How the Greeks were perceived in Asia

We are so used to looking through the eyes of the West that only a few of us are aware that among the Persians and Indians, the Greeks go under different names. 

Ever since the reign of Darius I, the Greeks were called Yauna or Yona, as documented in the inscription of Bisutun from c.520 BC. In the 5th century BC, Herodotus mentions the Yaunas in his Histories, linking them mainly to the Ionians, who lived along the coastline of Asia Minor. The historian also specifies that under Persian rule, the Ionian Greeks constituted one tax district that included the Pamphylians, Lycians, Magnesians, Aeolians, and Carians. 

Yauna may simply be a transliteration of the Greek for ‘Ionians,’ and the name surprisingly appears in Sanskrit literature and Sri Lanka’s Mahavamsa (historical chronicle) – a very long way from home! 

The name also has a corrupted form with the Assyrians, who called the Greeks Iawanu, and the Babylonians used Yaman or Yamanaya. Nowadays, Turkish, Persian, and Arabic languages use Yunan, which clearly derives from the ancient Persian Yauna. 

The Persians, as we know, did not stop their conquest of Greece at the coast of modern Turkey. They soon mounted an expedition to conquer Macedonia with its rich gold and silver mines. 

An inscription to that effect can be seen on Darius’ tomb at Naqsh-e Rustam, where the Macedonians are called the “Greeks with sun hats” based on their typical headwear. 

The same Macedonians threatened Persia in 340 BC when Philip II besieged Perinthus, a vital point on the Hellespont. In the end, Alexander the Great crossed into Asia and conquered Persia. How much of this campaign has been recorded in their literature remains vague. It is impossible that a well-organized civilization like Persia’s has not kept written records. Could we assume they are either still hidden or have not yet been deciphered? 

Alexander and his Macedonians marched on to Central Asia and even India. Ancient sources use the word Yonaka when referring to the later Graeco-Bactrians and Indo-Greeks, who became kingdoms in their own right. They were the result of those veterans left in the regions by Alexander, who built a civilization based on Greek principles. They rose to power in the late 4th century BC and ruled until the first decade of the 1st century AD. 

Yavana is the word that lived on in the medieval literature of India. It was generally used to define foreigners, but until approximately 1000 AD, they meant the Greeks. 

As always, there is so much more in a word than we assume at first sight. In this case, it ends up being a story on its own.

Sassanid art in pictures

The Sassanids ruled over Iran from 224 AD until the Arabs took over in the 7^th century AD. This is a far cry from the empire of Darius III that Alexander conquered. Yet, it is an interesting time frame altogether since the Sassanids drew their inspiration from the earlier Achaemenid rule (see: Sassanid reliefs tell a story of their own in Persia).

This era left its imprints all over Persia, as can be seen in the rock-carved reliefs of Naqs-i Rajab and Naqsh-i Rustam close to Persepolis, Tang-i Tchogan at Bishapur and Taq-iBostan near Kermanshah. Also, the temples of goddess Anahita, both in Bishapur and in Kangavar show a mixture of Sassanid and Hellenistic influences (see: The powerful goddess Anahita in Persia).

[Picture from Tehran Times]

Presently, the Italian University of Sapienza in Rome has worked together with the Anahita Temple National Center in Kangavar to exhibit photographs on arts and monuments, together with architectural works from across the province of Kermanshah in western Iran. The pictures include views of the ruins of the Anahita Temple in Kangavar as well as of the Palace of Khosrow Parviz in Qasr-e Shirin.

The Iranian collaboration with the Italian experts has centered on Anahita’s sanctuary in Kangavar as discussed earlier in my blog The powerful goddess Anahita in Persia.

Also highlighted is the Palace of the Sassanid King Ardashir in Firuzabad that displays the unique dome construction known as the squinch. This architectural feature consists of building a dome on top of a square base. It may well be the earliest surviving example and could indicate that the squinch was actually invented in Persia.

The imposing palace of Ctesiphon or Hatra (now in modern Iraq) is much better known because of a sizable vaulted arch. This city was built by the Parthians in the 2^nd century BC as the capital of their empire. Ctesiphon/Hatra was conquered by the Sassanids in 226 AD, who turned it into a true metropolis worthy to serve as their capital. I seem to remember that the arch or at least the human heads in the surrounding walls were attacked by IS fanatics, but I couldn’t find a confirmation to that end.

Little information about the Sassanid empire transpires beyond the borders of modern Iraq and Iran, despite the grand cities these kings built using their precious craftsmanship as metal workers and gem engravers. They also took care of translating much of the existing western and eastern literature into Pahlavi, the Sassanid language.

