In a passage from Diodorus Siculus, the courtier Tiribazus, faced with charges of treason, tells his judges how once he had saved the Great King’s life:
Once during a hunt, while the king was riding in a chariot, two lions came at him, tore to pieces two of four horses belonging to the chariot, and then charged upon the king himself; but at that very moment Tiribazus appeared, slew the lions, and rescued the king from the danger.1
The episode has several uncharacteristic features, like the mention of two lions attacking the king—instead of one, which was a familiar scene in Ancient Near Eastern iconography—and the depiction of the courageous killing of the beast not by the monarch but by a courtier—since this deed was normally the privilege of the king whenever he was on site. Compare the episode involving Alexander the Great and Lysimachus, echoing the incident of Artaxerxes I and Megabyzus (discussed below).2 Yet, this concise picture presents the two animals which were at the very core of the Persian imperial ideology, and which are the subject of the present paper, namely the horse and the lion.3
1. The Horse
The domestication of the horse (Equus caballus) occurred in the fourth millennium
There is nothing mortal that accomplishes a course more swiftly than do these messengers, by the Persians’ skilful contrivance. It is said that as many days as there are in the whole journey, so many are the men and horses that stand along the road, each horse and man at the interval of a day’s journey. These are stopped neither by snow nor rain nor heat nor darkness from accomplishing their appointed course with all speed. The first rider delivers his charge to the second, the second to the third, and thence it passes on from hand to hand, even as in the Greek torch-bearers’ race in honour of Hephaestus. This riding-course is called angarēion by the Persians.7
The last term, ἀγγαρήιος, is connected to the word ἄγγαρος, which perhaps signified “herald”.8 It is an allusion to Aeschylus’ representation of the announcement of the fall of Troy by Clytaemnestra (Agamemnon 282–83), where a series of fire signals conveying the calamity is depicted as “courier fire” (ἄγγαρον πῦρ). Although Herodotus insinuates a comparison between the two eastern empires and plays upon the association of Persia and Troy,9 there is also a marked difference between the two. The Persians, unlike the Trojans, endure their disaster. Furthermore, while it is a (wooden) horse, which led to the Trojan tragedy,10 nothing symbolizes the Persian strength and perseverance like the postal system that employs horses. Indeed, to underscore this fact Herodotus hints at the contrast between the substance of the message (defeat at sea) and the method of its diffusion (mastery of the land).11
In his Cyropaedia, Xenophon attributes the same postal service to Cyrus the Great and emphasizes again the role of horses, their presence in stations and the fact that the intervals between stations were one day’s ride:
He [Cyrus] experimented to find out how great a distance a horse could cover in a day when ridden hard but so as not to break down, and then he erected post-stations at just such distances and equipped them with horses and men to take care of them; at each one of the stations he had the proper official appointed to receive the letters that were delivered and to forward them on, to take in the exhausted horses and riders and send on fresh ones. They say, moreover, that sometimes this express does not stop all night, but the night-messengers succeed the day-messengers in relays […] it is at all events undeniable that this is the fastest overland travelling on earth.12
The efficiency of the postal service was based upon the Royal Road system, which went back to the Neo-Assyrian imperial network, with its stations at fixed intervals, where horses and chariots could be changed.13 The horse thus contributed to the uniformity and the unification of the empire.14 It is no wonder that this animal was seen by the Greeks as a powerful symbol for Persian civilization. The disposition to view the steed in this manner was probably assisted by the fact that the taming of a horse entailed the breaking of its passion, impulsiveness, and unrestrained primeval uninhibited energies, and therefore was seen by the Greeks as a metaphor for the cultivating and nurturing progress itself.15
Another important vehicle in maintaining the Empire was the Persian cavalry; yet, surprisingly, there are only a few sporadic and scanty mentions of it in Greek texts in relation to actual clashes.16 The notable large-scale battles in which horsemen appear and which are depicted in Greek texts include those of Thymbrara (547/6
Herodotus (1.125) provides a rather rigid distinction between nomadic Persian tribes (νομάδες), namely the Daoi, Mardians, Dropicans and Sagartians, and the “tillers of the land” (ἀροτῆρες), the Panthaliaeans, the Derusiaeans and the Germanians—in addition to the three leading tribes, the Pasargadae (from whom came the Achaemenids), the Maraphians and the Maspians. It is clear that Herodotus points at the co-existence of the two modes of life within Persian reality or at least self-image.26 The nomadic pre-imperial mode of life of the Persians, as that of the other Iranians, was dependent on the spread of their employment of the horse.27 Some of the groups Herodotus mentions as “Persian” appear in military engagements, hence pointing at the place of nomadic horsemanship in the service of the sedentary Empire, as Persian cavalry.28
The sacred Zoroastrian texts of the Avesta, due to the fact that they were composed and transmitted during a long period—its older layer containing ancient information (dated as far back as the tenth century
Remnants of the value system, which attached great importance to horses, can be seen in the Achaemenid royal inscriptions. As in the Avesta, where other gods are portrayed giving swift horses to men,34 there also appears in Darius’ description of the land of Persia (Fars/Parsa) a reference to steeds as a gift from Ahura Mazda (“Lord Wisdom”, the supreme Zoroastrian good deity): “This country […] that Ahura Mazda bestowed upon me, good, possessed of good horses (uvaspâ), possessed of good men”.35 In this context, it is worth mentioning the importance of the Choaspes River, which literally means “possessing good horses” (OIr. *hṷ-aspa-, see Late Avestan huuaspa- or Huuaspā-: Yasht 19.67); the river rises in southern Media, flows by Susa, and is famous for the fact that its contents are the only water drunk by the king.36 One should also note the portrayal of Ahura Mazda’s benefits by Darius: “A great god is Ahura Mazda, who makes excellence in this earth, who makes man in this earth, who makes happiness for man, who makes good horses and good chariots (uvaspâ urathâcâ)”.37
Aeschylus (Pers. 26) identifies the Persians with horseback riding (and with archery).38 It is certainly difficult to uphold the picture of several Greek depictions, such as those of Xenophon (Cyr. 1.3.3) or Strabo (11.13.5), according to which the art of horse riding among the Persians was attained very late only through Median mediation.39 After all, in the reconstruction of the Neo Elamite cylinder seal of “Kurash of Anshan”40 (i.e., Cyrus I, the grandfather of Cyrus the Great, c. 600
Medes (OPers. Māda), the tribes settling in western Iran from the second century
In both the artistic and textual representations of the horse among the Persians, the animal serves three important roles in terms of ability, honor and religious function. In imperial Achaemenid ideology, knowledge of horsemanship was considered a requirement for the legitimization of the claim to the throne, since it displayed both might and military valor. This is evident in Darius’ self-presentation in the Naqsh-i-Rustam inscription, on the façade of his tomb:
As a horseman I am a good horseman (asabâra uvâsabâra amiy). As a bowman, I am a good bowman both afoot and on horseback (asabâra). As a spearman I am a good spearman both afoot and on horseback (asabâra).49
It is this representation that is reflected in Xenophon’ picture of the royal qualities of Cyrus the Younger in the Anabasis:
[Cyrus was] the most devoted to horses (φιλιππότατος) and the most skilful in managing horses […] when he was of suitable age, he was the fondest of hunting and, more than that, the fondest of incurring danger in his pursuit of wild animals.50
Herodotus also appears to reflect this Achaemenid ideological link between horsemanship and royalty through the figure of Darius I, albeit in two tongue-in-cheek portrayals. The first is the ironic manner in which this association is depicted: it is through a ruse involving a horse’s neighing at dawn that Darius obtained the crown (3.84–88) rather than through his ability to ride a horse.51 The second is the injury inflicted by Darius’ hasty leap off his horse while engaging in a hunt of wild beasts (3.129): he twisted his foot quite aggressively.52 This description again hints at Darius’ flawed horsemanship, and by inference, insinuates the problematic legitimacy of his claim to the throne. In all these examples, we can observe the social importance of horse riding in a nomadic community, with the focus being on the personal abilities of a person to break or control the horse. The story of Darius’ rise to power among the seven conspirators particularly assumes certain equality among members of the aristocratic elite, and the award given to merit and ability.
This importance of horsemanship to the Persians is sustained by Greek authors in the place they allot to it within Persian education. The locus classicus is Herodotus (1.136), who describes the Persians as educating the children three things only: riding, the use of bows and speaking the truth.53 Xenophon in his Cyropaedia portrays the young Cyrus as surpassing his peers in horsemanship:
when he saw a deer spring out from under cover, he forgot everything that he had heard and gave chase… somehow his horse in taking a leap fell upon its knees and almost threw him over its head. However, Cyrus managed, with some difficulty, to keep his seat, and his horse got up.54
Even more specific is a passage in the dialogue Alcibiades 1 (121e–122a), a work attributed in antiquity to Plato, though its authenticity is rightly doubted.55 This passage, which outlines the customary tutoring of the young among the Persians, incorporates horsemanship and hunting (for boys from the age of seven to fourteen). An instance of the Persian confidence in their horsemanship is given by Xenophon (Hell. 3.4.12), who relates that Tissaphernes is convinced he will be victorious against Agesilaus’ infantry because of his own cavalry. Previously, Herodotus (5.111–12) recounts that Artybius the Persian trained his horse to rear up against hoplites.
This emphasis on horsemanship reflects the nomadic value system of the pre-imperial Persians. Together with the transformation of the Persians themselves, their horses also changed through training and coaching. A telling example is revealed by conjoining two distinct anecdotes. In the clash of Cyrus the Great and Croesus, Polyaenus (7.8.1) tells us, the horses in the army of the former were shaken by the gleam of weapons of Croesus’ army56 and were frightened by the Lydian noise of the spears clanging upon their shields. Yet, According to Aelian, the Persians familiarized their horses to clamors and the bang of bronze “so that in war they may never be afraid of […] the clash of swords on shields”.57
The original mindset of the Persians was later combined with an imperial, sedentary worldview. A noticeable change is the growing importance of the chariot as a symbol of the central power and the growing remoteness of the king from the horse, with the ensuing lessening stress on the abilities of the king as a rider. This is in fact at once both a return to the earliest stage of the employment of the horse,58 and a transition to a seemingly more refined state of the imperial Persians. This portrayal goes along with the Greek depictions of the decadent king as never touching the ground with his feet,59 occasionally confusing the (war) chariot (ἅρμα) with the carriage (ἁρμάμαξα, covered four wheeled vehicle), a token of luxury.60
Greek written evidence sometimes counters this decadent picture by an archaic image of the Great King hunting mounted on a horseback.61 Certain descriptions, however, like the one at the beginning of this paper, which places the king in a chariot, are probably more accurate. They are also found in official imperial depictions of the Neo-Assyrian reliefs; of particular note are the wall panels of Ashurnasirpal II (r. 884–859
The absence of any depiction of the Persian king as actually riding a horse may have to do with the fact that there is no representation of a mounted warrior in the Achaemenid monumental iconography.65 This is true, although in Greek imagination such equestrian statues existed, as, for instance, the one of Darius I (3.88: ἀνὴρ ἱππεύς), with the legend “Darius son of Hystaspes by the excellence of his horse”. An interesting case is an undated letter (in Aramaic) of Arshama (Arsames), the satrap of Egypt probably from 458/7 or 454 until 407
Furthermore, the horse does not appear to feature in freestanding portions of the palaces in Achaemenid monumental sculpture. The fragments of an animal protome capital, which was on top of a column of the great hall of Palace S in Pasargadae, were believed by the excavator Ernst Herzfeld to be those of a horse.72 Yet, this is now uncertain.73 In fact, no horse-head capital has been found in any of the palaces. Apropos their relative absence in Persepolis, Margaret Cool Root (2002, p. 206) notes that “in view of the importance of the horse, it may seem puzzling that the animal does not play a more evident role in the program of architectural sculpture at Persepolis”.
In the visual representations of the different delegations bringing gifts in the east stairs of the Apadāna (Audience Hall) in Persepolis, all we see are riderless horses (below). One may imagine here a deliberate Achaemenid attempt to hint at the dual condition of the animal, at once stressing its importance as a symbol of the Empire in the form of a tribute, while suppressing the presentation of the nomadic horsemanship.74
All matters equine were of prime importance to the elite as reminiscence of the past reality of nomadic society, along with the honor it gave them. Evidence for the former pride and prestige that horse brought to the noble society can be found in various artefacts, like theriomorphic metal and terracotta drinking vessels with the head of a horse.75 These are found in Iran from the time of the Teppe Hasanlu (level IV) settlement in northern Iran (1000 to 800 bce), as exemplified in a bronze vessel terminating in a horse’s head.76 Other examples are two presumably fifth-century
Some of the aspects of the noble Persian honor and status were perceived by the Greeks in the context of the Persian Wars. For instance, Herodotus relates (9.20) that during the Battle of Plataea, Masistius’ horse had a golden bridle and that after the battle (9.70), the Tegeans found in the Mardonius’s tent a beautiful bronze manger of his horse, which they dedicated later as an offering in the temple of Athene Alea.83 Evidence for the reality of Persian aristocratic horse races is found in another passage of Herodotus, in which Xerxes’ steeds defeated Thessalian horses; Xenophon narrates another horse race.84 Equestrian images were part of official seals, like the impressions of two found in the Persepolis Treasury.85 Xenophon (Cyr. 8.1.8) relates that the honorable men of rank (the ἔντιμοι) came to their king’s court with their horses and spears.
