I am referring to the fact that Persepolis and Pasargadae are the political and religious heartbeat of Persia and – a fortiori – the ideological lighthouses of Persian power. Pasargadae, named for the tribe of the Achaemenids, is where the Achaemenind kings were “crowned”; Alexander’s desire to go to Cyrus’ tomb was no expression of incidental hero-worship. Persepolis was the political and economic nerve centre of empire. The Fortification and Treasury tablets – along with the tonnage of coin, silver and gold that the Macedonians took can readily attest to it.athenas owl wrote:You are refering to the idea that Persepolis was the site of some annual New' Year's festival that included the entire empire.
athenas owl wrote:If it is a representation of the Nowrouz, those Indians in their light cotton and the Egyptians, too...they must have been freezing. And those carrying lotus blossoms...when did the lotus bloom in Persia? …
So if it is symbolic..becase ti is unlikely that the subjects from the warmer climes, represented in their "national dress" were actually that lightly dressed in late March and carrying a flower that wouldn't have been blooming yet...perhaps the whole series of reliefs is also symbolic.
Pierre Briant, on the art of Persepolis (and this ceremony) in From Cyrus to Alexander. A long way of emphasising that the “it” you refer to (the reliefs I am assuming) are, in fact, politically imbued art: they serve to emphasise the power of the Great King and do so by displaying the nations over which he rules. “Symbolic” as you say but a symbolism redolent of power - if not appropriate dress for any particular time of year.Iconological and iconographic analysis has shown that, overall, inscriptions and reliefs are intended prima facie to impose and transmit the image of a universal, intangible power. Achaemenind rhetoric is nourished less by administrative realities than by ideological assumptions, which have their own logic. In other words, Persepolitan art is not a simple, quasi-photographic reflection of reality… it relates less to a scenic scenario than to an ideological discourse on royalty and imperial might organised around themes particularly evocative of the power of the Great King…
As you say the debate goes on. In any case the fellow who quite clearly saw himself as King of Asia was in residence at the Persian capital. He felt it necessary to undertake a “silencing” mission come the spring and then torch Persepolis. It will have taken more than some little organisation to torch the palace area. If it indeed was due to the fervid urgings of an amative Athenian courtesan then I’d suggest that some rather alcohol-driven, hot blooded Macedonians were, unsurprisingly, a little premature.