Tomb of Darius I reveals new inscription

Excavations in Persepolis and at the nearby tombs of Nasq-e Rustam started nearly two hundred years ago, and the sites have been explored in the decades that followed.

[Picture from The Archaeology News Network]

The latest discovery was made in the upper right corner of the relief façade decorating the Tomb of Darius I at Nasq-e Rustam. A tri-lingual inscription in Persian, Elamite, and Babylonian had until now remained hidden underneath a coat of dirt and lichen.

A more in-depth description of the site has been given in one of my earlier blogs, Achaemenid Tombs at Naqsh-e Rustam and Persepolis.

Of course, using the modern technology and a special crane, researchers were able to access the corner above the head of the figure on the far right. The text has not (yet) been disclosed but academics specialized in ancient Iranian language are very excited because it contains valuable information about the inner circle of the Achaemenid kings, their associates and advisers. It also transpires that this inscription adds new verbs to all three languages.

The archaeologists evidently hope to find more such inscriptions which can be added to what is known so far about the archives of Persepolis.

The Cube of Zoroaster or the Ka’bah-i Zardusht at Naqsh-i Rustam

The Cube of Zoroaster, or the Ka’bah-i Zardusht or the Jail of Solomon, whatever its name is and whatever its function was, this building remains unique and enigmatic.

The fact is that we are looking at a tower-like construction set in front of the Royal Achaemenid Tombs and the victory reliefs of the Sassanid Kings at Naqsh-i Rustam near Persepolis. So far, it has been determined that it dates from the 5^th century BC (it is generally believed that it was built either under Darius the Great or Artaxerxes II) and is not a Zoroastrian shrine. A similar tower, but in a worse state of conservation, can be found at nearby Pasargadae and is being referred to as the Zendan-i Suleiman, translating to the Jail of Solomon. Not that Solomon ever was here, but the name may arise from a Persian tactic when the Arabs were invading the country in order to protect the Tomb of Cyrus the Great (calling it the tomb of Solomon’s Mother) and the tower (calling it the Jail of Solomon).

The square tower constructed with white limestone blocks is 12.5 meters high, and the sides are 7.25 meters wide, making it look rather sturdy. It stands on a 3-stepped plinth of 1.5 meters. A staircase of 30 steps leads to the stone entrance door, 1.9 meters high. The inside chamber of 3.7x3.7 meters is 5.7 meters high and has no windows, as may appear at first glance on the outside walls; they are in fact blind windows. The roof has disappeared, but it was made of four slabs of stone set as a pyramid on top of the tower.

The tower walls carry inscriptions related to events of the reign of the Sassanid King Shapur I (241-272 AD). It is, as so often, a trilingual inscription in Sassanid and Parthian dialects of central Persia and in ancient Greek, referring to the war with Rome when Shapur I defeated Emperor Valerian in 260 AD. There is also a Sassanid inscription suggesting that the structure was used as a fire altar or housed an eternal flame in memory of the nearby kings, but the lack of cross-ventilation in the tower kills this theory. Another suggestion is that it served as a safe place to keep the royal flags and other memorabilia, but how safe is such a building? Other experts believe that this monument was the place where a complete copy of the Avesta (the sacred texts of the Zoroastrians) was kept, written on 12,000 sheets of parchment. More recently, an Iranian archaeologist has described the monument as a unique calendar and astronomical observatory, but that seems rather far-fetched.

Separately, there is an inscription of 19 lines in Middle Persian believed to be written by the highly influential high-priest Kartir in the third century AD, commenting on the first two texts and describing Shapur I’s victories.

The tower at Naqsh-i Rustam was surrounded by a wall from Sassanid times, and it probably stood in a garden laid out at the foot of the nearby tomb reliefs.

Although both towers originate in Achaemenid times, they have undergone repeated modifications and improvements by the Sassanids. Still, it remains a very enigmatic construction that raises more questions than it provides answers. I also wonder what they must have looked like when Alexander was there; no ancient writer bothers to mention it.

The Bisutun relief of King Darius I

The most important rock-wall relief and certainly the best known is that of Bisutun, in which Darius I celebrates his victory over Gaumata and eight more pretenders to the throne in 518 BC.

Bisutun or Behistun was located on the well-travelled road connecting Babylon to Ecbatana (modern Hamadan), and it was obviously an ideal place for Darius I the Great to advertise his military victories, although the relief is perched some one hundred meters above the valley floor. I find it terribly disappointing that I am not allowed to climb up the scaffold onto the platform to have a closer look at the scene. Instead, I have to step back as the platform is blocking the relief from view when standing at the foot of the cliff. From down here, it is impossible to see the trilingual inscriptions, and I wonder how travelers in antiquity were supposed to read the exploits of their king.

