THE WEST FRIEZE OF THE SIPHNIAN TREASURY: A NEW RECONSTRUCTION*
For many décades, scholars hâve puzzled over the various problème that concern the west frieze of the Siphnian Treasury, in particular the identification of its subject matter and the reconstruction of the missing parts, not only ail of the long third slab, but also the smaller lost portions of deities, horses, and chariots1. About two-thirds of the west frieze remain (fîg. 1), composed of Blocks Ρ and Q. On Block P, Hermès steadies Athena's team while the goddess mounts the chariot. On the left of Block Q, Aphrodite steps down from her chariot, looking round to right. Her vehicle and team take up the remaining space on this block. In the upper right corner, at the break next to the head of the left hand trace horse, there are four slender "denticules" which hâve usually been interpreted as the branch of a palm tree or, more recently and with some réservation, as the ends of flying folds of drapery.
Ever since the discovery of the Siphnian Treasury and its sculpture in the late nineteeth century, scholars hâve proposed various thèmes for the subject of the west frieze. Thèse are discussed in Fouilles de Delphes and will be mentioned only briefly hère2. Homolle thought it depicted the arrivai of Herakles in Olympos3, a subject in which the présence of chariots would be expected, but this interprétation
(*) I am greatly indebted to many friends and colleagues for the generous support I hâve received for this study, in particular, E. Pentazos. Grants from the American Council of Learned Societies and the Faculty Research Award Program of the City University of New York enabled me to travel to Greece to examine the frieze. Erik Hansen, architect for the French School at Athens, generously shared with me his knowledge of the building. P. Amandry, B. Cohen, G. Daux, M. Littauer and B. Ridgway also helped in various ways. I especially wish to thank E. B. Harrison for her warm encouragement and enthusiastic interest in this project. An oral version of this study was presented at the October, 1983 meeting of the Classical Civilization Seminar at Columbia University. (1) Thèse are the basic références for the west frieze of the Siphnian Treasury: G. Daux, P. de la Coste- Messelière, "La frise du trésor de Siphnos," BCH 51 (1927), p. 1-55, especially p. 51-55; P. de la Coste- Messelière, Au Musée de Delphes (1936), p. 389-412; B. Ridgway, "The West Frieze of the Siphnian Treasury: A Rearrangement," BCH 86 (1962), p. 24-35; L. V. Watrous, "The Sculptural Program of the Siphnian Treasury at Delphi," AJA 86 (1982), p. 159-172, especially p. 168-169. For excellent photographs, cf. C. Kennedy, The Treasury of the Siphnians at Delphi. Siudies in the H istory and Criiicism ο f Sculpture IV (1929), pi. 13-23 and P. de La Coste-Messelière, Delphes (1943), pi. 66-71. (2) FdD IV, 2, p. 140-143. (3) BCH 18 (1894), p. 194.
