Parthenon Frieze _ North X, 37-43

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This block from the North side of the Parthenon frieze shows a few of the sixteen elderly men in himatia in a procession. They all converse while walking or standing, or they turn to look behind them. One man (38) ties a ribbon around his head, while another (41) has his hair arranged in braids that cross at the nape of the neck. These have been interpreted as the thallophoroi (elders carrying olive branches) or as city officials.  The frieze of the Parthenon forms a continuous band with scenes in low relief that encircles the upper part of the cella, the main temple, within the outer colonnade. The theme represented was the procession toward the Acropolis that took place during the Great Panathenaia, the commemoration of the birthday of the goddess Athena.Numbering taken from I. Jenkins, The Parthenon Frieze, 1994. Frieze slabs are marked in Roman numerals, people are marked in arabic numerals.