Unlike the rock-wall reliefs of Naqsh-e Rustam and Persepolis, there is no tomb at Bisutun, just a victory scene – but what a victory!  To clearly understand what has happened, we have to go back to Cyrus the Great, who was succeeded by his son Cambyses II known for having lost his army in the Egyptian desert. When Cambyses died, he had no direct successor, and it seems that a man posing as his brother Bardiya, a magian and/or Gaumata, a Zoroastrian priest, seized the throne.

Darius, the later Darius I the Great, contested the legitimacy of this new king and claimed his rights as being the great-great-grandson of Teispes, just like Cambyses II. Here at Bisutun, Darius I provides a lengthy sequence of events. Within the year, he fought no less than nineteen battles, murdering Gaumata and Bardiya (also known as Smerdis). After that, he marched against several other pretenders to the throne, choking several revolts in Media, Elam,  Babylonia, Armenia, Parthia, Margiana, Scythia, and even in the heart of Persia. This is what is being related on the Bisutun relief, where a row of nine prisoners, their heads locked in a collar and hands tied behind their backs, are led in front of Darius standing in a commanding posture. Above the group floats the emblem of Ahuramazda by whose will Darius receives his kingship.

The trilingual inscriptions relating to the king’s conquests are basically written in five columns in Old Persian, Babylonian, and Elamite. Unfortunately, from the valley floor, one cannot even see the cuneiform signs up there!

To my greatest surprise, I am confronted with another inscription left by Darius I and his son Xerxes. This happens at a place called Ganj Nameh, some five kilometers southwest of Hamadan. There are no pictures here, just two clear-cut frames on a granite wall, each written in three languages: Old Persian, Neo-Babylonian, and Neo-Elamite. As is customary, they both start by praising Ahuramazda and continue describing their lineage and deeds, Darius on the left panel and Xerxes on the right. It reads: "The Great God [is] Ahuramazda, greatest of all the gods, who created the earth and the sky and the people; who made Xerxes king, and outstanding king as outstanding ruler among innumerable rulers; I [am] the great king Xerxes, king of kings, king of lands with numerous inhabitants, king of this vast kingdom with far-away territories, son of the Achaemenid monarch Darius." Again, the entire setting is quite spectacular in the landscape, close to a fast-running mountain river and lovely waterfalls.

This about closes the subject of Achaemenid rock reliefs and tombs (see also my previous post: Achaemenid Tombs at Naqsh-i Rustam and Persepolis), which I feel certainly deserves our full attention since Alexander must have seen them all, even if historians do not mention them. 

[Click here for all the pictures of Bisutun]

Sassanid reliefs tell a story of their own in Persia

Traveling through Iran, you simply can’t miss these many reliefs. The Sassanid kings definitely were not modest and took pride in advertising their investiture and their conquests on several cliff walls, generally located close to a water source. Yet, you’ll ask, what is their connection to Alexander the Great?

Well, it may be far-fetched, but whatever you think, Hellenism and today’s way of living are all a consequence of Alexander’s conquests anyway; so why not include the Sassanids to start with? Another reason is that the Sassanid kings tried to recreate the Achaemenid Empire and repossess the territories that fell under their rule some five hundred years before.

As we know, the Achaemenid Empire ended when Alexander the Great conquered Persia, his first step being his victory at the Battle of Gaugamela in 331 BC and his final move being the execution of Bessus, the self-appointed successor of King Darius III in 329 BC. After Alexander died in 323 BC, his empire was eventually divided among his leading generals. Seleucos I ruled over the eastern part of Alexander’s Empire from 312 BC onwards, and his realm included Persia. But soon, the Parthians from northern Iran would revolt against the Seleucids, and by 171 BC, their King Mithridates the Great really put his new empire on the map to include, besides modern Iran, Iraq, and Armenia, parts of Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, and Turkey as well. The Parthian empire collapsed when the Persians of the Sassanid dynasty took over in 224 AD. That’s it in a nutshell, of course.

The Sassanid kings, in turn, ruled for more than four hundred years, and it is not surprising that they left a heritage of their own. Overall, they wanted to emulate the Achaemenids in their art, and the figures in the reliefs are still rather stiff and emotionless, although the flow of their dresses hints at a slight Greek influence. A noticeable difference is also that some of the personages are shown facing the onlooker or at least in a three-quarters position and not in profile, as the Achaemenids did.

