The Parthenon Frieze

Neils's examination of the Parthenon frieze's visual language offers new insight into this important monument.

Previous studies of the Parthenon frieze have sought to interpret the monument's iconography, neglecting the sculpture's visual language. Neils provides the first in-depth examination of the frieze which decodes its visual language, but also analyzes its conception and design, style and content, and impact on the visual arts over time.The Parthenon frieze, one of Western civilization's major monuments, has been the subject of intense study for over two hundred years. Most scholarship has sought an overall interpretation of the monument's iconography and therefore neglects the visual language of the sculpture, an essential tool for a full understanding of the narrative. Dr Jenifer Neils's study provides an in-depth examination of the frieze which decodes its visual language, but also analyzes its conception and design, style and content, and impact on the visual arts over time. Unique in its wide-ranging approach, The Parthenon Frieze also brings ethical reasoning to bear on the issue of repatriation as part of the ongoing debate on the Elgin Marbles.