and Cow (Slab 43 [41]); Parthenon Frieze South

Marble (Pentelic)
Frieze
W (pres.) 121.5 cm

The slab belongs to the large section of the frieze removed by Lord Elgin in 1802 and was subsequently transferred to London.
United Kingdom, London, British Museum
High Classical, ca. 440-432 BC

Preservation:
The original borders of the slab are partly preserved on both sides. The upper rim and a very large section around the upper left corner are missing. The hind part of the cattle and most of the upper body of the figure on the left are not preserved. The heads of all figures are missing or badly damaged. The surface of the relief is very worn in places, with a wide diagonal score in the lower right corner. Parts of the lower rim with the feet of the figures have broken off. The cast does not precisely coincide with the original slab: The right border with the hands of the right figure does not belong and seems to have been restored. Similarly, the head of the figure on the right does not belong here.

Description:
The slab depicts four men, clad in himatia, and a cattle walking to the right. They occupy different planes of the relief, so that two men appear to be walking behind the cattle, one in front, and one ahead of it. The man in front leads the cattle on a (painted?) rope, of which no traces remain. His mantle leaves the right shoulder bare, whereas the other figures are all tightly wrapped in their himatia.

Discussion:
The slab depicts a further sequence of the procession of the sacrificial cattle, here in a calmer, more static scene (cf. A 88). The right side of the cast has been restored to join the next slab, but the sequence represented in the Cast Gallery is almost certainly incorrect.

Bibliography:
F. Brommer, Der Parthenonfries (Mainz 1977) 102-103 pl. 156 A very detailed study of the Parthenon frieze including previous bibliography and ample photographic documentation.
I. Jenkins, The Parthenon Frieze (London 1994) 71 The latest official documentation of the frieze by the British Museum. Jenkins has renumbered some of the slabs and put them in a different order.
E. Berger and M. Gisler-Huwiler, Der Parthenon in Basel. Dokumentation zum Fries (Basel 1996) 142 pls. 115-116 Detailed study of the Parthenon frieze based on the reconstruction in the Basel cast collection, including an extensive bibliography.