Bulfinch’s Mythology · Chapter
The Minerva of the Parthenon explained
This chapter describes the statue of Minerva created by Phidias for the Parthenon in Athens.
What happens
This chapter describes the statue of Minerva created by Phidias for the Parthenon in Athens. The goddess is depicted standing, holding a spear and a statue of Victory, with a highly decorated helmet surmounted by a Sphinx. The statue was forty feet tall, made of ivory and gold, with marble eyes. The Parthenon itself was also built under Phidias's direction, adorned with sculptures including the Elgin marbles now in the British Museum. Both the Jupiter and Minerva statues are lost, but extant statues and busts are believed to reflect Phidias's conception of their grave and dignified beauty, characterized by repose.
Characters to notice
Key passages
“The goddess was represented standing. In one hand she held a spear, in the other a statue of Victory.”
Minerva is depicted upright, grasping a spear with one hand and a small figure of Victory with the other.
Describes the iconic pose of the statue.
“The statue was forty feet in height, and, like the Jupiter, composed of ivory and gold.”
The statue stood forty feet tall and, similar to the Jupiter statue, was made from ivory and gold.
Highlights the colossal size and precious materials of the chryselephantine statue.
“Both the Jupiter and Minerva of Phidias are lost, but there is good ground to believe that we have, in several extant statues and busts, the artist’s conceptions of the countenances of both.”
Although the original statues of Jupiter and Minerva by Phidias no longer exist, it is widely thought that surviving statues and busts capture the artist's vision of their faces.
Discusses the loss of the originals and the possible preservation of Phidias's style in later works.