Persepolis was the ancient ceremonial capital of the Persian Empire,
whose embryonic stages as suggested by the French archaeologist Andre
Godard were formulated during the reign of Cyrus the Great around 560
B.C. For the people of ancient Persia, Persepolis was then known as Parsa
which meant 'The City of Persians'. Today's citizens of Iran refer to
the city as Takht-e-Jamshid which means 'Throne of Jamshid' after the
legendary monarch. Persepolis, in the English-speaking world is
derived from the Greek interpretation of Perse (Persian) and polis (city)
and whose ruins are located 35 miles northeast of Shiraz, Iran. These
magnificent ruins which can be viewed in the following images have been
listed by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization) as a World Heritage Site.
An
examination of the earliest archaeological evidence supports the theory
that Darius I began construction on the palatial complex sometime
between 518 and 515 B.C. While construction did not continue unabated
throughout the Achaemenid Dynasty, majestic buildings were erected
during the reigns of Xerxes, Artaxerxes I, Artaxerxes III and may have ended during the reign of Darius III upon the capture of Persepolis
by Alexander of Macedonia around 330 B.C.
Persepolis on its own, is a testament to the beauty, majesty and grandeur of the Achaemenid Empire. In
the context of the Battle of Thermopylae, Persepolis is an important
monument as the ruins provide formidable examples of the appearance of
the Persian monarchy and its warriors.
All those associated with '300' have stated that the movie is based on a comic book series and not historically accurate. Therefore, in order to provide a realistic representation of the Persian and Mede warriors of the Achaemenian Dynasty as they actually appeared in 480 B.C., I have included these images as requested by teachers and their students. As can be seen, these stelae contradict the appearance of the Persian warriors as depicted in the Warner Bros. movie.
I am deeply indebted to Reza Memar for the use of his photos. They are part of his 'Persepolis' pictorial essay, which captured the ruins of the ancient ceremonial capital of the Persian Empire.
Images of Persepolis
All photos by Reza Memar
To see more of Reza Memar's image of Persepolis along with 3D reconstructions courtesy of Kourosh Afhami & Wolfgang Gambke, please access the following link.