It does come as a surprise to find the far-reaching impression Hellenism has left in Sogdiana, Bactria, or India, while here in Sassanid Persia, it hardly shows. Looking at their silver tableware or at their coinage, it is even very hard to tell them apart from similar Achaemenid artifacts.

Taq-i Bostan

The first Sassanid reliefs I came to see were those of Taq-i Bostan, an idyllic place set along a reflecting pool fed by several sacred springs not too far from the city of Kermanshah in western Iran. The main features are two arches. The largest one and most lavishly decorated is showing the investiture of King Khosrow II, who ruled from 591 to 628 AD. On the upper level, he is standing between Ahuramazda and the goddess Anahita (see: The powerful goddess Anahita in Persia), and on the lower register, the king is on horseback. Both side walls are richly decorated with hunting scenes of wild boars on the left and deer on the right side. The carved angels floating above the iwan stand for victory.

The smaller arch or iwan contains a relief of King Shapur III (who reigned from 383 to 388 AD) facing his father Shapur II (the Great), who ruled from 309 to 379 AD. Next to each king is an explanatory inscription in Pahlavi giving the names of their respective father and grandfather. It specifies that each king worshipped Ahuramazda and ruled over Iran and “non-Iran.”

Past these two arches is another relief, this time cut into the very cliff wall itself. This is the oldest relief and represents the investiture of King Ardashir II (379-383 AD) on foot. He is receiving his crown from Ahuramazda, standing next to him, while on his other side, we recognize the god Mithra, who is carrying the sacred barsom (bundle of small rods), symbolizing power. This investiture includes Ardashir’s triumph over the Roman Emperor Julian the Apostate in 363 AD, who is lying at his feet.

[Click here to see all the pictures of Taq-i Bostan]

Bishapur

The next reliefs I’m encountering are those of Tang-i Tchogan at Bishapur, located between Kazarun and Shiraz, along the Shapur River, glorifying King Shapur I, who founded Bishapur in 266 AD. From this new capital with its unique and awkward Temple of Anahita (see: The powerful goddess Anahita in Persia), we have to cross the river for a closer look at the six Sassanid rock reliefs in the cliffs facing us.

It is at Bishapur that Shapur I (reigned from 241 to 272 AD) inaugurated the Sassanid imagery of the king's investiture, which would be copied by his successors: the king and the god are face to face, often on horseback, and the god - usually Ahuramazda - is handing the royal diadem over to the sovereign. Shapur I is represented on three separate reliefs, commemorating his triple triumph over Rome, having killed Gordian III (in 244 AD), forced Philip the Arab to surrender (also in 244 AD), and captured Valerian (in 260 AD) – no small matter, of course.

The largest relief is nearly 12.5 meters long and 4.50 meters high and is divided into several distinctive parts. At its center, we see the investiture of Shapur I riding his horse, whose left hoof is resting on the head of the defeated Emperor Gordian III lying at his feet. At the same time, the king is grasping the wrist of Emperor Philip the Arab, standing next to him. Facing him, we recognize the kneeling Emperor Valerian begging for mercy while two Persian dignitaries are standing behind him. Above King Shapur’s head, we notice a winged Nike (a Greek influence, after all!) holding the crown of victory. The left panel is split into two registers, one above the other, in which five Persian horsemen are depicted in profile. The right panel, also split into two rows, shows five smaller scenes that cannot be identified properly, but where we recognize the Persian army and possibly mercenaries from different parts of the empire.

The next relief is set in a concave part of the cliff and is 6.80 meters high and 9.20 meters wide. Surprisingly, it has been inspired by the Column of Trajan in Rome. In the center, we find King Shapur I in the same traditional composition as seen in the previous relief, with Emperor Gordian stretched underneath his horse and the king holding the wrist of Philip the Arab. The panels on either side are very elaborate and detailed. Unfortunately, during my visit, the view was impaired by a heavy scaffold, and it wasn’t easy to make out the crowded scenes. To the left, the Persian cavalry is approaching in two rows, one above the other, with only the top bodies of the riders and the front of the horses visible. On the right-hand side, much more is happening in the five small panels depicting Persian soldiers and Roman prisoners bringing in the booty, as well as mercenaries from all over the empire.

To the right of this concave relief, there is a flat one 7.5 meters long showing King Bahram II (276-293 AD) receiving a delegation of Bedouins. Bahram II is on horseback, holding the reins with his right hand and his bow and arrows in his left. A Persian officer on foot leads the Bedouins in their typical dress; in the back of the picture, there are three more men with horses and camels.

This brings us to the relief with the investiture on horseback of Bahram I, facing Ahuramazda on an identical horse, handing over the crown with ribbons. The figure on the floor underneath the king could be Bahram III and was added later by King Narseh (reigned 293-302 AD), who also wrote the Pahlavi inscription.