Some items which display the interest of the elite in horses and horsemanship are problematic in that their date and provenance is unclear. One such artefact is a cast bronze figurine of a horse, galloping, and rider, leaning forward, probably originally attached to a (now missing) vessel (Figure 9).86 Other items are also challenging, since they come from a collection in which modern forgeries may be found. This is the so-called “Oxus Treasure” from central Asia, found between 1876 and 1880 and containing c. 180 gold and silver items of alleged Achaemenid metalwork, mostly votive offerings.87 Among the items is a gold figure of a male rider, originally mounted and holding reins, now extant without his horse (Figure 10).88
In the Persepolis reliefs of the east stairs of the Apadāna, some delegates arrive bringing horses as gifts or tribute, with their manes knotted at the top and at the tip of their tails (Figure 11).89 This practice should rather be seen as part of the imperial and royal mechanism rather than the aristocratic pre-imperial appreciation of the horse. In the royal personnel, there were special people in charge of taking care of the horses, as evident in the Persepolis fortification tablets.90 A token of the imperial significance can also be seen in the gifts bestowed by the king upon his dignitaries. A few examples in Greek texts stress this importance. For instance, Xenophon in the Cyropaedia (8.2.8) asserts that certain gifts are “so readily recognised as some of those which the king gives” such as bracelets, necklaces, “and horses with gold-studded bridles” (ἵπποι χρυσοχάλινοι); it is among the items that no one is allowed to have, except those to whom the king has given them.91 In a later passage, Cyrus gives a man:
one of the horses that were being led in the procession and [gives] orders to one of the macebearers to have it led away for him wherever he should direct. And to those who saw it, it seemed to be a mark of great honour, and as a consequence of that event many more people paid court to that man.92
Indeed, in the Anabasis (1.2.27), as part of the royal aspirations displayed by Cyrus the Younger, he gives the Syennesis of Cilicia gifts, “which are regarded at court as tokens of honour”, among them, a gold necklace and bracelets, a gold dagger and “a horse with a gold-studded bridle” (ἵππον χρυσοχάλινον). To these passages may be added the well-known depiction in Esther (6:1–9) of the royal gift of a horse.93 In this practice, we can see the combination of a vestige from the value system of the nomadic community, a society of warriors, which attached great importance to horses on the one hand, and the imperial hierarchical structure adopted later on, with its focus on the great ruler, on the other. The result was a system, which prized horses yet gave the king a prerogative in determining the nature of the honors and the bestowal of them to a selected few. An example of this amalgamation is Xenophon’s presentation, according to which the establishment of the Persian cavalry had to do with the honor the nobles received from Cyrus when he gave them horses.94
The last aspect to note with regard to the horse in Persia is its role in religious rites, where it was sacrificed in honor of the sun. Such rites, found in Greek literature,95 attest to the importance attached to the horse, which presumably goes back to a society in which it was prized above cattle and other animals known in agricultural sedentary societies. The practice of horse sacrifice was Indo-Iranian, while the association of steeds and the sun goes back to the Avestan society, where horses pull the celestial body’s chariot.96 Curtius Rufus (3.3.11) refers to a large horse in Darius III’s procession as “the steed of the sun” (equus, quem Solis appellabant). A similar ritual is also known in the form of sacrifices around the tomb of Cyrus the Great:
Within the enclosure, and lying on the approach to the tomb itself, was a small building put up for the Magians, who were guardians of Cyrus’ tomb, from as long ago as Cambyses, son of Cyrus, receiving this guardianship from father to son. To them was given from the king a sheep a day, an allowance of meal and wine and a horse each month, to sacrifice to Cyrus.97
Furthermore, Herodotus (3.90) states that Cilicia had to supply 360 white horses to the king, “one for each day of the year” (ἑκάστης ἡμέρης εἷς γινόμενος), whereby a reference is made to the lunisolar year of 360 days (including five epagomenal days).98 In the description of Strabo, the satrap of Armenia sent 20,000 horses to the Great King for the feasts of Mithra each year.99 This tradition ties together the rite of the sacrifice of horses to the sun100 with the imperial tribute system. In that system, payment was also made in horses: the Cappadocian annual tribute to the Persians was 1500 steeds, 2000 mules, 50,000 sheep.101 Compare the realistic figures, which Xenophon (Anab. 4.5.24) reports: a certain village reared seventeen horses for tribute to the Persians. The Persians followed their imperial Assyrian predecessors in levying horses.102 This self-projected imperial image is presumably the reason for the stress on the cavalry and horse breeding of other nations (mostly Iranian) than the Persians, seen in the Apadāna reliefs (above) and in Greek texts.103 It would seem, therefore, that the Persians were able to incorporate a traditional, nomadic set of values, in which the horse played an important part (and hence religious as well), within an imperial system in which they controlled many sedentary populations of the empire and exacted from them a tribute in steeds, presumably for military objectives.104
2. The Lion
The typical prey of hunting scenes and depictions in the Ancient Near East was the lion (Panthera Leo). An large early Mesopotamian basalt stone slab from the fourth millennium
The famous Neo-Assyrian instances of the lion hunt are reliefs from the Northwest Palace at Nimrud (9th cent.
Only in the seventh century
The hunt, and in particular lion hunting, occupies a problematic and ambiguous place within the Achaemenid court once the Persians succeed the Assyrians (and following the Neo-Babylonians) as dominating a world empire. One attitude can best be described as a deliberate attempt to suppress, in monumental Achaemenid sculpture, the traces of the lion hunt as it evolved in imperial Assyrian times. It is known that the hunting theme in Ancient Persia is absent from the portrayals of the Achaemenid king in the reliefs of the palaces. This absence is not merely because of the state of archaeological discoveries; similarly, there is no evidence of the theme in the royal inscriptions. Given that the hunting imagery was generally conspicuous in the ancient world, we can comprehend the reason why Greek writers felt the need to insert it into their readings of the Achaemenid inscriptions. Onesicritus, for instance, as Strabo (15.3.8) quotes him, indeed has the following text of an inscription on Darius’ grave: “as hunter I prevailed”. The phrase is either a misunderstanding of the actual legend or intended Greek embroidery.121 The iconographic and inscriptional silence concerning hunting in the Achaemenid period is unexpected since Neo-Assyrian pictorial inspiration on Persian imagery is evidenced elsewhere.122 It would seem to be a fair inference that the royal Achaemenid representations purposefully repressed any hint of the theme of the hunt.
The source for this suppression is probably twofold. Firstly, the lion had a religious significance and power in Elam, and among the Iranians at large. As presentations of the Elamite goddess Narundi were influenced by the imagery of the Sumerian, Akkadian, Babylonian and Assyrian goddess of love and war, Inanna/Ishtar,123 the latter’s attribute of the lion was also appropriated by Narundi. This is evidenced in a statue of her throne from Susa (Figure 18).124 Dedicated by king Puzur-Inshushinak (r. c. 2100 bce), king of Awan and ruler of Susa, this statue has six guarding lions on all sides: at her feet are two reclining lions facing each other; at the back, two standing upright and holding staffs as entrance guardians.125 A later token of this association between lions and the Mesopotamian goddess is the presence of lions on the walls of the processional street from the Ishtar Gate at Babylon (built 575
Secondly, in the eastern lands controlled by the Achaemenid monarchy, the lion hunt was perhaps remembered as one of the features of the Assyrian imperial reality and self-representation, and was perhaps identified too closely with it. The grand coalition that defeated Assyria and occupied Nineveh (612
This lion’s importance to the Iranians would account for its appearance in numerous manifestations throughout Iran. Indeed, as Root (2002, p. 199), aptly describes it, “at Persepolis itself, the lion […] seems to be everywhere”. Lions appear both as freestanding figures and on the reliefs. It may be that the two reclining headless feline grey limestone statues were originally lions, though the first excavators identified them as leopards.133 Yet, the most obvious example of the guardian lions placed at gates or doorways134 is the symplegma of the lion attacking a bull repeated on the reliefs of the façades of certain buildings in Persepolis. The lion attacks at the rear, biting the bull’s back, while the latter has its head turned back towards the lion. It is found, for example, in the triangle panels flanking the central groups of guards on the southern section of the central façade of the eastern stairway (Figure 20),135 and in palace H (Figure 21).136 This is a known iconographic type, which goes back to Mesopotamian and Anatolian art.137 Several explanations have been suggested for this symbolic struggle, such as the symbolism of good vs. evil (in this case, the lion protects against the perilous bull) or, less likely, a symbolic union (between the powers of the sun and the moon).138 A reasonable understanding of this symbol is to consider the two animals as tokens of their constellations (Leo, Taurus), indicating their relative positions in the vernal equinox.139 This date coincides with that of the Zoroastrian New Year (the Nowruz), probably the occasion for the tribute procession depicted in the reliefs.140
Among the lion artefacts in Persepolis, whose role may be supposed to be apotropaic141 and are worthy of mention, the following are of note: the decoration of lions on the edges of the royal robes (Figure 22),142 which may go back to the function fulfilled by the bronze reclining lion-shape pins from ninth-century
There are some echoes, however, of the staged lion hunting imagery in the Persian palaces, which displays the lion as a dangerous creature. At Persepolis, its presence is recurrent: in several buildings there are images in the Palace of Darius showing a figure fighting beasts, including lions.147 For instance, doorways of the main hall and the Throne hall, on both south and north jambs, have a figure fighting and stabbing a lion (Figure 25).148 The southern doorway in the west wall of the main hall, on both south and north jambs, has a figure fighting and stabbing a lion-headed monster, while on the northern doorway in the west wall from the main hall there is a corresponding figure fighting a bull, on both south and north jambs. And the southern doorways of small apartments connected with the main hall (room 16 on the east and room 5 on the west) have a figure grasping a lion cub in one hand (arm around its neck and holding its paw) and a dagger in the other hand, about to stab it: preserved intact are two jambs (Figure 26).149
Furthermore, on the doors of Xerxes’ so-called “Harem” building, those leading from the west to the main hall have a figure stabbing a lion while holding its forelock on both the south and north jambs, while those leading from the east to the main hall show a figure killing a lion-headed monster while holding its horn.
Similarly, at the entrance to the Throne Hall, the two jambs of the southern doorway in the western wall of the main hall have a figure fighting a lion in the southern doorway, paralleling a figure fighting a bird-headed griffin monster on the jambs of the northern doorway. A comparable set of two jambs of the northern doorway in the eastern wall of the main hall show a figure fighting a lion-headed monster, paralleling a figure fighting a bull on the jambs of the southern doorway in the eastern wall.
The pose of the figure dispatching a lion on the doorways parallels that of the monarch shown on the Assyrian stamp seals (see above) and reliefs. The Achaemenid motif is adapted in that the animals are now mostly fantastic creatures,150 and the person is not instantaneously recognized as the monarch, given his strapped shoes and his low headband.151 It is presumably some form of the “Persian man”, of whom an idealized version was represented by the Great King.152 Some impressions of cylinder seals found in the Treasury of Persepolis depict a hero in clash with a lion153 or a winged lion (here emphasized as the antagonistic monster).154 Mostly, the hero struggles against two lions155 or two winged lions.156 Incidentally, the imagery of two lions may provide a background for the elements of the story at the beginning of this paper. The image of the hero grasping a lion is ichnographically reminiscent of another hero, the colossal human figure (550 cm in height) from the exterior façade of the throne room of Sargon II (r. 722–705
The adaptation of the Neo-Assyrian hunting iconography in a manner which suppresses the instant suggestions of monarchical power, may indicate the significance given to the hunt by the royal and noble families in the Achaemenid period, and how they partially received the Mesopotamian chase of lions as fighting the forces of chaos. One might conclude that the lion hunt was identified with the imperial power of the Assyrians to such an extent that it was forever tainted and branded as repugnant for the elite families in Media, Persia and Elam. The reality was, however, that the lion hunt was practiced by the king and his court. An interesting iconographic display of the ambivalent attitude towards the lion and the hunt is presented in the portrayal of one of the Apadāna delegations and mentioned by Root (2002, pp. 200–1). The Susian (Elamite) delegation (No. II) brings a lioness and two cubs to the monarch, presumably as game to one of his parks (Figure 28).160 In contradiction to the other animals brought in the procession (compare the horses above), the lioness is the only one allowed to express emotions, turning her head in anxiety to see her two cubs. This scene captures at once the dual sources of the Achaemenid imperial ideology: the Assyrian imperial one with its emphasis on the royal hunt, and the Elamite and Iranian one, with its attachment to the lion and the awareness of its protective power.
Furthermore, the reality in other parts of the Persian Empire was also different. First, in the Oxus Treasure from central Asia, there is a fifth- or fourth-century
In Asia Minor, several fifth- and fourth-century
These artefacts and the presence of this iconographic motif testify to the fact that lion hunting in its imperial garb persisted in the reality, if not the ideology displayed in monumental sculpture, of the Achaemenid Empire. The hunt was central not only in the royal court but also in the satrapal courts and centers, as described by Xenophon (Cyr. 8.6.10). Moreover, several Greek descriptions also bear witness to the fact that the lion hunt, at least in its representational format, was not suppressed in the western part of the empire. One such depiction is that of a painting of a chase of wild beasts in Semiramis’ palace in Babylon, in which the queen is mounted throwing a spear at a leopard and Ninus thrusting a lance into a lion at close quarters.169 The latter picture resembles the Neo-Assyrian iconography mentioned above.170 The portrayal is ultimately taken from the fourth-century
The hunt was indeed an important aspect of the real Persian court life,173 as can be gleaned again from the Greek texts. It was one of the highest honors given to Themistocles, who resided in the king’s court, to participate in the hunt and accompany the monarch.174 The author of the work De Mundo (398a), erroneously attributed to Aristotle, shows the great significance that nobles attached to the hunt in arranging and taking responsibility for some of its features,175 like being “leaders of war and hunting” (στρατηγοὶ πολέμων καὶ κυνηγεσίων). The fact that Alexander and his entourage preserved the practice of hunting lions and other animals as well as the symbolism and honor ascribed to it, show that it continued unhindered during the Achaemenid period.176
Hunting in Achaemenid Persia therefore became a court activity, echoing the previous importance assigned to it as part of the nomadic lifestyle. On the other hand, it reflected the complete transformation of this practice into an artificial and controlled pastime, whose importance lay in the system of honors it apportioned to members of the political and social elite, and which had political implications in its royal/central or satrapal/local settings.177 To see how much the royal hunt of the sedentary Persians was different from the aristocratic nomadic hunt one need only recall the special protocol used in the royal hunts, which asserted it was the monarch’s privilege to throw the first lance at the beast.178 According to the tale of Megabyzus, as told by Ctesias (FGrH 688 F 14.43), this Persian courtier, while hunting with Artaxerxes I, hit a charging lion with his spear. The story is similar to one at the beginning of this paper, except for the fact that the Great King was enraged at Megabyzus for the apparent slight, since the flouting of court code has impaired the Achaemenid royal ideological association between hunting, courage and rightfulness of the claim to the throne. It is no wonder that Artaxerxes I’s response was to command to execute Megabyzus.
