Parthenon Frieze, Athens: Influenced By Persepolis Reliefs Which Were Inspired By Ionian Sculpture

This is the second of three stories that aim to show the cultural link between two arch-enemies, Ancient Greece and the First Persian Empire, using three objects that are on the display in the British Museum. The first story was about the Cyrus Cylinder. The subject of this story will be the Parthenon Frieze. The third one will discuss the Mausoleum.

What Is Parthenon?

Parthenon, the most famous Greek temple, was located in Athens. Its remains still tower the city: it is considered to be the most important surviving building of Classical Greece. This temple was built over the years 447-432 BC and dedicated to goddess Athena.
It replaced an older temple of Athena that was destroyed in 480 BC, during the Second Persian invasion of Greece. The new temple was erected to show the might of Athens in general and their superiority over Persians in particular. This becomes obvious if one examines the Parthenon Frieze.

What Is The Parthenon Frieze?

The frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature, the band that rests on top of the colonnade. It can be plain or, as in the case of Parthenon, have reliefs carved into it. The reliefs on the Parthenon Frieze depict two files of a procession, including preparation for the procession, the procession itself, and, probably, Greek gods at the end. We cannot be certain what procession it is, but many scholars believe it is a representation of a procession that would culminate the Panathenaic Games. That would be fitting given that Panathenaic would culminate in Parthenon.
Below are the Parthenon frieze slubs that show the culmination point of the procession: Zeus, Hera, other Greek gods, as well as heroes or civic dignitaries.

What Links Parthenon Frieze And Persian Culture?

In circa 515 BC Persian king Darius the Great founded a new capital, Persepolis. Its construction was a way to declare to the world that the great empire was born. This idea is also reflected in the decorative details of the palace.
One can see it particularly well on the reliefs of Apadana, the great audience hall of Persepolis. They show the processions of representatives of twenty-three subject nations of the Achaemenid Empire, with court notables and Persians and Medes, followed by soldiers and guards, their horses, and royal chariots. Delegates carry gifts as a token of their loyalty and a tribute to the deity-like king.
There are a few obvious similarities between the reliefs of Parthenon and Persepolis: both depict processions, both are in the locations where these processions were actually happening. There are also some compositional similarities: the deities (Parthenon) and the king (Persepolis) are seated, and surrounded by standing high profile figures, whereas the lower profile figures walk (Persepolis) or ride (Parthenon) towards them.

Prior to the ascension of Darius the Great, Persians were mostly nomads, and obviously, there were no Persian craftsmen to build a vast and richly decorated palace complex. So the future symbol of the Persian empire was built by foreigners: Babylonians, Medes and Egyptians. The reliefs were probably carved by Ionians.

Ionians were one of the Greek tribes, and lived in Asia Minor, on the coast of modern-day Turkey. The defeat of Lydian king Croesus by Cyrus the Great was followed by the conquest of all the Ionian cities in 547-546 BC, and remained part of Persian empire until 479 BC, when Persians were defeated by Greeks at the Battle of Plataea. They retained their autonomy until the Peace of Antalcidas in 387 BC once more placed them under the nominal dominion of Persia that lasted until 334 BC, when Alexander the Great defeated Persians in the Battle of the Granicus and subsequent battles.

Although we cannot be absolutely certain that the Ionian Greeks are the makers of the reliefs discussed below, it is reasonable to assume this, since no other nation in the Achaemenid Empire was capable of the perfect rendering of the human body.
There were, most likely, carved reliefs on the Ionian Temple of Artemis (this temple was rebuilt 3 times; the second incarnation, begun at cr. 550 BC, a few decades before the beginnings of Persepolis, is relevant to us).
One could also try and link it to the Siphnian Treasury, that was begun in 525 BC. The link is possible because Siphnos was mostly populated by Ionians.

Part Of The Artistic Tradition

The artistic back-and-forth between Greek and Persian cultures is part of a much longer artistic tradition of representing stately processions. Such representations were created by other great cultures of antiquity: Ancient Egypt, Assyria and Sumeria.

Additional Information

• Greek sculpture that we see in the museums is greyish white, the natural colour of the marble. However, originally it was brightly painted. We don’t know exactly how it was, as very few fragments of the paint survived.
  
  

  West Frieze of the Parthenon, Block X, 438 BC-432 BC, Athens

  

  West Frieze of the Parthenon, 'Restored' using 3D imagery block X, 2014, Athens
  
  Persepolis reliefs (made of limestone) were richly painted, too.
  
  

  Persepolis Apadana, Festival of the New Year, after 2000, Balogh Balage, U.S.A.

  

  Phidias Showing the Frieze of the Parthenon to his Friends, 1868, Lawrence Alma-Tadema, Great Britain
• It is possible to have a virtual visit of
  Persepolis Apadana:
  

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  Capital of a column from the Apadana, cr. 510 BC, Palace of Darius I, Susa, Persia, now Iran
  There is another, perhaps lesser known, Apadana. It was part of the palace of Darius I in Susa, Persia, now Shush, Iran. The decor of the Palace of Darius in Susa was stylistically close to what we see in Persepolis: you can see very similar column capitals featuring the foreparts of two kneeling bulls, back to back.

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  Modern model of the Third Temple of Artemis, Miniatürk Park, Istanbul, Turkey
  The Temple of Artemis was completely rebuilt three times, and in its final form was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. By 401 AD it had been ruined or destroyed. Only foundations and fragments of the last temple remain at the site.

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  West Metopes of the Parthenon, 438 - 432 BC, Designed by Pheidias, Athens, Greece
  There is a hypothesis that Amazons depicted on west metopes of the Parthenon are dressed as Persians. It is hard to prove or disprove it, especially given that the metopes are badly damaged. If it is correct, that would be an insult for Persians because, obviously, Amazons are women!
  Greeks would often dress their imaginary arch-enemies, Amazons, as their real arch-enemies, Persians or Scythians (wearing patterned trousers). Amazons didn’t need to have distinctive costumes because they would be the only warrior women represented in Greek art.
  
  

  Neck-amphora with the depiction of combat on an Amazone and a hoplite, cr. 500-490 BC, Attica

  

  Bell-krater showing a battle of two Amazons and one Greek, cr. 440 BC, Attica

  

  Amphora with the depiction of Amazonomachy, 435-415 BC, painted by Aison

  

  Red-figured Krater showing a Warrior and an Amazon, 430-420 BC, Apulia

  

  Red-figured Pelike Showing a Fight of an Amazon on Horseback with a Gryphon, Third quarter of the 4th century BC, Attica
• When working on this post, I came across a wonderful source of information about the ancient history: livius.org. There is a lot of high-quality content there, spanning from Ancient Greece and Persia to medieval and Byzanthian art and history! Highly recommended. Here is more information on Persian Influence on Greek architecture.
• Ionia and Ionian (as in the Ionian Sea or the Ionian Islands) are two unrelated geographic names. They appear the same in English, but they are spelt differently in Ancient Greek. Ionia is spelt Ἰωνία, Iōnía or Ἰωνίη, Iōníē. Ionian is spelt Ἰόνιοι, Ionioi. Ionic as in Ionic order refers to Ionia.
• The above mentioned Lydian king Croesus was so famous for his wealth that his name remained proverbial beyond classical antiquity: in English, expressions such as “rich as Croesus” or “richer than Croesus” are used to indicate great wealth to this day.