How Do We Know That Carrey’s Drawings Can Be Trusted?

A picture of the original sculpture once found amongst the thirty-two metopes on the south-side of the Parthenon.This drawing by Jacques Carrey demonstrates the accuracy and detail of his drawings.

Carrey’s drawings are very accurate. We know this because many of the metopes he drew survive, and we can compare his drawings to them, as above.

Why Would Greek Sculptors Depict an Event So Ancient on the South Side of the Parthenon?

The south-side of the Parthenon where the thirty-two metopes were once displayed.Both pediments, the metopes below them, and the north metopes which faced the center of the Akropolis were in plain view to those who frequented the area. The south metopes on the other hand, on the long back side of the temple near the cliff, were “behind the scenes,” so to speak. And this is where the sculptors went into some depth about the origins of their religious history. Metopes 1 through 12 and 21 through 32 pertain directly to Kentaurs seizing Lapith women before the Flood. Centered between these twelve scenes on each side, were metopes 13 through 20. These eight metopes depicted something “central” to Greek religion, taking us back to the original human events upon which their religious system was based.

<< The south side of the Parthenon today, near the cliff.

Click here to see all thirty-two metopes on the south side of the Parthenon as drawn by Jacques Carrey.

Next: How Do We Know that the Greeks Knew Who Kain Was?