Due to this meticulous attention to protocol details, the contrary Persian attempt to underplay the importance of the hunt in monumental sculpture was presumably noticed by the Greeks. A supposed absence of this practice was perceived as indicative of the monarchy’s weakness. The ending of Xenophon’s Cyropaedia, for instance, although overly rhetorical, highlights the discrepancy between the current decadent state of the Persians and their former rougher condition. The author flags the avoidance of hunting as one of the signs demonstrating the corruption and decay of the Persian Empire:
In times past, they used to go out hunting so often that the hunts afforded sufficient exercise for both men and horses. However, since Artaxerxes and his court became the victims of wine, they have neither gone out themselves in the old way nor taken the others out hunting.179
3. An Afterthought and Conclusions: The Horse, the Lion, and the Persians’ Two Modes of Life
At the end of his work, Herodotus takes the readers back to Cyrus the Great. Just after subduing the Medes and before the Persians were to create a great empire, a proposal is made to the Persian leader to change their small and rugged land with a better one. Cyrus gives this famous retort:
Soft lands breed soft men; wondrous fruits of the earth and valiant warriors grow not from the same soil.180
The Persians are so convinced of the truth of this statement that they choose to remain in their poor land and be rulers rather than “sow crops in a level plain and be slaves to others” (the very last words of the work). This depiction is of course unrealistic, since we know that the Persians actually expanded further than their own rugged land. In fact, the passage contradicts the picture at the beginning of the work, where Cyrus orders his men to clear a region for cultivation one day and on the next day entertains them with wine and a feast. When he asks them what they like better, the Persians opt for the second day’s experience. In which case Cyrus exclaims:
This is your case, men of Persia: obey me and you shall have these good things and ten thousand others besides with no toil and slavery; but if you will not obey me, you will have labours unnumbered, like the toil of yesterday. Now, therefore, do as I bid you, and win your freedom […] All this is true; wherefore now revolt from Astyages with all speed.181
After this, the Persians are convinced and begin their campaign for liberation from the Medes, which would end in the establishment of their Empire. There cannot be, therefore, any greater variance than these two passages.182 The last section of the work may seem to lead the readers into some sort of a “virtual history” type of recounting the events of the past. That is to say, “what would have happened if”—if only the Persians had stayed in their own land and not attacked the wealthier countries. They probably would not have been endangered by the Greeks. Yet, when the starting point of the work, with the clash of Persians and Greeks and its causes, is read through the ending, it leads the readers to understand that the Persians did conquer more fertile countries and eventually became soft themselves. The presence of the two sections in the work is tantamount to characterizing the Persians in two modes of life, the soft and the rough, as if co-existing.183
These two depictions are actually variant stereotypes that the Greeks attributed to their celebrated eastern neighbors. Two types of behavior, that is, boldness and softness, are employed by Classical authors to typify the Persians. While the Persians are presented as submissive slaves, at the same time they may be viewed as uninhibited—specifically their master, the Great King. Thus, on the one hand there is an absence of freedom visible in Persia, on the other hand, an absence of law.
It is intriguing that the Persians themselves maintained some sort of dichotomy in their sense of identity or in their official self-presentation. The split is between what was displayed as the “Mede” and the “Persian”—found in the expression “Persia and Media” in official accounts,184 and in the reliefs in Persepolis, which portray alternating Mede and Persian figures.185 The Mede is typically dressed in the so-called hunting or riding costume,186 while the Persian displays the typical court garb.187 These are the two sides of the same imperial portrait. The riding costume apparently belongs to the pre-imperial, nomadic, Persian mode of subsistence (roughly corresponding to what the Greeks saw as “hard” life)188 and the Persian clothing to the sedentary-imperial being (what the Greeks termed ‘soft’ life). It is quite the reverse of what the Greek authors associate with “Median” and “Persian” existence, namely, that the Medes were overly civilized decadent people as opposed to the rugged Persians.189 Yet, it is fascinating that the Greeks were accurate in depicting a dichotomy, which the Achaemenid royalty and nobility did maintain in order to preserve aspects that went back to their nomadic way of life.
In this paper, I have tried to show how these two sides of the Persians, perceived as “hard” and “soft” by the Greeks—or rough and decadent—were observable in a twofold attitude towards two significant animals, that is, the horse and the lion. The significance of these two beasts is both symbolic and practical, and has everything to do with that split or dichotomy. I hope to have shown that certain attitudes visible during the Achaemenid Persian period reflected the significant transition in their history, namely from nomadic to sedentary people, and from the margins of the Neo-Assyrian empire to the center of power. I have presented a certain transformation in the meaning of these animals, resulting in a combination of imperial and pre-imperial approaches with regard to the horse and lion. As nomads, the Persians attached great importance to horses in a social context—in which horsemanship was valued and provided a means of legitimacy for the king—in education, as a source of pride and prestige, and in religious rites, where it was sacrificed in honor of the sun. In the Persian sedentary society of the Empire, the horse assumed a different meaning as a symbol of the central power as well as of the means to expand the scale of civilization, for example in the famous postal system. In the case of the lion, the paper displayed a varied attitude, between suppression and continuation of the hunt, which also divided between east and west. As successors of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, the Persians continued the practice of imperial lion hunting with its symbolic meaning of overcoming the power of dangerous chaos. Yet, in the eastern monumental representations the hunt is absent, because of ideological reasons going back to the religious significance the lion had for pre-imperial Persians; this importance is rather observable in the numerous other manifestations of the lion in monumental Persian art. The symbolism of these two beasts can be applied onto the Persians themselves. Thus, it can be seen that the latter attempted to preserve both their leonine side, as it were—related to the wild, non-imperial reality, in which the lion had a significant protective power—and their equine aspects, which had to do with both the soft, domesticated, civilized and luxurious life as well as the hard, nomadic mode of existence.
Funding
This research received no external funding.
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank Branko van Oppen for his assistance during the production of this paper. I would also like to thank Sian Lewis and Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones for organizing the conference panel in which a preliminary form of this paper was delivered. I would also like to thank Mark Garrison (Trinity University, San Antonio, TX, USA) for the image used for Figure 1.
Conflicts of Interest
The author declares no conflict of interest.
Abbreviations
| BM | The British Museum, London |
| EHAM | Erebuni Historical and Archaeological Museum-Reserve, Yerevan |
| IAM | Istanbul Archaeology Museums (İstanbul Arkeoloji Müzeleri) |
| INM | Iran National Museum (Mūze-ye Irān-e Bāstān), Tehran |
| IrMus | Iraq Museum, Bagdad |
| JPGM | J. Paul Getty Museum and Villa, Los Angeles |
| Louvre | Musée du Louvre, Paris |
| MMA | The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York |
| OIM | Oriental Institute Museum, Chicago |
| PFS | Persepolis Fortification Sealings |
Footnotes
1. Diod. 15.10.3: κατὰ γάρ τινα κυνηγίαν ἐφ’ ἅρματος ὀχουμένου τοῦ βασιλέως δύο λέοντας ἐπ’ αὐτὸν ὁρμῆσαι, καὶ τῶν μὲν ἵππων τῶν ἐν τῷ τεθρίππῳ δύο διασπάσαι, τὴν δ’ ὁρμὴν ἐπ’ αὐτὸν ποιεῖσθαι τὸν βασιλέα· καθ’ ὃν δὴ καιρὸν ἐπιφανέντα τὸν Τιρίβαζον τοὺς μὲν λέοντας ἀποκτεῖναι, τὸν δὲ βασιλέα ἐκ τῶν κινδύνων ἐξελέσθαι; trans. Oldfather (LCL series); (Almagor 2018, pp. 218–19).
2. Curt. Ruf. 8.1.14–16; cf. Hdt. 3.32.1.
3. For reasons of space, the discussion is not intended to be comprehensive.
4. See (Littauer and Crouwel 1979, pp. 24–26; Kelekna 2009, pp. 93–94; Gheorghiu 1993). The theory that horse riding was as early as the fourth millennium has been contested and debated; for which, see (Zarins 1978, pp. 4–11; Anthony et al. 1991; Anthony and Brown 2000; Levine 1999; Drews 2004, pp. 12–26: “occasional riding”). The practice came from the outside into Iran, where the native equid was the Equus hemionus onager; for which, see (Littauer and Crouwel 1979, pp. 23–24; Kelekna 2009, pp. 24, 43; Potts 2014, p. 49). Note the manner in which the hybrid hemionos is used to symbolize Cyrus the Great in Herodotus (1.55, 1.91; cf. 3.151); see (Asheri et al. 2007, pp. 115, 157).
5. “Nomadism” designates the life of seasonal migratory herders, periodically moving between grazing territories and pasture lands; for which, Arist. Polit. 1.1256a; Hippocr. De aer. 18; see (Potts 2014, pp. 2–3; Almagor 2014, p. 4).
6. A text from Mari: see (Durand 1998, pp. 2.484–2.488, text 732; Drews 2004, p. 42).
7. Hdt 8.98: τούτων δὲ τῶν ἀγγέλων ἐστὶ οὐδὲν ὅ τι θᾶσσον παραγίνεται θνητὸν ἐόν· οὕτω τοῖσι Πέρσῃσι ἐξεύρηται τοῦτο. λέγουσι γὰρ ὡς ὁσέων ἂν ἡμερέων ᾖ ἡ πᾶσα ὁδός, τοσοῦτοι ἵπποι τε καὶ ἄνδρες διεστᾶσι κατὰ ἡμερησίην ὁδὸν ἑκάστην ἵππος τε καὶ ἀνὴρ τεταγμένος· τοὺς οὔτε νιφετός, οὐκ ὄμβρος, οὐ καῦμα, οὐ νὺξ ἔργει μὴ οὐ κατανύσαι τὸν προκείμενον αὐτῷ δρόμον τὴν ταχίστην. ὁ μὲν δὴ πρῶτος δραμὼν παραδιδοῖ τὰ ἐντεταλμένα τῷ δευτέρῳ, ὁ δὲ δεύτερος τῷ τρίτῳ· τὸ δὲ ἐνθεῦτεν ἤδη κατ᾽ ἄλλον καὶ ἄλλον διεξέρχεται παραδιδόμενα, κατά περ ἐν Ἕλλησι ἡ λαμπαδηφορίη τὴν τῷ Ἡφαίστῳ ἐπιτελέουσι. τῶν ἵππων καλέουσι Πέρσαι ἀγγαρήιον. Cf. Hdt. 3.126.2: ἀγγελιηφόρος (v.l. ἀγγαρήιος); trans. Godley (LCL series).
8. See Hesych. s.v. A 374b, Suda s.v. α 164–65. The origin of the word is most probably the Akkadian word agru(m) (LU.ḪUN.GA; LU.A.GAR, pl. Old Babylonian agrū, New Babylonian agrūtu), “a hired man, hireling”, in relation with igru(m), “hire, rent, wage”, later specifically understood as a messenger and by derivation, the Aramaic iggartā (Almagor 2018, p. 153).
9. Cf. Hdt. 7.43: Xerxes sacrifices to Athena of Ilium in the “citadel of Priam” (Hall 1989, pp. 21–25).
10. See (Sparkes 1971).
11. See (Almagor 2021).
12. Xen. Cyr. 8.6.17–18: σκεψάμενος γὰρ πόσην ἂν ὁδὸν ἵππος καθανύτοι τῆς ἡμέρας ἐλαυνόμενος ὥστε διαρκεῖν, ἐποιήσατο ἱππῶνας τοσοῦτον διαλείποντας καὶ ἵππους ἐν αὐτοῖς κατέστησε καὶ τοὺς ἐπιμελομένους τούτων, καὶ ἄνδρα ἐφ᾽ ἑκάστῳ τῶν τόπων ἔταξε τὸν ἐπιτήδειον παραδέχεσθαι τὰ φερόμενα γράμματα καὶ παραδιδόναι καὶ παραλαμβάνειν τοὺς ἀπειρηκότας ἵππους καὶ ἀνθρώπους καὶ ἄλλους πέμπειν νεαλεῖς. ἔστι δ᾽ ὅτε οὐδὲ τὰς νύκτας φασὶν ἵστασθαι ταύτην τὴν πορείαν, ἀλλὰ τῷ ἡμερινῷ ἀγγέλῳ τὸν νυκτερινὸν διαδέχεσθαι. […] ὅτι γε τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων πεζῇ πορειῶν αὕτη ταχίστη […]. Xenophon’s description may in fact be an elaboration of Herodotus (~”they say”, φασί); trans. Miller (LCL series). See (Almagor 2021).
13. See (Graf 1994, pp. 181–84; Kinnier-Wilson 1972, pp. 57–60).
14. See (Kelekna 2009, p. 3).
15. Cf. Plat. Apol. 20a, 25b, Rep. 3.413d, Leg. 2.666e; cf. Gorg. 516ab; Xen. Mem. 4.1.3.
16. On the Achaemenid cavalry, see (Tuplin 2010).
17. Xen. Cyr. 6.2.16, 7.1.3, 8, 19, 26, 28, 31, 37, 39–40, 46, also 6.2.18, 7.1.22, 27, 48–49; cf. Hdt. 1.80; Polyaen. 7.6.6.
18. Hdt. 6.29.
19. Hdt. 9.20, 22–23, 32 and 71.
20. Xen. Anab. 1.7.11, 1.8.5–1.8.6, 9, 21, 24–25, 1.9.31.
21. Diod. 17.19–21; Arr. Anab. 1.14.4, 1.15.2 and 4.
22. Diod. 17.33.6, 34.3; Arr. Anab. 2.8.5, 10, 9.1, 11.2–11.3 and 7–8.
23. Diod. 17.58.2–4, 59.2–8, 60.4–6, 61.3; Arr. Anab. 3.11.3–8, 3.14.1–15.2. Other sporadic mentions of Persian cavalry units include Hdt. 8.113; Xen. Anab. 3.4.35, 4.3.3, 12, 17, 22–23, 6.5.7, Hell. 3.2.15, 3.4.13–14, 22–24, 4.1.17, 4.8.19, Cyr. 6.2.4, 7; Polyaen. 7.14.2–3, 7.21.6–7, 7.28.2, also 5.16.2.
24. Hdt. 6.112–13.
25. See (Drews 2004, pp. 82, 113, 116–18; Tuplin 2010, pp. 176–77, 179, 181).
26. See (Potts 2014, p. 89).
27. See (Frye 1984, p. 40): “[…] the movement of peoples beginning about 1000 BC was the result, in large measure, of a great expansion in the use of the horse […]”. See (Linder 1981; Potts 2014, p. 119): “It seems certain that the horse made some of the groups […] more mobile, though the evidence pertaining to non-military matters remains sparse”. According to one view, nomadic pastoralism was predominant in prehistoric and Bronze Age southwestern and south-central Iran (Alizadeh 2008). Yet, cf. the reasonable rejection of this opinion by (Potts 2014, pp. 8–46).
