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Media type:
E-Article
Title:
The Horse and the Lion in Achaemenid Persia: Representations of a Duality
Contributor:
Almagor, Eran
imprint:
MDPI AG, 2021
Published in:Arts
Language:
English
DOI:
10.3390/arts10030041
ISSN:
2076-0752
Origination:
Footnote:
Description:
<jats:p>This paper explores the ambiguous Persian Achaemenid attitude towards the horse and the lion. It examines the way these animals appear in imperial official presentations, local artifacts throughout the empire and Greek textual representations. In the case of the stallion, it looks at the imagery of horse riding or the place of the horse in society and religion alongside the employment of steeds in chariots. Images of the lion are addressed in instances where it appears to be respected as having a significant protective power and as the prey of the chase. This paper attempts to show that this ambiguity corresponds roughly to the dual image of the Persians as both pre-imperial/nomad and imperial/sedentary (and hence allegedly luxurious), a schism that is manifest in both the self-presentation of the Achaemenids and in the Greek texts.</jats:p>