Due to its exceptional artistic and technical quality, the Parthenon on the Acropolis in Athens is widely considered to be the most significant monument of ancient Greece. The Liebieghaus Skulpturensammlung will be dedicating a comprehensive exhibition to the pediment sculptures of this iconic temple, centred on spectacular new findings from many years of research. The team led by Vinzenz Brinkmann, Head of the Liebieghaus Department of Antiquities, has, using innovative methods, developed for the first time an archaeologically sound proposal for the complete reconstruction of the sculptures on the east pediment, making outstanding discoveries in the process. The exhibition “Athena, the Stage is Yours: The Parthenon Puzzle“ presents these research findings to the public for the first time and brings together high-calibre loans from, among others, the British Museum in London, alongside selected exhibits from the museum’s own collection.
Built in the fifth century BCE, the Parthenon was dedicated to the goddess Athena and was also a powerful symbol of Athens’ wealth, influence and cultural prestige. Its east pediment depicted the birth of Athena from the head of Zeus—a primordial cosmological event handed down through ancient written sources. In the course of Christianisation, large parts of the composition, comprising a total of thirty-nine figures, were destroyed. Although all known fragments were published as early as 1910, key questions regarding the original arrangement and form of the ensemble have hitherto remained unresolved.
Now, the research team led by Vinzenz Brinkmann has achieved a decisive breakthrough: numerous fragments have been reattributed to individual figures and, with the aid of archaeological, art-historical and technological methods, have been brought together for the first time to form a well-founded overall picture. Depictions on reliefs of Roman sarcophagi provided crucial clues to the original composition. Using modern techniques such as 3D scanning, the fragments were digitally assembled, and a true-to-scale model of the sculptural group was ultimately reconstructed.
“With this exhibition, we are demonstrating just how vibrant and insightful archaeological research can be today. The new findings fundamentally alter our view of one of antiquity’s most famous monuments and, at the same time, demonstrate how closely scientific precision and museum education can be intertwined”, says Philipp Demandt, Director of the Liebieghaus Skulpturensammlung.
“The sculptures of the Parthenon are among the most iconic works of antiquity and, at the same time, among its greatest unsolved mysteries. Our research makes it possible, for the first time, to re-imagine key fragments and to reconstruct the monumental composition of the east pediment on a sound scientific basis. This brings one of the most significant iconographic programmes of Greek antiquity back within reach”, explains Vinzenz Brinkmann, Head of the Liebieghaus Department of Antiquities.