28. Daoi: Arr. Anab. 3.11.37, Curt. Ruf. 4.12.5; Mardians: Arr. Anab. 3.11.5, 3.13.1; Dropicans (i.e., Derbicans): Curt. Ruf. 3.2.7; Sagartians: Hdt. 7.85. The evidence is assembled in (Potts 2014, pp. 88–119).
29. Cf. Yasht 13.88-89. Cf. Yasna 50.6 (raiθī-, “charioteer” [i.e., of my tongue]). See (Benveniste 1932, p. 133; Kellens 1974, pp. 231–32).
30. See (Gershevitch 1959, pp. 69–70).
31. See Yasna 2.5, 6.4, 57.27-8, 62.8, 65.12, 70.6; Yasht 2.9, 5.11, 13, 79, 8.38, 10.52, 66, 76, 125, 136, 17.1, 4, 12, 21, 23, 19.51–2.
32. See Yasna 11.2, 40.3, 65.4; Yasht, 5.4, 11, 101, 10.3, 11, 20, 47, 13.7, 15.12, 19.76.
33. See (Justi 1895, p. 486; Mayrhofer 1977, p. 22). The OPers. variant is Asa-.
34. See Yasna 8.19, 44.18, 50.7 (Ahura Mazda); Yasht 5.86, 98, 130, 9.7, 12, 16, 20, 24, 28, 10.3, 17.12, 18.5, 19.67. See (Tuplin 2010, p. 129, n. 115).
35. DPd, 8 (trans. Kent); cf. DSf.11; DSp.3, DZc.4: “possessed of good charioteers, of good horses”. It is followed in the unauthentic AmH, 6–9 (Ariaramnes’ inscription from Ecbatana/Hamadan): “This country Persia which I hold, which is possessed of good horses, of good men”.
36. Hdt. 1.188.1–2, 5.49.7, 5.52.6; Ctesias, FGrH 688 F 37; Tibullus, 3.7.140; Strabo 1.3.1, 15.3.4; Curt. Ruf. 5.2.9; Paus. 10.31.7; Nicander, Theriaca 890; Ath. 2.45a–b; Ael. VH 12.40; Ausonius, Ordo Urbium Nobilium 20.29; Nonnus Dionys. 23.277; Suda, s.v. Χοάσπειον ὕδωρ, χ 366 Adler (Weissbach 1899; Tuplin 2010, p. 128). Plut. Art. 12.6 with (Almagor 2018, pp. 117–18).
37. DSs, 5 (trans. Kent). The name of Darius’ own father is composed of a horse stem: Hystaspes (OPers. Vištāspa): DB 1.2–4, 2.93–4, 97, DNa.12–13, DSa.2, Hdt. 1.183, 209–11, an Avestan name: Yasna 12.7, 23.2, 26.4, 28.7, 46.14, 51.16, 53.2.
38. See (Drews 2004, p. 116).
39. See (Briant 2002, pp. 14, 19–20). Xen. Cyr. 4.3.4–23, esp. 10–20 on the introduction of horse riding among the Persians as part of the new establishment of the cavalry by Cyrus the Great. Cf. Cyr. 8.6.10.
40. Anshan, the name of western Elamite region, was at one point separated from Elam and identified later within the Fars/Parsa (Persia) province, homeland of the Achaemenids. See (Hansman 1972, pp. 107, 108 + n. 60; Potts 2005).
41. PFS *93; See (Garrison and Root 1996, pp. 6–7, figure 2a; Garrison 2011). The cylinder seal is preserved in impressions on a series of clay tablets from the Persepolis Fortification archive.
42. Cf. the descriptions of a land in Fars/Persia as suitable for horses: Arr. Ind. 40.3, cf. Diod. 19.21.2–3; Strab. 15.3.1.
43. See (Kelekna 2009, pp. 63–4, 105, 119; Drews 2004, pp. 69, 107–8, 114).
44. See (Ghirshman 1954, p. 80, fig. 31; Drews 2004, pp. 67, 69, 78–79).
45. Hdt. 3.106, 7.40; cf. Arist. HA 9.632; Diod. 17.110.6; Strab. 11.13.7, 11.14.9; Arr. Anab. 7.13.1; Suda, s.v. Νίσαιον, ν 425 Adler. On the plain, see (Hanslik 1936, p. 712; Ghirshman 1954, p. 94; Herzfeld 1968, pp. 15–16; Gabrielli 2006, pp. 26–27).
46. Polyb. 10.27.1: “Media is the most notable principality in Asia, both in the extent of its territory and the number and excellence of the men and also of the horses it produces” (trans. Paton, LCL series), also 5.44.1.
47. See, however (Potts 2014, pp. 72–73).
48. See (Radner 2003).
49. DNb, 41–44 (Kent trans.); for this association between kingdom and a horse, also see Xen. Cyr. 8.3.35–50.
50. Xen. Anab. 1.9.5–6, trans. Brownson (LCL series); also Anab. 1.2.7: Cyrus partook in hunting “whenever he wished to give himself and his horses exercise”. Cf. 1.8.3, 15. The motif is found also in Cyrus’ letter to the Spartans (Plut. Art. 6.4), sent to solicit their assistance in his bid for the throne against his brother Artaxerxes II; among the monarchic traits which Cyrus finds lacking in his brother is the ability to keep a place on his horse during the hunt or on his throne in trouble (ἐκεῖνον δ’ ὑπὸ δειλίας καὶ μαλακίας ἐν μὲν τοῖς κυνηγεσίοις μηδ’ ἐφ’ ἵππου ἐν δὲ τοῖς κινδύνοις μηδ’ ἐπὶ τοῦ θρόνου καθῆσθαι). The recurrence of the theme is regardless of the question whether Plutarch invented this detail, inspired by Xenophon (Mossman 2010, p. 151) or whether, conversely, Plutarch took it from an earlier author (most probably Ctesias); see (Almagor 2018, pp. 110–12).
51. Cf. Ctesias FGrH 688 F 13.17. The later author Ptolemaeus Hephaistion (Photios, Bibl. cod. 190, 148b Bekker) produced another horse-related story concerning Darius, namely, that he was exposed by his mother and was fed on mares-milk by a horse guardian, Spargapises; for the latter name, see Hdt. 1.211.
52. ἐν ἄγρῃ θηρῶν ἀποθρώσκοντα ἀπ᾽ ἵππου στραφῆναι τὸν πόδα. καί κως ἰσχυροτέρως ἐστράφη.
53. παιδεύουσι δὲ τοὺς παῖδας… τρία μοῦνα, ἰχνεύειν καὶ τοξεύειν καὶ ἀληθίζεσθαι. See (Asheri et al. 2007, p. 170) for a suggestion that this triad may arise from a miscomprehension of royal formulae of glorification (as horsemen and archers). Cf. Strabo (15.3.18) who adds (from Polycleitus of Larissa?) the use of spears as a component in the Persian education.
54. Xen. Cyr. 1.4.8, trans. Miller (LCL series); for his age, see 1.4.5.
55. Diog. Laert. 3.37; cf. Apul. Apol. 25; Amm. Marc. 23.6.32; see (Schleiermacher 1836, pp. 328–36; Shorey 1933, p. 415; Smith 2004). Cf. the surveys in (Denyer 2001, pp. 14–26; Gribble 1999, pp. 260–61; Archie 2015, pp. 36–44).
56. Hdt. 1.27, 79–80 claims that the Lydian cavalry was excellent (Tuplin 2010, p. 172).
57. Ael. Nat. Anim. 16.25 (ὡς μή ποτε ἐν τῷ πολέμῳ δείσωσι … τὸν τῶν ξιφῶν πρὸς τὰς ἀσπίδας δοῦπον); cf. Xen. Anab. 1.8.18.
58. The horses were first used (before the second millennium
59. Cf. Deinon ap. Ath. 12.514a–b: “Whenever the king dismounts from his chariot, he does not leap down, nor is he supported by hands, but a golden stool is always put down for him, and treading on it he descends”. Cf. Heracleides ap. Ath. 12.514c: “when [the king] came to the end of the courtyard, he mounted a chariot, but sometimes a horse; he was never seen outside the palace on foot”.
60. See especially Hdt. 7.41, cf. 7.83. Cf. Aristoph. Acharn. 69–70; Xen. Hell. 3.1.13, Cyr. 3.1.40, 6.4.11; cf. Aesch. Pers. 1000–1; see also (Hall 1989, pp. 95–96).
61. See Xen. Cyr. 7.1.3, 7.3.6, 7.1.38, cf. Arr. Anab. 4.13.1. See (Gabrielli 2006, pp. 14–15).
62. BM inv. no. 124534 (Grayson 1991, no. 0.101.23.29).
63. BM inv. nos. 124850–51 and 54 (reg. no. 1856,0909.15); cf. BM inv. no. 124858 (Room C, Panel 5; preparation of chariot); see (Barnett 1976, p. 38, pl. 11; Weissert 1997, p. 340) (who even shows the existence of a topos of “Lion Hunt by Chariot (in the Plain)”).
64. BM inv. no. 89132 (reg. no. 1835,0630.1); see (Frankfort 1939, p. 221, pl. 37d; Curtis and Tallis 2005, no. 398).
65. See (Stronach 2009, p. 233, n. 35): “prolonged Achaemenid excavations at the site have so far failed to produce additional evidence for the existence of equestrian royal figures”. See (Tuplin 2010, pp. 104–5). This is grounded in an ideological difference between the Assyrian and the Persian images of power.
66. Ctesias relates (FGrH 688 F 14.38) that after the suppression of the revolt of Inarus the Egyptian Sarsamas (in all probability Arsames) was appointed to be the satrap of Egypt. For the date of the rebellion’s suppression see (Kahn 2008). The last dated letter in his correspondence is from 407
67. See (Root 1979, pp. 129–30; 2002, p. 207).
68. DB 4.71, 73, 77, 90; Elamite version DB El. 3.85: battikarum; cf. DNa.41.
69. As proposed by (Boardman 2000, pp. 134, 165, 243, n. 28).
70. Bodleian Library Oxford, Pell Aram. I–XV.
71. See (Stronach 2009, p. 230): “it is probably legitimate to conclude that Arshama was not in the habit of commissioning equestrian statues. Moreover, any specific bent of this kind, even on the part of a high-born Persian, would probably have attracted unfavorable royal notice”. For a discussion on this letter, see (Driver 1965, pp. 32, 71–74; Tuplin 2014, pp. 100–7). The small iconography had other ways of circulating and was visible to a different public.
72. See (Herzfeld 1929, p. 11): “ein prachtvoller Pferdekopf”; see (Stronach 1978, pp. 57, 61–62, 73–74, pl. 33; Root 2002, p. 206).
73. As (Kawami 1986, p. 266), has shown convincingly, the fragment may belong to a sculpture of a goat and not to a horse.
74. One may point at an interesting opposite parallel: in reality, the ancient Israelites had war and chariot horses (cf. 2 Samuel 8: 3–4, 1 Kings 10: 28–29, 1 Chronicles 18: 3–4); this did not prevent them from still maintaining the prohibition, from the time before they wielded power, not to hold nor to breed horses (Deut. 17:16); see (Kelekna 2009, pp. 99–100).
75. See (Moorey 1985, p. 34): “thus, the taste for metal vessels of this form may be ultimately Iranian, as some of the favoured animals might indicate”.
76. MMA acc. no. HAS 60-881; see (Dyson 1961, p. 537, fig. 10; Muscarella 1988, p. 24).
77. Respectively, INM inv. nos. 6700 and 8485; see (Curtis and Tallis 2005, p. 227, nos. 410, 411).
78. MMA acc. no. 47.100.87; for the provenance, see (Muscarella 1980, p. 30; Simpson et al. 2010, p. 434).
79. EHAM inv. no. 19; see (Treister 2015, pp. 27–39).
80. EHAM inv. no. 20; see (Stronach 2009, pp. 226, 230, fig. 11), who rightly dismisses the assertion of (Farkas 1974, p. 76), that there was no Persian horse and rider motif “until Greek artists created it”; see (Treister 2015, pp. 39–65, 95–99).
81. See (Stronach 2011, pp. 259, 263; Treister 2015, pp. 38, 60).
82. Orontes, satrap of Armenia after 401
83. See (Kelekna 2009, p. 78): “metal items were not always strictly utilitarian. Designed to celebrate the nomadic lifestyle, many horse and chariot trappings and belt accessories […] were now rendered in bronze, silver, and gold”.
84. Hdt. 7.196; Xen. Cyr. 8.3.25, Eq. 8.6; Strab. 11.13.7.
85. In the first seal impression, there are two mounted horsemen, in the second, one. Respectively, seal 18: (Schmidt 1957, p. 25, pl. 6, PT4 976, PT4 805) and seal 34 (Schmidt 1957, p. 31, pl. 10, PT6 179, PT6 40; Root 2002, p. 207).
86. BM inv. no. 117760 (reg. no. 1890,0308.5); see (Curtis and Tallis 2005, p. 226, no. 409).
87. See (Dalton 1964, p. xvi; Curtis and Tallis 2005, pp. 47–48). For the date, see (Allen 2005, p. 98; Boardman 2006).
88. BM inv. no. 124098 (reg. no. 1931,0408.1); see (Curtis and Tallis 2005, p. 226, no. 408; Stronach 2009, p. 225) (who argues that the figurine “was intended to represent a notable personage—perhaps, in this case, a local satrap”).
89. For example, delegations identified as Armenians (No. 3), Cappadocians (No. 9), Scythians (No. 11), Sagartians (No. 16), Sogdians (No. 17) and Thracians (No. 19) bring horses, while dignitaries or guards introduce free horses and/or horse-drawn chariots; BM inv. nos. 118842–43 (reg. nos. 1818,0509.1–2); see (Schmidt 1953, pls. 29, 35, 37, 42, id. 1957, pl. 52; Barnett 1957, p. 61, pls. 15.3, 16.4, 17.1, 18.1; Walser 1966, pp. 74–75, pls. 10, 36, 39; Afshar and Lerner 1979; Mitchell 2000, p. 51, pl. 22.a–b; Curtis and Tallis 2005, p. 70, no. 25; Gabrielli 2006, pp. 5–34).
90. PF inv. nos. 1668–69, 1675, 1765, 1784–87, 1793, 1942; cf. PFa 24, 29; see (Briant 2002, pp. 426, 457, 1023).
91. Cf. Luc. Quom. hist. consc. 39 on the Nisaean horse.
92. Xen. Cyr. 8.3.23, trans. adapted from Miller (LCL series).
93. Est. 6:7–9: “For the man whom the king delights to honor, let a royal robe be brought which the king has worn, and a horse on which the king has ridden, which has a royal crest placed on its head. Then let this robe and horse be delivered to the hand of one of the king’s most noble princes that he may array the man whom the king delights to honor. Then parade him on horseback through the city square, and proclaim before him: ‘Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor!’”.
