Comments on: British Museum 2

By: Brett Holman

Brett Holman — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 06:35:25 +0000

That makes sense, but centaurs are more fun.

By: Craig Moore

Craig Moore — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 07:37:24 +0000

You say

“Not that the Elgin Marbles weren’t impressive: this scene shows part of the eternal struggle between centaurs and humans.”

The centaurs are believed to represent Greek’s fight against outside aggressors like Persia according to the Director of the British Museum

By: Brett Holman

Brett Holman — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 16:47:40 +0000

I don’t think I saw the Bassae frieze! I may have managed to miss it while wending my way around, or it might have been in one of the closed galleries.

I think that’s pretty much why I liked the Nereid Monument more; I could get much more of a sense of how they would have looked originally. Of course that’s very difficult to do with something as extensive as the Elgin Marbles, unless perhaps they were returned to the Parthenon — something I’m happy to let the British Museum do now that I’ve seen them there! :)

By: Alun

Alun — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 12:55:46 +0000

I’d agree with you about the Nereid monument being much more interesting than the Elgin marbles. I also prefer the Bassae frieze to the Parthenon frieze, because it’s presented so much better. The way the Elgin marbles are presented, chopped up and in isolation, misses much of the point of the frieze, but that’s me being obsessed by context again. :)

By: Brett Holman

Brett Holman — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 08:39:40 +0000

Thanks Tony, it’s handy having a classicist as a reader :)

By: Tony Keen

Tony Keen — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 18:23:18 +0000

Worry not, that is part of the Nereid Monument, one of the side panels from the lower frieze.