British Museum: Greek Art – Ancient-Greece.org

The British Museum is host to a plethora of Greek art and artifacts.

Highlights include the sculptures of the Parthenon, the Mausoleum of Halikarnassos, and the Temple of Apollo Epikourios at Bassai, Linear B tablets, the Rosetta Stone, and the Nereid Monument.

The Museum has been the subject of media discussions on the custody of cultural artifacts, like the Parthenon (or Elgin) marbles, many of which are pictured here.

The Parthenon Pediments

Parthenon East pediment statue of Dionysus

Parthenon pediment detail of male statue

Parthenon East pediment three female figures.

The east pediment represented the birth of Athena, and the west pediment faced depicted the contest between Athena and Poseidon during their competition for the honor of becoming the city’s patron.

Parthenon Frieze

The Parthenon frieze, is a group of relief sculptures created specifically to decorate the perimeter of the exterior wall of the Parthenon’s cella. It is 1 meter high and 160 meters long.

The sculptures are executed in low relief and depict the people of Athens in two processions that begin at the southwest corner and parade in opposite directions until they converge over the door of the cella at the east end of the Parthenon.

Almost certainly it represents the Panathenaic procession that was a central celebration in Athens during Classical times.

Parthenon Metopes

Parthenon metope. A Lapith holds a wounded Centaur from behind.

Parthenon metope. Lapith fights a Centaur.

Read more about the Parthenon metopes…

The Parthenon metopes that were visible on the exterior of the temple were made in deep relief and surrounded the temple on all sides. Most Greek temples had few decorated metopes, but in the Parthenon all ninety-two metopes were decorated on all sides with scenes from Greek mythology.

Nereid Monument

sculpture of an embassy of elders and troops discussing with figure (probably a Persian satrap) under a parasol

The Nereid Monument detail from the large podium frieze

Nereid Monument

Mausoleum of Halikarnassos

Greeks fighting Amazons. From the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus

Relief sculpture from the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus

Relief sculpture of Greeks fighting Amazons.

Relief sculpture from the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus. Amazonomachy. 351 BCE.

Photographs from Mausoleum of Halikarnassos artwork at the British Museum.

Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic Sculptures and Artifacts

Fragment of a Kore statue holding a bird

Sculpted Drum from The Later Temple of Artemis at Ephesos

Relief sculpture from the tomb of Kybernis.

Tomb of Kybernis: north side frieze detail of a siren

Bronze Age Artifacts from Greece

Pre-Classical Greek Artifacts in the British museum include objects from Bronze and Iron Ages in Greece. It includes Cycladic, Minoan, Mycenaean, and Archaic objects.

Temple of Apollo Epikouros at Bassai

Metope depicting a dancing female figure

Artifacts from the temple of Apollo Epikourios at Bassai.

The Parthenon

The Parthenon Sculptures

The original Caryatids (Caryatides) statues from the Erechtheion. View from above.

Acropolis Museum

Parthenon, Sculpture