94. Xen. Cyr. 4.3.22–23: “it will be considered improper for anyone to whom I provide with a horse to be seen going anywhere on foot” (αἰσχρὸν εἶναι, οἷς ἂν ἵππους ἐγὼ πορίσω, ἤν τις φανῇ πεζῇ ἡμῶν πορευόμενος), trans adapted from Miller, LCL series.
95. See Xen. Anab. 4.5.35; Cyr. 8.3.12, 24; Paus. 3.20.4; Philost. VA 1.31; cf. Hdt. 1.216, on the Massagetae, and also (Briant 2002, pp. 94–96, 245–46, 281) on Hdt. 1.189–90; see (Boyce 1975, pp. 122, 151). Cf. a Persian sacrifice of a horse to water at the river Strymon (Hdt. 7.113), cf. Tac. Ann. 6.37 (Parthian).
96. Yasna 1.11, 4.16, 7.12, 16.4, 22.24, 25.4, 68.22, Yasht 10.13, 90, 125, 136, 6.1, 4, 6–7, 12.34, 13.81; cf. ṚgVeda 1.162 (horse sacrifice); Yasht 10.52, 66, 68, 76 (Mithras); Just. 1.10.5; see (Aalto 1975, pp. 8–9; Frye 1984, p. 55; Kelekna 2009, pp. 113–15).
97. Arr. Anab. 6.29.7: εἶναι δὲ ἐντὸςτοῦ περιβόλου πρὸς τῇ ἀναβάσει τῇ ἐπὶ τὸν τάφονφερούσῃ οἴκημα σμικρὸν τοῖς Μάγοις πεποιημένον, οἳ δὴ ἐφύλασσον τὸν Κύρου τάφον ἔτι ἀπὸ Καμβύσου τοῦ Κύρου, παῖς παρὰ πατρὸς ἐκδεχόμενος τὴν φυλακήν. καὶ τούτοις πρόβατόν τε ἐς ἡμέραν ἐδίδοτο ἐκ βασιλέως καὶ ἀλεύρων τε καὶ οἴνου τεταγμένα καὶ ἵππος κατὰ μῆνα ἐς θυσίαν τῷ Κύρῳ; trans. Robson (LCL series). One may note that according to Ctesias (FGrH 688 F 15.51), “Cyrus” is the name by which Persians call the sun; cf. Plut. Art. 1.3 (Κῦρον γὰρ καλεῖν Πέρσας τὸν ἥλιον); Hesych., s.v. Kuros (K-4700 L).
98. See (Taqizadeh 1938, pp. 13–16).
99. Strab. 11.14.9: ὁ σατράπης τῆς Ἀρμενίας τῷ Πέρσῃ κατ’ ἔτος δισμυρίους πώλους τοῖς Μιθρακίνοις ἔπεμπεν.
100. For the identification of Mithras with the sun, see Strab. 15.3.13: τιμῶσι δὲ καὶ ῞Hλιον, ὃν καλοῦσι Μίθρην; Suda, s.v. Μίθρου, μ 1045 Adler: Μίθραν νομίζουσιν εἶναι οἱ Πέρσαι τὸν ἥλιον καὶ τούτῳ θύουσι πολλὰς θυσίας. See (Gnoli 1979; Briant 2002, pp. 251–52). At first, however, the sun was not associated with Mithras: see Yasna 1.11.
101. See Strab. 11.13.8.
102. Cf. Assyrian records of Median horse tribute (Luckenbill 1926, p. i.786, no. 795; Starr 1990, no. 66.2–5, 71.3–5; Roaf 1995, pp. 59–61; Radner 2003, pp. 45, 54).
103. See (Tuplin 2010, pp. 153–56).
104. See (Tuplin 2010, pp. 138–39), who assumes that the tribute “represents an equine resource for military purposes”, but readily admits (n. 158) that the “levying of white horses might reflect a different agenda”.
105. IrMus inv. no. IM 23.477; see (Watanabe 2002, p. 42).
106. See (Frankfort 1954, p. 78).
107. See (Watanabe 2002, p. 83; Strawn 2005, pp. 141–50).
108. See (Watanabe 2002, pp. 42–56). For different explanations, see (Root 2002, p. 198): “this related in part to the simple reason that the lion was observable as a powerful and beautiful wild animal” and on p. 200: “the lion maintained a special place, respected for its lack of fear and therefore associated with royalty”.
109. See (Pritchard 1969, pp. 585–86, lines 3, 14, 43, 71; Cornelius 1989, pp. 58–59; Watanabe 2000; Strawn 2005, pp. 152, 161, 174–84) for more references. The theme was most popular in Egypt. The ferocity of the lion was believed to be absorbed by the hero who overcame it.
110. See (Wiseman 1952, lines 86–94; Luckenbill 1926, pp. i.85–6, nos. 247–48).
111. See (Luckenbill 1926, pp. i.116, no. 375).
112. BM inv. no. 124579; see (Curtis and Reade 1995, no. 5).
113. BM inv. no. 84672 (reg. no. 1851,0902.191); cf. BM reg. nos. 84672, K 391; see (Sachs 1953).
114. Collon 1995, n. 188, see (Weissert 1997, p. 356; Reade 1998, p. 77).
115. See (Albenda 1972, 1974; Watanabe 1992, 2002, pp. 76–78, 80).
116. BM inv. no. 124886 (reg. no. 1856,0909.51: central register from Room S of the North Palace); see (Frankfort 1954, pl. 108b; Barnett 1976, p. 54, pl. 57; Curtis and Reade 1995, Nos. 28–29; Strawn 2005, pp. 163–65).
117. Louvre inv. no. AO 19903 (Nineveh, North Palace, Room S).
118. BM inv. no. 124874 (reg. no. 1856,0909.48: top register from Room S of the North Palace); cf. BM inv. no. 124875 (Nineveh, North palace, Room S, Panel 11: Ashurbanipal on horseback killing lion with spear); see (Frankfort 1954, pl. 113; Barnett 1976, p. 51, pl. 49).
119. See (Strawn 2005, nn. 170–71).
120. BM inv. no. 124886 (reg. no. 1856,0909.51: lower register from Room S of the North Palace); see (Frankfort 1954, pl. 108b; Barnett 1976, p. 54, pl. 57; Curtis and Reade 1995, Nos. 28–29; Strawn 2005, pp. 163–65).
121. See (Schmitt 1988, p. 29).
122. See (Porada 1965, p. 162; Cremer 1984, pp. 92–95).
123. OIM reg. no. A27903 (acc. no. 2953: black limestone cylinder seal; unknown provenance (mod. Iraq); Akkadian, ca. 3rd mill.
124. Louvre inv. nos. Sb 54-Sb 6617; see (André-Salvini 1992).
125. A guardian lion also originally appeared on a votive foundation bolder dedicated by Puzur-Inshushinak, designed to protect a building, now in fragments (Louvre inv. no. Sb 6, 177). Only the nose and a claw of the lion at the left side remain (Amiet 1966, pp. 223–29).
126. Cf. Vorderasiatisches Museum, Berlin, VA 1392, 1408–56. See (Strawn 2005, p. 224): “the lion lends its protective force to the entirety of the city”.
127. INM inv. no. 1392; see (Curtis and Tallis 2005, p. 98, no. 85).
128. INM inv. no. 1321; see (Curtis and Tallis 2005, p. 121, no. 118).
129. Louvre inv. no. Sb 2716; see (Amiet 1966, pp. 524–25; Root 2002, p. 200).
130. Central register of Ashurbanipal’s hunting relief (BM inv. nos. 124886–87).
131. BM inv. no. 124874; see (Almagor forthcoming).
132. See (Curtis and Reade 1995, no. 28–29). According to (Razmjou 2018, p. 353), Ashurbanipal’s lion hunting had such a strong symbolism, that the lions may actually stood in for his enemies in Elam.
133. OIM reg. no. A24077 (acc. no. 2110: grey limestone statue; Persepolis, Persia; Achaemenid, ca. 550–330–
134. See (Strawn 2005, p. 225).
135. See (Schmidt 1953, pl. 19) (Apadana, eastern stairway); cf. ibid. pls. 20 (eastern stairway, southern section), 53 (northern stairway), 61 (northern stairway, west wing), 62 (Council Hall, main stairway), 66 (main stairway, east wing), 69 (main stairway, west wing), 126 (Tachara, Palace of Darius), 153a (western stairway, southern end), 159 (Palace of Xerxes), 161 (western stairway, southern flight), 166 (eastern stairway), 169a (eastern stairway), and 203d (Palace H).
136. OIM reg. no. A73100 (fragment of west portion of façade); see (Schmidt 1953, pl. 203).
137. For example, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, acc. no. 48.1318 (decorated bronze shield boss; Khorsabad; 8th cent.
138. See (Root 2002, pp. 201–3).
139. See (Hartner and Ettinghausen 1964, pp. 161–64; Hartner 1965, pp. 15–16): in the starry heaven of c. 4000
140. See (Herzfeld 1941, p. 251; Schmidt 1953, pp. 83, 107).
141. See (Strawn 2005, pp. 224–25).
142. See (Schmidt 1953, pl. 142a) (Tachara, Palace of Darius, western doorway in the north wall of the main hall).
143. MMA acc. no 61.100.10; see (Marcus 1994, p. 11) (interpreting the ornaments as “symbols of security, providing women with personal protection (magical and physical) both in daily life and in the underworld)”; see (Root 2002, pp. 198–9; Muscarella 2004, p. 707, fig. 11). Sixty such pins have been excavated, mostly in the so-called Burned Building II.
144. INM inv. no. 2351; see (Schmidt 1957, p. 77, fig. 14B; Curtis and Tallis 2005, p. 147, no. 190). Cf. the striding lion gold plaque in the BM. inv. no. 132108.
145. IMN old inv. no. PT5 642; see (Schmidt 1957, p. 69, pl. 33; Cahill 1985, p. 384, fig. 2).
146. IMN old inv. no. PT5 10 (green chert tripod bowl with leonine legs; Treasury (Hall 39, Persepolis; Achaemenid, ca. 550–330 BCE); Schmidt 1957, p. 89, pl. 55.3 (intended for ritualistic purposes?).
147. See (Schmidt 1953, pls. 115–16, 144–45, 146a–b, 147a, d, 195–96; Root 1979, pp. 81–82, 102–3, 107).
148. See (Schmidt 1953, pl. 115a) (south jamb of the southern doorway in the western wall, Throne Hall, Persepolis).
149. See (Schmidt 1953, pl. 147a) (Tachara, Palace of Darius, Persepolis, east jamb of southern doorway of room 16) and pl. 147d (Tachara, Palace of Darius, Persepolis, west jamb of southern doorway of room 5).
150. See (Root 1979, pp. 304–8; Kuhrt 2007, p. 2.546). See (Allen 2005, p. 77) on this transformation into an Achaemenid theme.
151. See (Root 1979, p. 304; Allen 2005, p. 77; Kuhrt 2007, p. 2.546). Yet, see (Wiesehöfer 2001, pp. 24, 220).
152. As persuasively suggested by (Root 1979, pp. 305–7). Cf. DNa 4.43-47: “The Persian man has gone forth far”. See (Barnett 1957, p. 77 n. 2): “[t]he theme of the lion hunt, treated by the Assyrians as a major subject of narrative art, has shrunk at Persepolis to a formal and unconvincing, almost heraldic single combat between the Persian king, typifying good, and a lion, bull or monster, typifying evil” (Seyer 2007).
153. See (Schmidt 1957, p. 32, no. 37, pl. 11, PT 383; p. 37, no. 59, pl. 13, PT6 168).
154. See (Schmidt 1957, p. 37, no. 60, pl. 13, PT4 401).
155. See (Schmidt 1957, pp. 7, 19, no. 3, pl. 3, PT4 860, PT4 331, p. 21, no. 6, pl. 4, PT4 749, PT4 862, p. 22, no. 8, pl. 5, PT4 471, PT4 549a [two heroes against two lions], p. 23, no. 10, pl. 5, PT4 769, no. 12, pl. 5, PT4 979).
156. See (Schmidt 1957, pp. 7, 18, pl. 1, no. 2, PT4 403, PT5 182, pl. 3, PT 4 658, PT4 726, p. 22, no. 9, pl. 2, PT6 62, pl. 5, PT6 34, 65).
157. Louvre inv. no. AO 19862 (Palace of Sargon II, Throne Room, façade N); see (Beyer 1990, fig. 23).
158. Louvre inv. no. AO 19861.
159. See (Cornelius 1989, p. 58; Root 1979, p. 304).
160. See (Schmidt 1953, pl. 28b) (Apadana, Tribute Procession, Eastern Stairway; there is a parallel scene in the northern stairway, but the upper panel is missing).
161. BM inv. no. 123923 (reg. no. 1897,1231.22); see (Dalton 1964, pp. 9–11, no. 22, pl. 9; Stronach 1998; Curtis and Tallis 2005, p. 233, no. 431).
162. Cf. MMA acc. no. 1984.383.25.
163. See (Collon 1995, pp. 129–30, no. 558; Kuhrt 2007, p. 237).
164. BM inv. nos. 124579 and 124532; see (Curtis and Reade 1995, Nos. 5–6).
165. See (Boardman 1970, pp. 314–16, pls. 889, 924, 929). Cf. BM inv. no. 89583 (reg. no. N.1082: cylinder seal; S-E Palace, Nimrud; Achaemenid, ca. 550–330 bce): a rider aims a spear at a rampant lion; BM inv. no. 89816 (reg. no. 1869,0122.10: fragmentary cylinder seal; unknown provenance (Asia); Achaemenid, ca. 5th cent.
166. See (Boardman 1970, pp. 304, 323–26).
167. Reliefs of hunting scenes (of a stag and a boar) on one of the long sides of a fourth-century
168. IAM inv. no. 72; see (Anderson 1985, pp. 70, 78–79; Lane-Fox 1996, pp. 138, 142; Barringer 2001, pp. 200–1; Palagia 2000, pp. 167, 175–84, 191–99). The Macedonian lion hunting, however, was probably practiced prior to the conquest of Persia; see (Hull 1964, pp. 101–2; Anderson 1985, p. 80; Briant 1991; Lane-Fox 1996, pp. 137–39, 143).
