The Parthenon Marbles

What are they? The Parthenon Sculptures are a collection of different types of marble architectural decoration from the temple of Athena (the Parthenon) on the Acropolis in Athens. Made between 447BC and 432BC they consist of: a frieze which shows the procession of the Panathenaic festival (the commemoration of the birthday of the goddess Athena); a series of metopes (sculpted relief panels) depicting the battle between Centaurs and Lapiths at the marriage-feast of Peirithoos; and figures of the gods and legendary heroes from the temple's pediments. The British Museum houses 15 metopes, 17 pedimental figures and 247ft (75m) of the original frieze. [Description from the British Museum website]