Five Central Figures from the East Pediment circa 470-456 BC The East Pediment          Thanks to Pausanias' description, we know that the event represented on the east pediment of the temple of Zeus is the race between Pelops and Oenomaos which began at the altar of Zeus at Olympia. Specifically, we see the moment just before the race when Oenomaos announces the rules and the two contestants swear an oath. The story was represented in other artistic forms, a fine example of which is a vase from Naples showing Pelops and Oenomaos along with Ariadne and Dionysos. Today we know of two versions of the story of the race between Oenomaos, the ruler of Pisa, and Pelops, the wandering hero who seeks the hand of Oenomaos' daughter Hippodameia. In the version according to Pseudo-Apollodorus, Oenomaos' charioteer Myrtilos is bribed by Pelops (or convinced by Hippodameia) to replace one of the lynch pins in the king's chariot with one of wax. The chariot is then upset mid-race, and the king is killed. When Myrtilos then tries to take Hippodameia for himself, he is killed by Pelops and dies cursing Pelops' family. As Stewart points out, this is probably not a very flattering story to promote about the man known as the second founder of the Olympic games, especially in Olympia itself, so it is more likely that the sculpture is based on Pindar's version of the story. According to Pindar, Pelops wins the race by obtaining faster horses from his lover Poseidon, and after the race Zeus blasts Oenomaos' household with a thunderbolt, a blatant reference to Pisa's recent defeat at the hands of the Eleans.          Dozens of possible reconstructions have been proposed for the east pediment since 1877, all based principally on the heights of the figures and the extent to which figures are finished on different sides. The arrangement is further complicated because although Pausanias refers to figures on the "right" or "left", he does not state whether he is referring to the visitor's right and left or to that of the god. There does, however, seem to be some consensus on the identifications of the principal figures and the moment of the story which is depicted. The central figure in the pedimental group is identified as Zeus (figure H), who is overseeing the contest. The beardless man (figure G) is presumably Pelops, while the older, bearded man (figure J/I) is Oenomaos. Crouching Servant circa 470-456 BC The woman with the carefully arranged hair who gestures as if to draw a bridal veil is identified as Hippodameia (figure K) preparing to accompany Pelops on his chariot. The last of the central figures, the heavier woman with the sparse and untidy hair is identified as Sterope (figure F), the wife of Oenomaos and mother of Hippodameia. Today Hippodameia is usually grouped with Pelops and Sterope with Oenomaos, although the couples are sometimes placed on opposite sides of the composition. It seems plausible, however, that Pelops and Hippodameia stood on Zeus' right with Oenomaos and his wife on the god's left, since the right was traditionally the favored side (Stewart, p.143).          As was common in pedimental compositions, the most important figures in the story were placed in the center while the figures' importance to the scene decreased the farther from the center they were placed. The east pediment remains balanced, although it is by no means symmetrical. Each half of the composition features a chariot team with various servants and grooms, a seer, and a reclining figure representing one of the local rivers, the Kladeos and the Alpheios. The figures that display the greatest emotion and anxiety about the unfolding scene are those of Sterope, who raises her hand to her face in concern, and the seer who looks at Oenomaos tragically, foreseeing the king's fate. Oenomaos, on the other hand, stands confidently. He is, some scholars have suggested, one of the earliest examples in sculpture of the Polygnotan innovation of showing figures talking calmly with their mouths open and teeth showing, while previously open mouths had always depicted terror, pain, amazement, ecstasy, or strain (Saflund, p.129). The forms and emotions of the figures on the east pediment create a narrative which would have been relevant to visitors to Olympia on several levels, and the whole pediment resembles an episode from a dramatic cycle (Pollitt, p.35).

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