Group Presentation Assessment 1. From The Sculptural Program of the Siphian Treasury at Delphi, by Watrous, I learned some techniques used to identify scenes from fragment, in addition to the interesting stylistic choices made for the sculpture of the treasury. While some of the sculpture is well preserved, and the scenes can clearly be identified, such as the North Frieze, depicting a giantomachy, other parts are difficult to identify due to the nondescript fragments that remain. For example, the Southern Frieze depicts an abduction scene, but which abduction is unclear. Paris appears on the Western Frieze, but assuming that the Southern Frieze depicts the abduction of Helen does not fit, since “in Homer, however, Paris’ abduction of Helen did not take place in a sanctuary, nor was it accomplished …show more content…
Therefore, one can safely eliminate Paris and Helen as potential candidates depicted in the scene. This could also depict Dioskouroi’s abduction of the Leukippidai, but Theseus’ Rape of Helen is a better fit, since Helen was abducted from a sanctuary (Watrous 1982, 170). The Rape of Helen also fits into the theme of the treasury, which “moraliz[es] admonition against moral hubris”, as it was considered one of Theseus’ most heinous acts (Watrous 1982, 160). Watrous continues his examination of the rest of the sculpture, from the remaining friezes and the East Pediment in similar capacity. He carefully examines the scene to find the best fit in terms of characters and story. He does this primarily in three methods, through then-contemporary politics, through other artwork that is similar, and through literary sources. By using these methods together, he is able to determine best fit, not on what one would expect, but seemingly solely on