The east pediment of the Parthenon

_801299 [The east pediment of the Parthenon]

The sculptural arrangement on the east pediment of the Parthenon, [see above], is based on a theme that derives from the Greek mythology. It narrates the birth of Athena [the goddess of wisdom] from the head of her father, Zeus [the father of all gods]. How it happened is well described below:

“[So,] according to [Greek] mythology Zeus gave birth to Athena after a terrible headache prompted him to summon for Hephaestus’ [the god of fire and the forge] assistance. To alleviate the pain, he ordered Hephaestus to strike him with his forging hammer, and when he did, Zeus' head split open and out popped the goddess Athena in full armour.”
Source: http://ancient-greece.org/art/parthenon-ped-east.html
 
In the center of the composition above one can see Zeus sitting on his throne, and Athena, fully grown and armored, standing in front of her father, while many other gods on both sides of the composition are witnessing Athena's miraculous birth.

Photographed in the Acropolis museum in Athens on January 30, 2014
and then
heavily processed in software to eliminate unpleasant window reflections and to give prominence to the figures.

 
Please click on the picture for a better view.
Then,
let your imagination travel 25 centuries back 
– when the Parthenon was first opened to the public – 
and “see” the beauty of the original statues not only on the east pediment
but also of those on the west pediment that will be uploaded soon.