169. Diod. 2.8.6: ἡ Σεμίραμις ἀφ’ ἵππου πάρδαλιν ἀκοντίζουσα, καὶ πλησίον αὐτῆς ὁ ἀνὴρ Νίνος παίων ἐκ χειρὸς λέοντα λόγχῃ.
170. See (Briant 2002, p. 207).
171. Diod. 2.7.1, 3–4, 2.8.5. It is set by Jacoby as part of his lengthy FGrH 688 F 1b.
172. He was certainly in Babylonia: as Parysatis’ physician (FGrH 688 F 27.69), he most probably accompanied her during her sojourn there (Plut. Art. 19.10); cf. the constant allusions to Babylon in his Indica: F 45bα, 45.29. See (Almagor 2012, pp. 19–20).
173. See (Briant 2002, p. 297).
174. Plut. Them. 29.6 (καὶ κυνηγεσίων βασιλεῖ μετέσχε); see (Frost 1980, pp. 220–23; Marr 1998, pp. 226–28; Keaveney 2003, pp. 39–87).
175. See (Llewellyn-Jones 2013, p. 131).
176. The Macedonians king boasts to have allegedly killed a large number of beasts, following the Mesopotamian practice noted above: (Curt. Ruf. 8.1.19: 4000); cf. Lysimachus who hunted a huge lion (ib. 8.1.15, cf. Justin, 15.3.7-8), and Perdiccas who captured lion cubs (Ael. VH 12.39).
177. See (Llewellyn-Jones 2013, p. 130).
178. See Xen. Cyr. 1.4.14.
179. Xen. Cyr. 8.8.12 (Ἀλλὰ μὴν καὶ ἐπὶ θήραν πρόσθεν μὲν τοσαυτάκις ἐξῇσαν ὥστε ἀρκεῖν αὐτοῖς τε καὶ ἵπποις γυμνάσια τὰς θήρας· ἐπεὶ δὲ Ἀρταξέρξης ὁ βασιλεὺς καὶ οἱ σὺν αὐτῷ ἥττους τοῦ οἴνου ἐγένοντο, οὐκέτι ὁμοίως οὔτ’ αὐτοὶ ἐξῇσαν οὔτε τοὺς ἄλλους ἐξῆγον ἐπὶ τὰς θήρας), trans. adapted from Miller (LCL series).
180. Hdt. 9.122: …φιλέειν γὰρ ἐκ τῶν μαλακῶν χώρων μαλακοὺς γίνεσθαι· οὐ γὰρ τι τῆς αὐτῆς γῆς εἶναι καρπόν τε θωμαστὸν φύειν καὶ ἄνδρας ἀγαθοὺς τὰ πολέμια, trans. Godley (LCL series).
181. Hdt. 1.126: ἄνδρες Πέρσαι, οὕτω ὑμῖν ἔχει. βουλομένοισι μὲν ἐμέο πείθεσθαί ἔστι τάδε τε καὶ ἄλλα μυρία ἀγαθά, οὐδένα πόνον δουλοπρεπέα ἔχουσι, μὴ βουλομένοισι δὲ ἐμέο πείθεσθαι εἰσὶ ὑμῖν πόνοι τῷ χθιζῷ παραπλήσιοι ἀναρίθμητοι. νῦν ὦν ἐμέο πειθόμενοι γίνεσθε ἐλεύθεροι… ὡς ὦν ἐχόντων ὧδε, ἀπίστασθε ἀπ᾽ Ἀστυάγεος τὴν ταχίστην, trans. adapted from Godley (LCL series).
182. On which see recently (Pelling 2019, pp. 92–93).
183. Another manner in which Herodotus recounts the unnatural progression of the Persians from one mode of life to another is through the fantastic portent just at the moment Xerxes’ army was about to cross into Europe: a horse gives birth to a hare (7.57). While playing with the notion of hybridity, which symbolizes Cyrus the Great and the Persians (see above), Herodotus also commented this way on the metamorphosis of the Persians into restless imperialists moving from one place to another (cf. the use of a hare to denote the similar transition of the Spartans towards imperialism in Plut. Cim. 16.5).
184. See the expression Pârsa utâ Mâda (DB 1.41, 1.46–47, 2.18, 2.81–82, 3.29–30, 3.77). Cf. Esther 1:3, 14, 1:13, cf. 10:2, Medes and Persians: Daniel 5:23, 6:8, 12, 15, 8:20. See, however (Stronach 2009, p. 222).
185. Persons in alternate Persian and Median clothing in the Persepolis reliefs: see (Schmidt 1953, pp. 83–84, 107, 141, 225, 228, 240, 243, 280, pls. 22, 53, 64–65, 85–86, 96–101, 134–35, 161, 163–65, 185c–d, 203a, 204a, 205; Roaf 1983, pp. 29–30, 41, 83, 85, 103–14, 124, 140–41, 145, 149; Root 1979, p. 282).
186. This is the Median robe (Μεδίκη στολή). See (Schoppa 1933, pp. 46–48; Schmidt 1953, pl. 35; Shahbazi 1978, pp. 498–99; Moorey 1985, pp. 23–26). It was an upper garment/ coat with long, false sleeves, called Kandys; see (Widengren 1956, pp. 235, 237–38). A purple robe: cf. Xen. Cyr. 8.3.10; Pollux 7.58; possibly Strabo, 15.3.19; cf. Hdt. 3.20, 9.109 with (Thompson 1965, p. 122). Trousers were also part of the “Median” costume (cf. Hdt. 1.71, 7.64; Xen. Anab. 1.5.8), as well as a belted skirt.
187. This is the royal or Persian robe (presumably from an Elamite origin), the two-piece red or purple loose pleated garment. See (Schoppa 1933, p. 47; Schmidt 1953, p. 163; 1970, p. 80; Goldman 1964; Walser 1966, p. 72; Moorey 1985, p. 24). It was most probably the purple tunic (χιτών) with the white middle (μεσόλευκος): cf. Hdt. 7.61; Xen. Anab. 1.5.8, Cyr. 1.3.2, 8.3.13 (together with Median articles of clothing); Ephippus ap. Ath. 12.537e [Alexander]; called Sarapis in Elamite and Persian: Hesychius, s.v. “Sarapis”, Photius, Lexicon, s.v. “Sarapis”. Cf. Plut. Alex. 51.5 with (Collins 2012, pp. 387–90). See also Diod. 17.77.5–6, Curt. Ruf. 3.3.17. Cf. Duris ap. Ath, 12.535e [Pausanias]. Ancient authors appear to confuse the Median and the Persian robes, erroneously deeming the former as more luxurious and the latter simpler: cf. Hdt. 1.71, 1.135; Xen. Cyr. 2.4.5, 8.1.40–41, 8.3.3, influencing the Alexander historians (cf. Plut. Alex. 45.2, De Fort. Alex. Magn. 329f–330a). Some modern scholars also conflate the two: cf. Schmidt 1953, p. 168 n. 38. Others believe that there was indeed a transition from an Elamite/Persian dress to a Median one in the early fifth century
188. See (Thompson 1965, p. 123): “while the [Median dress] was well adapted to the way of life pursued by nomad warriors and hunters, the Persian robe did not share this advantage, being full and voluminous”.
189. Hdt. 1.135, 6.112; Ctesias (FGrH 688 F 1b.2.23.1–4: the Median effeminate decadence of Sardanapalus); Xen. Cyr. 8.8.15; Strabo 11.13.9.
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Figures
![View Image - Figure 1. Collated line drawing of the heirloom seal of Kurash the Anzanite (PFS *93) [image courtesy of the Persepolis Fortification Archive Project and the Persepolis Seal Project].](https://media.proquest.com/media/hms/THUM/2/OLGmK?_a=ChgyMDI1MDQyNzA1MTc0NTg5MjoxNDc3ODMSBzEzODMzMjMaCk9ORV9TRUFSQ0giDTE4LjIxNy4yNDQuMTYqBzIwMzI0MzIyCjI1NzYzNzgxNTY6C0lubGluZUltYWdlQgEwUgZPbmxpbmVaA0lMSWIEVEhVTWoKMjAyMS8wMS8wMXIKMjAyMS8xMi8zMXoAggEgUC0xMDAwMDg0LTIwMTM5NS1TVEFGRi1udWxsLW51bGySAQZPbmxpbmXKAWdNb3ppbGxhLzUuMCBBcHBsZVdlYktpdC81MzcuMzYgKEtIVE1MLCBsaWtlIEdlY2tvOyBjb21wYXRpYmxlOyBDbGF1ZGVCb3QvMS4wOyArY2xhdWRlYm90QGFudGhyb3BpYy5jb20p0gESU2Nob2xhcmx5IEpvdXJuYWxzmgIHUHJlUGFpZKoCG09TOkVNUy1GdWxsVGV4dC1nZXRGdWxsVGV4dMoCD0FydGljbGV8RmVhdHVyZeICJ2h0dHBzOi8vcHJvcXVlc3QuY29tL2RvY3ZpZXcvMTUyMTM5ODU5OPICAPoCAVmCAwNXZWKKAxxDSUQ6MjAyNTA0MjcwNTE3NDU4OTI6MTA0ODA2&_s=tBE0m0p01L2%2BhCi7AhviD99wtcA%3D "View Image - Figure 1. Collated line drawing of the heirloom seal of Kurash the Anzanite (PFS *93) [image courtesy of the Persepolis Fortification Archive Project and the Persepolis Seal Project].")
Enlarge this image.Figure 1. Collated line drawing of the heirloom seal of Kurash the Anzanite (PFS *93) [image courtesy of the Persepolis Fortification Archive Project and the Persepolis Seal Project].
![View Image - Figure 2. King Ashurnasirpal II hunting lions (BM inv. no. 124534; reg. no. 1847,0623.11); relief scene, gypsum; NW Palace, Nimrud (mod. Iraq); Neo-Assyrian, ca. 865–860 bce [image courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum, London].](https://media.proquest.com/media/hms/THUM/24/OLGmK?_a=ChgyMDI1MDQyNzA1MTc0NTg5MjoxNDc3ODMSBzEzODMzMjMaCk9ORV9TRUFSQ0giDTE4LjIxNy4yNDQuMTYqBzIwMzI0MzIyCjI1NzYzNzgxNTY6C0lubGluZUltYWdlQgEwUgZPbmxpbmVaA0lMSWIEVEhVTWoKMjAyMS8wMS8wMXIKMjAyMS8xMi8zMXoAggEgUC0xMDAwMDg0LTIwMTM5NS1TVEFGRi1udWxsLW51bGySAQZPbmxpbmXKAWdNb3ppbGxhLzUuMCBBcHBsZVdlYktpdC81MzcuMzYgKEtIVE1MLCBsaWtlIEdlY2tvOyBjb21wYXRpYmxlOyBDbGF1ZGVCb3QvMS4wOyArY2xhdWRlYm90QGFudGhyb3BpYy5jb20p0gESU2Nob2xhcmx5IEpvdXJuYWxzmgIHUHJlUGFpZKoCG09TOkVNUy1GdWxsVGV4dC1nZXRGdWxsVGV4dMoCD0FydGljbGV8RmVhdHVyZeICJ2h0dHBzOi8vcHJvcXVlc3QuY29tL2RvY3ZpZXcvMTUyMTM5ODU5OPICAPoCAVmCAwNXZWKKAxxDSUQ6MjAyNTA0MjcwNTE3NDU4OTI6MTA0ODA2&_s=y6wQhXMbebU8gUTzf1GUv08GrGk%3D "View Image - Figure 2. King Ashurnasirpal II hunting lions (BM inv. no. 124534; reg. no. 1847,0623.11); relief scene, gypsum; NW Palace, Nimrud (mod. Iraq); Neo-Assyrian, ca. 865–860 bce [image courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum, London].")
Enlarge this image.Figure 2. King Ashurnasirpal II hunting lions (BM inv. no. 124534; reg. no. 1847,0623.11); relief scene, gypsum; NW Palace, Nimrud (mod. Iraq); Neo-Assyrian, ca. 865–860 bce [image courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum, London].
![View Image - Figure 3. King Ashurbanipal hunting lions (BM inv. nos. 124850–51; reg. no. 1856,0909.15); relief scene (panels 20–21), gypsum; N Palace (Room C), Nineveh (mod. Iraq); Neo-Assyrian, ca. 645–635 bce [image courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum, London].](https://media.proquest.com/media/hms/THUM/46/OLGmK?_a=ChgyMDI1MDQyNzA1MTc0NTg5MjoxNDc3ODMSBzEzODMzMjMaCk9ORV9TRUFSQ0giDTE4LjIxNy4yNDQuMTYqBzIwMzI0MzIyCjI1NzYzNzgxNTY6C0lubGluZUltYWdlQgEwUgZPbmxpbmVaA0lMSWIEVEhVTWoKMjAyMS8wMS8wMXIKMjAyMS8xMi8zMXoAggEgUC0xMDAwMDg0LTIwMTM5NS1TVEFGRi1udWxsLW51bGySAQZPbmxpbmXKAWdNb3ppbGxhLzUuMCBBcHBsZVdlYktpdC81MzcuMzYgKEtIVE1MLCBsaWtlIEdlY2tvOyBjb21wYXRpYmxlOyBDbGF1ZGVCb3QvMS4wOyArY2xhdWRlYm90QGFudGhyb3BpYy5jb20p0gESU2Nob2xhcmx5IEpvdXJuYWxzmgIHUHJlUGFpZKoCG09TOkVNUy1GdWxsVGV4dC1nZXRGdWxsVGV4dMoCD0FydGljbGV8RmVhdHVyZeICJ2h0dHBzOi8vcHJvcXVlc3QuY29tL2RvY3ZpZXcvMTUyMTM5ODU5OPICAPoCAVmCAwNXZWKKAxxDSUQ6MjAyNTA0MjcwNTE3NDU4OTI6MTA0ODA2&_s=m5gMX79u%2FOuW%2BzR%2FfKXttoyYAcI%3D "View Image - Figure 3. King Ashurbanipal hunting lions (BM inv. nos. 124850–51; reg. no. 1856,0909.15); relief scene (panels 20–21), gypsum; N Palace (Room C), Nineveh (mod. Iraq); Neo-Assyrian, ca. 645–635 bce [image courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum, London].")
Enlarge this image.Figure 3. King Ashurbanipal hunting lions (BM inv. nos. 124850–51; reg. no. 1856,0909.15); relief scene (panels 20–21), gypsum; N Palace (Room C), Nineveh (mod. Iraq); Neo-Assyrian, ca. 645–635 bce [image courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum, London].
