This section of the Parthenon frieze is generally interpreted as depicting a girl1 handing to a man a folded peplos, the annual gift for Athena, intended for the life-size statue of Athena Polias. This girl would then be one of the arrêphoroi, two girls of noble birth between the ages of 7 and 10 who participated in the weaving of the peplos carried it and other objects in the procession. The man could be the archon basileus, the chief religious officer of Athens.
The central location of this scene over the entrance to the Parthenon (on east side of temple) seems to indicate that this is the climax of the procession. The peplos has arrived on the Acropolis and is being delivered for placement on the statue of Athena Polias.
This scene has been further emphasized by being framed by figures, which because of their larger scale, probably represent the twelve Olympian gods viewing this ritual. The drawing below provides a context for the scene above. Here we see four of the Olympian gods (note their larger size). These have been identified as Hera and Zeus (on left with a female figure, who may be Nike or Iris, behind the veiled Hera) and Athena and Hephaestus (on the right). The three other human figures in the drawing include two girls carrying stools, the purpose of which is unknown and an adult woman, who could be the priestess of Athena or perhaps the wife of the man behind her.
Hephaestus is given this prominent position on the frieze because he like Athena was a patron divinity of handicrafts. Because of this connection Hephaestus was honored in Athens with a large temple overlooking the Agora. In this temple was also a statue of Athena. Myth also closely associated the two divinities, making Athena and Hephaestus the "parents" of Erichthonios, who may have originally been the same as Erechtheus, an early king of Athens. Hephaestus tried to rape Athena, but only managed to spill his seed on her thigh. She wiped the semen off with a piece of wool and threw it on the ground. The seed impregnated the earth and Erichthonios/Erectheus (both names mean 'earth-man') was born.
Below are three other Olympian gods not included in the drawing. They are probably Poseidon, Apollo, and Artemis.
