Sculpture of Ilissos
- Audio guide stop: 252
- Gallery: Room 18
- Maker: Pheidias
- Culture: Classical Greek
- Made in: Athens
- Date: 438BC-432BC
- Object type: statue, pediment
- Materials: marble
- Museum number: 1816,0610.99
- Museum: The British Museum
- Collection record: British Museum website
- Image © The Trustees of the British Museum, shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence.
Listen to the free audio guide
About this object
Before you is a marble statue representing a reclining naked man from the West pediment of the Parthenon, carved between 438 and 432 BC in Athens. Although parts of the figure—like the head and left hand—are missing, the sculpture captures a moment of movement as if the figure is rising into action. A piece of drapery drapes from his left arm to the ground, then lifts over his right knee, adding to the sense of motion.
This statue was positioned in a corner of the pediment and is thought to represent the river-god Ilissos. Details on the back of the statue were carefully finished, even though they would not have been visible in its original location. The design fits elegantly with the architecture of the Parthenon.
The work was designed by Pheidias, a leading sculptor of Classical Greece. It was later purchased by Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin, and is now part of the Parthenon Sculptures collection.
See it in person
Sculpture of Ilissos is on display in Room 18 at the British Museum on Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury, London — free to enter. Choose British Museum on audioguide.london and type its audio guide stop number, 252, from the gallery label, or take a photo of it, to hear this free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
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