An appreciation of the pediments on the Parthenon.

The pediments on the Parthenon were built between 438-432 BC and were the last part of the sculptures on the Parthenon to be completed. They formed low triangles that were nearly 100ft long. The pediments comprised of more than fifty different sculptures, which ranged in size from just over life-size to eleven feet high and no more than three feet from front to back because of the shallow space of the pediments.
They could be carved at leisure because they were lifted up in to place, and the roofing of the temple did not depend on them being in position in the first place. Phidias seems to have left Athens after he finished making the great statue of Athena in 438 BC. It was at the same time that serious work began on the pediments, so although Phidias may have designed the pediments, their implementation must have been mostly done without him.
The triangular shape of both pediments ensured careful organisation of the scene. The most important figures appear in the middle whe...