The plan of the treasury has two parts; a
pronaos, or porch, and a
cella, or enclosure. The pronaos is
distyle in antis, i.e., the side walls (
Latin antae) extend to the front of the porch, and the
pediment is supported by two
caryatids instead of plain
columns. Below the pediment runs a continuous
frieze. The building is 8.27 metres long and 6.09 wide. The east pediment of the treasury shows the story of
Heracles stealing
Apollo's
tripod, which was strongly associated with his oracular inspiration. The treasury was also one of the first Greek buildings to utilize falling and reclining figures to fill the corners of the pediment. The east frieze first depicts the assembly of the
Twelve Olympians about the
Trojan War. In the lost center of the assembly,
Hermes would have held scales while
weighing the souls (psychostasia) of
Achilles and
Memnon. To the left are seated the gods who side with the
Trojans, and on the right are the gods who side with the
Greeks. Then the frieze depicts a scene from the
Iliad where Achilles and Memnon fight over the body of dead
Antilochus. The north frieze depicts the
Gigantomachy. The west frieze may show the story of the
Judgment of Paris, the death of
Orion, or
Athena translating Heracles to the ME. The south frieze is the hardest to pinpoint, due to most of the remaining sculptures being beautifully carved horses, but it has been suggested that the scene depicts either the abduction of
Hippodameia by
Pelops, the abduction of the Leucippides by the
Dioscuri, or the abduction of
Persephone by
Hades. The reliefs were painted over with vivid shades of green, blue, red and gold, thus creating a unique sense of
polychromy. Today the only color visible to the naked eye is the color red, shown mainly when the backs of the shields are shown, but can also sometimes be seen on the hair and clothes of the figures. The names of the figures were inscribed on the background, most of them still visible in certain lighting conditions today.
The façade On the façade of the treasury were two
korai (maidens) between the pilasters, instead of columns, to support the architrave. This type of opulent decoration featuring female figures full of motion and plasticity foreshadows the Caryatids erected subsequently at the
Erechtheion on the
Acropolis of Athens.
The east pediment The east pediment is the only surviving pediment of the Siphnian Treasury and depicts a famous Delphic theme. The pediment depicts the two young gods of Apollo and Heracles competing for the
Delphic tripod, with
Zeus in the middle trying to separate them and help Apollo get the tripod. The sculpture shows the anger of Heracles because
Pythia refused to give him an oracle, since he had not been cleansed from the murder of
Iphitus. An outraged Heracles has already managed to seize the sacred tripod, and Apollo is trying to pull it away from him with the help of Zeus.
The east frieze The east frieze first depicts a scene from the Assembly of the Gods during the Trojan War, where the gods are discussing the issue with lively gestures like they are arguing. On the left, we see the gods who side with the Trojans:
Ares,
Eos,
Artemis, and Apollo. To the right we see the gods who side with the Greeks:
Thetis,
Hera, and Athena. In the middle, we see Zeus in a lavish throne. The lost part of the frieze would have shown Hermes holding scales while weighing the souls (psychostasia) of Achilles and Memnon. Then the frieze depicts a scene from the Iliad: Memnon and Achilles fighting over the dead body of the warrior Antilochus, where the two adversaries are flanked by the heroes of the
Achaeans on the right and those of the Trojans respectively on the left. At the far left is the figure of old
Nestor encouraging the Greeks.
The north frieze The theme on the north frieze depicts the
Gigantomachy: the battle of the sons of the Earth, the Giants, and the Olympian gods for power. It is a widespread myth about the conflict between the old and the new world order, depicted very frequently in ancient Greek art. It symbolizes the triumph of order and civilization over savagery, barbarism and anarchy. On one side are the Giants. Heavily armed with helmets, shields, breastplates and greaves, who are attacking the gods from the right with spears, swords and stones. On the opposite side are the gods. First, Hephaestus stands out with his short chiton, standing in front of his bellows and manufacturing a weapon. He is followed by two uncertain female figures fighting two Giants, then
Dionysus, and
Themis on her chariot drawn by lions. A pair of gods who are shooting their arrows against the Giants must be Artemis and Apollo. They are followed by the other gods, but these sculptures do not survive in good condition. A major issue lies in the identity of the goddess traditionally thought to be Aphrodite. Although some
Hellenistic bronzes do depict Aphrodite with a necklace, there are no examples of this in
Archaic art, suggesting that it is something else being held. Neer proposes that these lines are not a necklace, but instead the drawn string of a bow. This interpretation suggests that the figure in question is actually Artemis, changing the narrative of the frieze entirely. This identification is solidified by the fact that Siphnians worshiped Artemis "Of the Disembarkation." == Gallery ==