![View Image - Figure 5. The Great King Darius hunting lions (BM inv. no. 89132; reg. no. 1835,0630.1); cylinder seal, chalcedony (with modern impression); found in Thebes (?), Egypt; Achaemenid, ca. 6th–5th cent. bce [image courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum, London].](https://media.proquest.com/media/hms/THUM/52/OLGmK?_a=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&_s=N5pq68AWjj%2F%2FPrrapwN4veacBjI%3D "View Image - Figure 5. The Great King Darius hunting lions (BM inv. no. 89132; reg. no. 1835,0630.1); cylinder seal, chalcedony (with modern impression); found in Thebes (?), Egypt; Achaemenid, ca. 6th–5th cent. bce [image courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum, London].")
Enlarge this image.Figure 5. The Great King Darius hunting lions (BM inv. no. 89132; reg. no. 1835,0630.1); cylinder seal, chalcedony (with modern impression); found in Thebes (?), Egypt; Achaemenid, ca. 6th–5th cent. bce [image courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum, London].
![View Image - Figure 6. Vessel in shape of horse’s head (MMA acc. no. 47.100.87); rhyton, gilded silver; Iran; Achaemenid, ca. 5th cent. bce [image courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York].](https://media.proquest.com/media/hms/THUM/54/OLGmK?_a=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&_s=wG2Qo6sy%2FgbXGDJ06WQTEzjkO5M%3D "View Image - Figure 6. Vessel in shape of horse’s head (MMA acc. no. 47.100.87); rhyton, gilded silver; Iran; Achaemenid, ca. 5th cent. bce [image courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York].")
Enlarge this image.Figure 6. Vessel in shape of horse’s head (MMA acc. no. 47.100.87); rhyton, gilded silver; Iran; Achaemenid, ca. 5th cent. bce [image courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York].
![View Image - Figure 7. Drinking vessel in shape of horse protome (EHAM inv. no. 19); rhyton, silver; Erebuni, Armenia; (post?) Achaemenid, ca. 4th cent. bce [image courtesy of the Erebuni Historical and Archaeological Museum-Reserve, Yerevan].](https://media.proquest.com/media/hms/THUM/56/OLGmK?_a=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&_s=Z8X3lgQ6cdmREBE0o4h%2B1U3VEtE%3D "View Image - Figure 7. Drinking vessel in shape of horse protome (EHAM inv. no. 19); rhyton, silver; Erebuni, Armenia; (post?) Achaemenid, ca. 4th cent. bce [image courtesy of the Erebuni Historical and Archaeological Museum-Reserve, Yerevan].")
Enlarge this image.Figure 7. Drinking vessel in shape of horse protome (EHAM inv. no. 19); rhyton, silver; Erebuni, Armenia; (post?) Achaemenid, ca. 4th cent. bce [image courtesy of the Erebuni Historical and Archaeological Museum-Reserve, Yerevan].
![View Image - Figure 8. Drinking vessel in shape of horse with rider (EHAM inv. no. 20); rhyton, silver; Erebuni, Armenia; (post?) Achaemenid, ca. 4th cent. bce [image courtesy of the Erebuni Historical and Archaeological Museum-Reserve, Yerevan].](https://media.proquest.com/media/hms/THUM/58/OLGmK?_a=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&_s=LgMzKVpHDHd5EVZWkEy01zxGcjE%3D "View Image - Figure 8. Drinking vessel in shape of horse with rider (EHAM inv. no. 20); rhyton, silver; Erebuni, Armenia; (post?) Achaemenid, ca. 4th cent. bce [image courtesy of the Erebuni Historical and Archaeological Museum-Reserve, Yerevan].")
Enlarge this image.Figure 8. Drinking vessel in shape of horse with rider (EHAM inv. no. 20); rhyton, silver; Erebuni, Armenia; (post?) Achaemenid, ca. 4th cent. bce [image courtesy of the Erebuni Historical and Archaeological Museum-Reserve, Yerevan].
![View Image - Figure 9. Mounted rider in Median dress (BM inv. no. 117760; reg. no. 1890,0308.5); statuette, bronze; found in Egypt (?); Achaemenid, ca. 5th–4th cent. bce [image courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum, London].](https://media.proquest.com/media/hms/THUM/60/OLGmK?_a=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&_s=12%2BQpQPHv9afv7A272BvG%2FYWvKU%3D "View Image - Figure 9. Mounted rider in Median dress (BM inv. no. 117760; reg. no. 1890,0308.5); statuette, bronze; found in Egypt (?); Achaemenid, ca. 5th–4th cent. bce [image courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum, London].")
Enlarge this image.Figure 9. Mounted rider in Median dress (BM inv. no. 117760; reg. no. 1890,0308.5); statuette, bronze; found in Egypt (?); Achaemenid, ca. 5th–4th cent. bce [image courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum, London].
![View Image - Figure 10. Rider wearing pointed cap (BM inv. no. 124098; reg. no. 1931,0408.1); figure, gold; found at Takht-i Kuwad (?) (Oxus Treasure), Tajikistan; Achaemenid, ca. 6th–4th cent. bce [image courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum, London].](https://media.proquest.com/media/hms/THUM/62/OLGmK?_a=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&_s=4ncof6b0dkhSU%2B9YkEJ9RHHREQE%3D "View Image - Figure 10. Rider wearing pointed cap (BM inv. no. 124098; reg. no. 1931,0408.1); figure, gold; found at Takht-i Kuwad (?) (Oxus Treasure), Tajikistan; Achaemenid, ca. 6th–4th cent. bce [image courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum, London].")
Enlarge this image.Figure 10. Rider wearing pointed cap (BM inv. no. 124098; reg. no. 1931,0408.1); figure, gold; found at Takht-i Kuwad (?) (Oxus Treasure), Tajikistan; Achaemenid, ca. 6th–4th cent. bce [image courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum, London].
![View Image - Figure 11. Armenian delegation leading a horse; relief scene; Apadana, Persepolis, Persia (mod. Iran); Achaemenid, ca. 518–486 bce [photography by Peter Udom; courtesy of Shutterstock].](https://media.proquest.com/media/hms/THUM/4/OLGmK?_a=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&_s=ZG69gq729wDL01tcaPZA4%2BL2iGY%3D "View Image - Figure 11. Armenian delegation leading a horse; relief scene; Apadana, Persepolis, Persia (mod. Iran); Achaemenid, ca. 518–486 bce [photography by Peter Udom; courtesy of Shutterstock].")
Enlarge this image.Figure 11. Armenian delegation leading a horse; relief scene; Apadana, Persepolis, Persia (mod. Iran); Achaemenid, ca. 518–486 bce [photography by Peter Udom; courtesy of Shutterstock].
![View Image - Figure 12. Lion hunt scene (IrMus inv. no. IM 23.477); basalt relief; Uruk, Southern Mesopotamia (mod. Iraq); Jemdet Nasr period, ca. 4th mill. bce [photography by Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin; courtesy of the Ancient History Encyclopedia].](https://media.proquest.com/media/hms/THUM/6/OLGmK?_a=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&_s=72cOvcu4QndOQwWE959acbOC3kg%3D "View Image - Figure 12. Lion hunt scene (IrMus inv. no. IM 23.477); basalt relief; Uruk, Southern Mesopotamia (mod. Iraq); Jemdet Nasr period, ca. 4th mill. bce [photography by Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin; courtesy of the Ancient History Encyclopedia].")
Enlarge this image.Figure 12. Lion hunt scene (IrMus inv. no. IM 23.477); basalt relief; Uruk, Southern Mesopotamia (mod. Iraq); Jemdet Nasr period, ca. 4th mill. bce [photography by Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin; courtesy of the Ancient History Encyclopedia].
![View Image - Figure 13. Ashurnasirpal II (or Shalmaneser III) hunting lions (BM inv. no. 124579; reg. no. 1849,1222.8); gypsum relief; Northwest Palace, Nimrud (mod. Iraq); Neo-Assyrian, ca. 865–860 bce [image courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum, London].](https://media.proquest.com/media/hms/THUM/8/OLGmK?_a=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&_s=ZkVWlNUMu8WJJvL9aJ0LxXl11BY%3D "View Image - Figure 13. Ashurnasirpal II (or Shalmaneser III) hunting lions (BM inv. no. 124579; reg. no. 1849,1222.8); gypsum relief; Northwest Palace, Nimrud (mod. Iraq); Neo-Assyrian, ca. 865–860 bce [image courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum, London].")
Enlarge this image.Figure 13. Ashurnasirpal II (or Shalmaneser III) hunting lions (BM inv. no. 124579; reg. no. 1849,1222.8); gypsum relief; Northwest Palace, Nimrud (mod. Iraq); Neo-Assyrian, ca. 865–860 bce [image courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum, London].
![View Image - Figure 14. King slaying lion (BM inv. no. 84672; reg. no. 1851,0902.191); clay seal impression; Nineveh (mod. Iraq); Assyrian, ca. 9th–8th cent. bce; with line drawing [image courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum, London].](https://media.proquest.com/media/hms/THUM/10/OLGmK?_a=ChgyMDI1MDQyNzA1MTc0NTg5MjoxNDc3ODMSBzEzODMzMjMaCk9ORV9TRUFSQ0giDTE4LjIxNy4yNDQuMTYqBzIwMzI0MzIyCjI1NzYzNzgxNTY6C0lubGluZUltYWdlQgEwUgZPbmxpbmVaA0lMSWIEVEhVTWoKMjAyMS8wMS8wMXIKMjAyMS8xMi8zMXoAggEgUC0xMDAwMDg0LTIwMTM5NS1TVEFGRi1udWxsLW51bGySAQZPbmxpbmXKAWdNb3ppbGxhLzUuMCBBcHBsZVdlYktpdC81MzcuMzYgKEtIVE1MLCBsaWtlIEdlY2tvOyBjb21wYXRpYmxlOyBDbGF1ZGVCb3QvMS4wOyArY2xhdWRlYm90QGFudGhyb3BpYy5jb20p0gESU2Nob2xhcmx5IEpvdXJuYWxzmgIHUHJlUGFpZKoCG09TOkVNUy1GdWxsVGV4dC1nZXRGdWxsVGV4dMoCD0FydGljbGV8RmVhdHVyZeICAPICAPoCAVmCAwNXZWKKAxxDSUQ6MjAyNTA0MjcwNTE3NDU4OTI6MTA0ODA2&_s=TBKB91SU0kZvh0k0fmljPkEv90E%3D "View Image - Figure 14. King slaying lion (BM inv. no. 84672; reg. no. 1851,0902.191); clay seal impression; Nineveh (mod. Iraq); Assyrian, ca. 9th–8th cent. bce; with line drawing [image courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum, London].")
Enlarge this image.Figure 14. King slaying lion (BM inv. no. 84672; reg. no. 1851,0902.191); clay seal impression; Nineveh (mod. Iraq); Assyrian, ca. 9th–8th cent. bce; with line drawing [image courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum, London].
![View Image - Figure 15. King Ashurbanipal grabbing lion by its tail, ready to strike (BM inv. no. 124886; reg. no. 1856,0909.51); gypsum relief; North Palace, Nineveh (mod. Iraq); Neo-Assyrian, ca. 645–635 bce [image courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum, London].](https://media.proquest.com/media/hms/THUM/12/OLGmK?_a=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&_s=mHTCBNUqlqxj4BPKkXQ8hScgMNw%3D "View Image - Figure 15. King Ashurbanipal grabbing lion by its tail, ready to strike (BM inv. no. 124886; reg. no. 1856,0909.51); gypsum relief; North Palace, Nineveh (mod. Iraq); Neo-Assyrian, ca. 645–635 bce [image courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum, London].")
Enlarge this image.Figure 15. King Ashurbanipal grabbing lion by its tail, ready to strike (BM inv. no. 124886; reg. no. 1856,0909.51); gypsum relief; North Palace, Nineveh (mod. Iraq); Neo-Assyrian, ca. 645–635 bce [image courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum, London].
![View Image - Figure 16. King Ashurbanipal on foot killing a lion with sword (BM inv. no. 124874; reg. no. 1856,0909.48); gypsum relief; North Palace, Nineveh (mod. Iraq); Neo-Assyrian, ca. 645–635 bce [image courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum, London].](https://media.proquest.com/media/hms/THUM/14/OLGmK?_a=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&_s=E7ZtVuxdBMaUATYwSc5uZN9go%2Fw%3D "View Image - Figure 16. King Ashurbanipal on foot killing a lion with sword (BM inv. no. 124874; reg. no. 1856,0909.48); gypsum relief; North Palace, Nineveh (mod. Iraq); Neo-Assyrian, ca. 645–635 bce [image courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum, London].")
Enlarge this image.Figure 16. King Ashurbanipal on foot killing a lion with sword (BM inv. no. 124874; reg. no. 1856,0909.48); gypsum relief; North Palace, Nineveh (mod. Iraq); Neo-Assyrian, ca. 645–635 bce [image courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum, London].
![View Image - Figure 17. King Ashurbanipal pouring wine libation over four dead lions, surrounded by attendants (BM inv. no. 124886; reg. no. 1856,0909.51); gypsum relief (lower register); North Palace (Room S), Nineveh (mod. Iraq); Neo-Assyrian, ca. 645–635 bce [image courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum, London].](https://media.proquest.com/media/hms/THUM/16/OLGmK?_a=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&_s=RUWJ%2FHLfXauN4ycNxB53E9h3Prs%3D "View Image - Figure 17. King Ashurbanipal pouring wine libation over four dead lions, surrounded by attendants (BM inv. no. 124886; reg. no. 1856,0909.51); gypsum relief (lower register); North Palace (Room S), Nineveh (mod. Iraq); Neo-Assyrian, ca. 645–635 bce [image courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum, London].")
Enlarge this image.Figure 17. King Ashurbanipal pouring wine libation over four dead lions, surrounded by attendants (BM inv. no. 124886; reg. no. 1856,0909.51); gypsum relief (lower register); North Palace (Room S), Nineveh (mod. Iraq); Neo-Assyrian, ca. 645–635 bce [image courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum, London].
