© Katherine A. Schwab

Selene’s Horsehead

Fig. O, East Pediment, Parthenon
(British Museum, 1816,0610.98)
2010
Print: 12 ¼ x 10 3/8 inches

This famous horsehead is well preserved and can be seen in the British Museum. One of four horses pulling Selene or perhaps Nyx at the end of a night’s journey, this outermost horsehead was carved as we see it, with the rest of the body having already disappeared below the horizon, or pediment floor. The bulging eye, flaring nostril, and open mouth convey his exhaustion at the end of this journey. The original marble sculpture was carved in 438-432 B.C.E.

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Torso of Selene or Nyx

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Apollo