Sam Benevides
11/16/14
Frieze From the Temple of Apollo at Bassai
I have never had much of an appreciation for classical art. It could be that all of the time
spent in museums as a child had a depreciative effect on my understanding of the effort and skill
required to carve delicate features from large chunks of marble. My family lived overseas in
England and Switzerland for two years. Travel tickets were cheaper over there because the
flights were not long-distance, so I had the incredible opportunity to visit places that some people
never get the chance to see. However, this was all while I was about 8 and 9 years old, so much
of the time that we spent in museums was lost on me. I did not understand why anyone would
want to spend time examining sculptures and paintings of naked people who had been dead for
hundreds or thousands of years. However, over the years I have come to appreciate the fluid
grace of the statues, and even the intricate designs on vases that used to bore me. The
background that this class has given me on the different figures and myths often depicted in the
artwork has also helped to further my appreciation. Of all the artistic sources that I have
compiled for this project, my favorite is the frieze from the Temple of Apollo at Bassai because
of the amazing detail and embellishment by the artist.
The British Museum’s website explains that this frieze is known as the Phigaleian Frieze,
and it was created sometime between 420-400 BC by an unknown artist. The sculptures are made
of marble, and would have been an integral part of the temple. Only the North and West portion
of the frieze depict the Wedding of Peirithoos. The South and East portions depict a battle
between the Amazons and the Greeks, which was led by Heracles. Sadly, some fragments of the
original piece are missing, but I find the overall frieze to be surprisingly intact. Although I never
used to appreciate the statues themselves, I was always impressed by their endurance. Modern art
seems so temporary. Paintings can decay and pots can shatter or be ground into dust, but statues
and sculptures have a sense of eternity about them. As the saying goes, “they just don’t make
them like that anymore.” I also love that because this frieze was part of a temple, it would have
been a part of daily religious life for many people back then. The inhabitants of Philagia
supposedly built it to honor Apollo for curing their city of a plague, so they spent the time and
money to build this beautiful, intricate temple to a deity who they believed to have saved them
(Greece: Bassai Sculptures (Room 16)). And now, over 2000 years later, we can see the same
sculptures in a building far away from their original location. The timelessness of it all is just
incredible to me.
Part of what made this source stand out from the other sources was the detail in all of the
individual slabs. They are each slightly larger than 130 centimeters, and would have been above
eye-level in the temple. So the sculptor probably could have gotten by with carvings that only
show the action occurring in the foreground of the battle, and left out details such as tiny folds of
cloth. However, when examining the different slabs it is possible to see carvings in the
background of the frieze. Although they are not terribly descriptive, the viewer can see the
occasional hand, leg, or swirl of clothing in the background that hint at the scope of the battle.
The other sources do not have more than one plane of action; this frieze is the only one with a
sense of depth. I also appreciate all of the detail in the clothing, particularly the women’s dresses.
Their clothing appears to swirl around them in the fighting, a feat accomplished by the artist
chiseling individual folds into the marble. It even clings to their legs and bodies in an extremely
realistic manner, revealing how and where the clothes were secured.
The overall mood of the frieze is interesting as well. Despite the intention of the temple
as a tribute to Apollo, the subject matter of the decorating is rather dark. The battle between the
Lapiths and Centaurs that takes place at the wedding is presented as a slaughter on both sides.
However, the artist took certain liberties with the myth, which I admire because it sets this frieze
apart from the other sources. He added not only women to the scene, but also children. The
women are depicted as being sexually assaulted by the centaurs, but they are still trying to
protect their children from the chaos around them. The death of Kaineus is also depicted, along
with various Lapiths and centaurs. Some of the Lapith men are seen trying to protect the
women, while others are being trampled. Although each of the sources depicts the same battle, in
my opinion this frieze was the only one that accurately portrayed the desperation of those
involved. Reading the description of each individual slab on the British Museum’s website really
reinforced for me that this battle was not just a myth to people back then. They believed in the
stories so they wanted to do the lives lost at the banquet full justice in the artwork, while also
giving honor to Apollo for helping the Lapiths achieve a victory.
Another reason I liked this source is that it added more elements to the story than the
other sources. There were parts of the frieze that I did not recognize from the original myth.
Although it wasn’t strictly necessary, I was able to do some background work on the myth. I
ended up really enjoying it because there were characters that I had never heard of, such as
Kaineus, but there were also figures that I did not realize were connected to the story, such as
Ixion. There are some overlapping aspects to the different stories, and it was interesting to find
out how they all intertwine. I already knew how Theseus and Peirithoos fit in, and the larger
cultural allegory for the Greeks and Persians. However, I was curious about the man illustrated
as being buried under large boulders, and why this particular myth was presented on a temple
dedicated to Apollo. I found some background on Kaineus, who is depicted both in this frieze
and in the West Pediment of the Temple of Zeus at Olympia. The stories all varied slightly,
which seems fairly typical for mythology. However I now understand his basic history, which
Ovid tells in his Metamorphoses. I also learned that in some versions of the myths Apollo is the
creator or father of the Lapiths and Centaurs, which was interesting because he essentially had to
choose a side between his civilized and uncivilized descendants.
I have many memories of my father and I teasing my mother about all of the museums
she dragged us through kicking and screaming when we lived overseas. They used to be dusty
barriers we had to pass through in order to get to the next meal, or the next hotel, or the next
gelato stand. Over the years I developed a sense of respect for the culture and history the artwork
enveloped, but I still did not enjoy the art itself. Thus when we were given this project, I felt
relatively neutral about the artistic portion of the work. However, it ended up being a very
interesting experience, and one that I have enjoyed. This is one of the first times I have
appreciated ancient sculptures for any reason other than history. I chose this frieze over the
others to react to because in addition to being an incredible embodiment of culture, I also find it
to be a genuinely impressive piece of art.
Works Cited
"Collection Search: You Searched for Bassai Frieze Centaurs." British Museum. Trustees of the
British Museum, n.d. Web. 16 Nov. 2014.
"Greece: Bassai Sculptures (Room 16)." British Museum. Trustees of the British Museum, n.d.
Web. 16 Nov. 2014.