![View Image - Figure 18. Enthroned goddess Narundi (Louvre inv. nos. Sb 54+6617), front and back (with snarling lions); limestone sculpture; Susa, Elam (mod. Iran); reign of Puzur-Inshushinak, ca. 2100 bce [photography (a) by Pierre and Maurice Chuzeville; courtesy of the Louvre Museum, Paris; (b) by Darafsh Kaviyani; CC BY-SA 3.0 License].](https://media.proquest.com/media/hms/THUM/18/OLGmK?_a=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&_s=4UopkPzvLLWKR7cLoZuFre9k3sc%3D "View Image - Figure 18. Enthroned goddess Narundi (Louvre inv. nos. Sb 54+6617), front and back (with snarling lions); limestone sculpture; Susa, Elam (mod. Iran); reign of Puzur-Inshushinak, ca. 2100 bce [photography (a) by Pierre and Maurice Chuzeville; courtesy of the Louvre Museum, Paris; (b) by Darafsh Kaviyani; CC BY-SA 3.0 License].")
Enlarge this image.Figure 18. Enthroned goddess Narundi (Louvre inv. nos. Sb 54+6617), front and back (with snarling lions); limestone sculpture; Susa, Elam (mod. Iran); reign of Puzur-Inshushinak, ca. 2100 bce [photography (a) by Pierre and Maurice Chuzeville; courtesy of the Louvre Museum, Paris; (b) by Darafsh Kaviyani; CC BY-SA 3.0 License].
![View Image - Figure 19. Recumbent guardian lion (Louvre inv. no. Sb 2716); glazed terracotta sculpture; Susa (Acropolis), Elam (mod. Iran); Elamite, 14th–12th cent. bce [photography by Karl Steel; CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 License].](https://media.proquest.com/media/hms/THUM/20/OLGmK?_a=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&_s=l6IW%2BFdMQjAU3qiU5Zn1ZUyeWNU%3D "View Image - Figure 19. Recumbent guardian lion (Louvre inv. no. Sb 2716); glazed terracotta sculpture; Susa (Acropolis), Elam (mod. Iran); Elamite, 14th–12th cent. bce [photography by Karl Steel; CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 License].")
Enlarge this image.Figure 19. Recumbent guardian lion (Louvre inv. no. Sb 2716); glazed terracotta sculpture; Susa (Acropolis), Elam (mod. Iran); Elamite, 14th–12th cent. bce [photography by Karl Steel; CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 License].
![View Image - Figure 20. Lion attacking bull; relief panel; Apadana, Persepolis, Persia (mod. Iran); Achaemenid, ca. 518–486 bce [photography by Janos Rautonen; courtesy of Shutterstock].](https://media.proquest.com/media/hms/THUM/22/OLGmK?_a=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&_s=CbzrGjBTSHqVVBjQMsBt%2BANj3SQ%3D "View Image - Figure 20. Lion attacking bull; relief panel; Apadana, Persepolis, Persia (mod. Iran); Achaemenid, ca. 518–486 bce [photography by Janos Rautonen; courtesy of Shutterstock].")
Enlarge this image.Figure 20. Lion attacking bull; relief panel; Apadana, Persepolis, Persia (mod. Iran); Achaemenid, ca. 518–486 bce [photography by Janos Rautonen; courtesy of Shutterstock].
![View Image - Figure 21. Lion attacking bull (OIM reg. no. A73100); relief panel, fragment; Palace H, Persepolis, Persia (mod. Iran); Achaemenid, ca. 404–358 bce [photography by Michael Tropea; courtesy of the Oriental Institute Museum Chicago].](https://media.proquest.com/media/hms/THUM/26/OLGmK?_a=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&_s=wvdKWW22bpkQVtxDc%2BTwTcpPoSM%3D "View Image - Figure 21. Lion attacking bull (OIM reg. no. A73100); relief panel, fragment; Palace H, Persepolis, Persia (mod. Iran); Achaemenid, ca. 404–358 bce [photography by Michael Tropea; courtesy of the Oriental Institute Museum Chicago].")
Enlarge this image.Figure 21. Lion attacking bull (OIM reg. no. A73100); relief panel, fragment; Palace H, Persepolis, Persia (mod. Iran); Achaemenid, ca. 404–358 bce [photography by Michael Tropea; courtesy of the Oriental Institute Museum Chicago].
![View Image - Figure 22. Design of lions on hem of Great King’s gown; relief, detail; Palace of Darius, Persepolis, Persia (mod. Iran); Achaemenid, ca. 518–486 bce [image taken from Schmidt (1953), pl. 142a; courtesy of the Oriental Institute, University of Chicago].](https://media.proquest.com/media/hms/THUM/28/OLGmK?_a=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&_s=vC6yiB7JXe8CzNK%2FdWLtUn1JKXY%3D "View Image - Figure 22. Design of lions on hem of Great King’s gown; relief, detail; Palace of Darius, Persepolis, Persia (mod. Iran); Achaemenid, ca. 518–486 bce [image taken from Schmidt (1953), pl. 142a; courtesy of the Oriental Institute, University of Chicago].")
Enlarge this image.Figure 22. Design of lions on hem of Great King’s gown; relief, detail; Palace of Darius, Persepolis, Persia (mod. Iran); Achaemenid, ca. 518–486 bce [image taken from Schmidt (1953), pl. 142a; courtesy of the Oriental Institute, University of Chicago].
![View Image - Figure 23. Garment (?) pin in form of lion (MMA acc. no 61.100.10); bronze ornament; Hasanlu, Iran; Iron Age II, ca. 9th cent. bce [image courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York].](https://media.proquest.com/media/hms/THUM/30/OLGmK?_a=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&_s=3XuVrFjKR52KKbHF6AOFj2YqBqA%3D "View Image - Figure 23. Garment (?) pin in form of lion (MMA acc. no 61.100.10); bronze ornament; Hasanlu, Iran; Iron Age II, ca. 9th cent. bce [image courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York].")
Enlarge this image.Figure 23. Garment (?) pin in form of lion (MMA acc. no 61.100.10); bronze ornament; Hasanlu, Iran; Iron Age II, ca. 9th cent. bce [image courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York].
![View Image - Figure 24. Tripod base with three lion figurines (IMN old inv. no. PT5 642); bronze utensil; Treasury (Hall 38), Persepolis (mod. Iran); Achaemenid, ca. 5th cent. bce [photography by Linda Tobey, ©2018, all rights reserved].](https://media.proquest.com/media/hms/THUM/32/OLGmK?_a=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&_s=GigqSXIj7R26pQn5s9J03KuTUM8%3D "View Image - Figure 24. Tripod base with three lion figurines (IMN old inv. no. PT5 642); bronze utensil; Treasury (Hall 38), Persepolis (mod. Iran); Achaemenid, ca. 5th cent. bce [photography by Linda Tobey, ©2018, all rights reserved].")
Enlarge this image.Figure 24. Tripod base with three lion figurines (IMN old inv. no. PT5 642); bronze utensil; Treasury (Hall 38), Persepolis (mod. Iran); Achaemenid, ca. 5th cent. bce [photography by Linda Tobey, ©2018, all rights reserved].
![View Image - Figure 25. Royal hero fighting and stabbing a lion; south jamb of the southern doorway in the western wall, Throne Hall, Persepolis, Persia (mod. Iran); Achaemenid, ca. 522–465 bce [photography by Mary Loosemore; used with permission].](https://media.proquest.com/media/hms/THUM/34/OLGmK?_a=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&_s=y5U9hQv%2FPIJ4Q64SIZjFtcszyiQ%3D "View Image - Figure 25. Royal hero fighting and stabbing a lion; south jamb of the southern doorway in the western wall, Throne Hall, Persepolis, Persia (mod. Iran); Achaemenid, ca. 522–465 bce [photography by Mary Loosemore; used with permission].")
Enlarge this image.Figure 25. Royal hero fighting and stabbing a lion; south jamb of the southern doorway in the western wall, Throne Hall, Persepolis, Persia (mod. Iran); Achaemenid, ca. 522–465 bce [photography by Mary Loosemore; used with permission].
![View Image - Figure 26. Royal hero strangling a young lion; relief scene; Tachara, Persepolis, Persia (mod. Iran); Achaemenid, ca. 522–465 bce [photography by Ernst Herzfeld, ca. 1923–1928; image courtesy of the Freer and Sackler Archives, Smithsonian, Washington, D.C., inv. no. A.6 04.GN.1682].](https://media.proquest.com/media/hms/THUM/36/OLGmK?_a=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&_s=B8cRDs2fLiJ4RPz1YokEG%2FDawDw%3D "View Image - Figure 26. Royal hero strangling a young lion; relief scene; Tachara, Persepolis, Persia (mod. Iran); Achaemenid, ca. 522–465 bce [photography by Ernst Herzfeld, ca. 1923–1928; image courtesy of the Freer and Sackler Archives, Smithsonian, Washington, D.C., inv. no. A.6 04.GN.1682].")
Enlarge this image.Figure 26. Royal hero strangling a young lion; relief scene; Tachara, Persepolis, Persia (mod. Iran); Achaemenid, ca. 522–465 bce [photography by Ernst Herzfeld, ca. 1923–1928; image courtesy of the Freer and Sackler Archives, Smithsonian, Washington, D.C., inv. no. A.6 04.GN.1682].
![View Image - Figure 27. Hero (Gilgamesh?) Overpowering Lion (Louvre inv. no. AO 19862); sculptural relief (partial reconstruction), H. 5.5 m; Palace of Sargon II, present-day Khorsabad (mod. Iraq); Neo-Assyrian, ca. 713–705 bce [photography by Thierry Ollivier; courtesy of the Louvre Museum, Paris].](https://media.proquest.com/media/hms/THUM/38/OLGmK?_a=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&_s=pmxHOQY%2BnCEsHbp%2FM%2Ff73RcE7xU%3D "View Image - Figure 27. Hero (Gilgamesh?) Overpowering Lion (Louvre inv. no. AO 19862); sculptural relief (partial reconstruction), H. 5.5 m; Palace of Sargon II, present-day Khorsabad (mod. Iraq); Neo-Assyrian, ca. 713–705 bce [photography by Thierry Ollivier; courtesy of the Louvre Museum, Paris].")
Enlarge this image.Figure 27. Hero (Gilgamesh?) Overpowering Lion (Louvre inv. no. AO 19862); sculptural relief (partial reconstruction), H. 5.5 m; Palace of Sargon II, present-day Khorsabad (mod. Iraq); Neo-Assyrian, ca. 713–705 bce [photography by Thierry Ollivier; courtesy of the Louvre Museum, Paris].
![View Image - Figure 28. Susian (Elamite) delegation bringing lion and two cups; relief scene; Apadana, Persepolis, Persia (mod. Iran); Achaemenid, ca. 518–486 bce [image is in the Public Domain; CC-BY-2.0 License].](https://media.proquest.com/media/hms/THUM/40/OLGmK?_a=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&_s=Hg0oHcowbiHrvZrLlKnR6Cft3Hg%3D "View Image - Figure 28. Susian (Elamite) delegation bringing lion and two cups; relief scene; Apadana, Persepolis, Persia (mod. Iran); Achaemenid, ca. 518–486 bce [image is in the Public Domain; CC-BY-2.0 License].")
Enlarge this image.Figure 28. Susian (Elamite) delegation bringing lion and two cups; relief scene; Apadana, Persepolis, Persia (mod. Iran); Achaemenid, ca. 518–486 bce [image is in the Public Domain; CC-BY-2.0 License].
![View Image - Figure 29. (a) Ceremonial sheath for scabbard (BM inv. no. 123923; reg. no. 1897,1231.22); armour, gold; found at Takht-i Kuwad (?) (Oxus Treasure), Tajikistan; Achaemenid, ca. 5th cent. bce (?). [Images courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum, London]; (b) line drawing of preceding (as above).](https://media.proquest.com/media/hms/THUM/42/OLGmK?_a=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&_s=CAA%2BGRwgTDLCDqE0EgtXeq%2FCKvU%3D "View Image - Figure 29. (a) Ceremonial sheath for scabbard (BM inv. no. 123923; reg. no. 1897,1231.22); armour, gold; found at Takht-i Kuwad (?) (Oxus Treasure), Tajikistan; Achaemenid, ca. 5th cent. bce (?). [Images courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum, London]; (b) line drawing of preceding (as above).")
Enlarge this image.Figure 29. (a) Ceremonial sheath for scabbard (BM inv. no. 123923; reg. no. 1897,1231.22); armour, gold; found at Takht-i Kuwad (?) (Oxus Treasure), Tajikistan; Achaemenid, ca. 5th cent. bce (?). [Images courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum, London]; (b) line drawing of preceding (as above).
![View Image - Figure 29. (a) Ceremonial sheath for scabbard (BM inv. no. 123923; reg. no. 1897,1231.22); armour, gold; found at Takht-i Kuwad (?) (Oxus Treasure), Tajikistan; Achaemenid, ca. 5th cent. bce (?). [Images courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum, London]; (b) line drawing of preceding (as above).](https://media.proquest.com/media/hms/THUM/44/OLGmK?_a=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&_s=%2FcA%2BNRdkyp1strrTrwsTOVyWu4g%3D "View Image - Figure 29. (a) Ceremonial sheath for scabbard (BM inv. no. 123923; reg. no. 1897,1231.22); armour, gold; found at Takht-i Kuwad (?) (Oxus Treasure), Tajikistan; Achaemenid, ca. 5th cent. bce (?). [Images courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum, London]; (b) line drawing of preceding (as above).")
Enlarge this image.Figure 29. (a) Ceremonial sheath for scabbard (BM inv. no. 123923; reg. no. 1897,1231.22); armour, gold; found at Takht-i Kuwad (?) (Oxus Treasure), Tajikistan; Achaemenid, ca. 5th cent. bce (?). [Images courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum, London]; (b) line drawing of preceding (as above).
![View Image - Figure 30. Lion hunt scene on so-called Alexander sarcophagus (IAM inv. no. 72); marble; Sidon, Phoenicia (mod. Lebanon); Hellenistic, ca. 330–310 bce [photography by Steven Zucker; CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 License].](https://media.proquest.com/media/hms/THUM/48/OLGmK?_a=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&_s=C%2FiFJ7%2BcDTCqofd7FZxS3RsZjsQ%3D "View Image - Figure 30. Lion hunt scene on so-called Alexander sarcophagus (IAM inv. no. 72); marble; Sidon, Phoenicia (mod. Lebanon); Hellenistic, ca. 330–310 bce [photography by Steven Zucker; CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 License].")
Enlarge this image.Figure 30. Lion hunt scene on so-called Alexander sarcophagus (IAM inv. no. 72); marble; Sidon, Phoenicia (mod. Lebanon); Hellenistic, ca. 330–310 bce [photography by Steven Zucker; CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 License].
© 2021 by the author.