| This paper will focus on the theme of the Parthenon frieze. Based upon the classification of the former research on Parthenon frieze, most of which were done by western scholars, the paper will introduce the iconographic method, together with the characteristics of the cult of Athena and the social-political background of the polis of the Athens in 5th century B.C. to interpret the theme of the Parthenon frieze. In this way, I try to explain the inter-relationship of the social-political idea and the religious thought. As for the framework, this paper will first make a tentative judgment for the theme of the Panathenaia by analyzing the whole picture of the frieze; after then, I will try to explore the evidences for the Panathenaia saying in terms of religious thought and of political idea respectively; and then, the inter-relationship of the latter two. As the patron saint of the Athens, Athena inherited the "wisdom" from her mother Metis and the "power" from her father Zeus, while these two aspects seem to match along with the dual characteristics of the social-political background in Periclean Athens: Pericles, with his implementation of the "democracy" within the polis of Athens and the push of "imperialism" towards the other polis in the Aegean Sea, reflected in some degree the dual influence of the "wisdom" and the "power" from the patron goddess. To the people of Athens, their religion always goes with its social and political nature, which seems more like a form of social life. We can say that the political idea of Pericles was achieved with the help of the Athena cult tradition, with which he could construct the image of the polis and its people by using the already-existed image of Athena, and the festival of the Panathenaia was a great way to spread the image to the Aegean Sea. Thus, as a part of the Project Pericles, the Parthenon frieze was designed with the theme set on the Panathenaia, showing the piety for the patron saint and the thanking for their polis.
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