This relief is followed by a large one (11 meters long and 4.5 meters high) divided by cross-shaped beams representing the victory of King Shapur II (who reigned from 309 to 379 AD) over the Romans and the Christians. This picture is totally different from the previous scenes; it looks rough and unfinished, probably because originally it was plastered and painted. The top central figure is the king in person in a sitting position, looking rather frightful. In the presence of his nobles on his left, he reviews the prisoners and the booty. On the bottom left quarter, we find Persian warriors following the king’s horse that is being led forward. To the right of the king, Persian soldiers are bringing in the captives, while in the bottom right quarter, soldiers are carrying decapitated heads, surrounded by Persian warriors and nobles carrying vases. I wonder if this is meant to frighten his people.

A last relief along this peaceful river is around the bend and less well preserved. It is, in fact, a repeat of an identical previous picture of Shapur I, enjoying his victory over Emperor Gordian III, Emperor Philip the Arab, and the best preserved Emperor Valerian kneeling in front of him.

[Click here to see all the pictures of Bishapur]

Naqs-i Rajab

Close to Persepolis, there are two more sites with rock reliefs. Here again, we find the investiture of Shapur I as represented above, where the king on horseback is receiving his crown from Ahuramazda, facing him and sitting on an identical horse.

On the opposite wall in this loop, there is another relief of Shapur I (reigned from 241 till 272 AD), this time showing the king on horseback surrounded by nine court dignitaries. Four of these nobles are more or less hidden behind the horse, and the first man behind the king. In his direct suite, three muscled men occupy a prominent position, with a hand on their long swords; the two others are mere busts. On the rear of the horse, there is a trilingual inscription in Parthian, Pahlavi, and Greek. This is the last known Greek inscription in Iran.

From an earlier date is the adjacent investiture of Ardashir I on foot, the very founder of the Sassanid Dynasty, who reigned from 224-241 AD. He is receiving his crown from Ahuramazda, facing him. In between them, we see two smaller figures; the dressed one is believed to be King Bahram I, the oldest son of Shapur I, facing the naked god of the same name, who was later identified as the Greek Heracles. Behind Ardashir I stands a courtier holding a fan. Next to him, we recognize crown-prince Shapur I. Exceptional is the presence of two women on the right, undoubtedly members of the royal family, and the one on the far end could be Ardashir’s spouse and sister Denak.

It is here that we find the highly unusual representation of the Zoroastrian high priest, Katir, mentioned in the context of the Zoroastrian Tower at nearby Naqsh-i Rustam (see: The Cube of Zoroaster or the Ka’bah-i Zardusht at Naqsh-i Rustam) with a Pahlavi inscription.

Naqsh-i Rustam

Naqsh-i Rustam is within walking distance from Naqs-i Rajab and has by far the greatest number of rock reliefs, both Achaemenid (see: Achaemenid Tombs at Naqsh-i Rustam and Persepolis) and Sassanid. These Sassanid reliefs have been etched in a lower register beneath the Achaemenid tombs, and there is actually a series of seven such reliefs carved some five hundred years after the tombs for the Achaemenid kings.

For Shapur I, his triumph over the Romans is a repeat, although less elaborate than what I have seen at Bishapur (see above).

The most popular figure here is, however, King Bahram II, who reigned over Persia from 276 to 293 AD. We find this king three times:

- with family members and court dignitaries bringing homage to their king:

Here, the king is larger than life-size (2.5 meters), set at the center of the relief, his hands resting on his long sword. Among the five members of the royal family on the left, we see the high priest Kartir and the queen. On the right are the busts of three courtiers.

- in a cavalry fight (located below the Tomb of Darius II, see: Achaemenid Tombs at Naqsh-i Rustam and Persepolis)

Here, the king is fighting a mounted Roman soldier, clearly hitting his adversary.

- in a double cavalry fight (located below the Tomb of Darius I, see: Achaemenid Tombs at Naqsh-i Rustam and Persepolis) :

This scene is split into two panels. In the upper panel, the king in scaled armor is meeting his mounted Roman enemy in full gallop, while on the lower panel, a helmeted prince is facing his enemy in the same fashion as the king above. In both cases, the dead enemy is lying under the horse’s hooves.

Like at Naqsh-i Rajab, there is another investiture of Ardashir I, the founder of the Sassanid Dynasty, receiving his crown from Ahuramazda, both on horseback and facing each other. This panel carries a trilingual inscription in Parthian, Pahlavi, and Greek.

The rock relief depicting the investiture of King Narseh on foot shows how he is receiving his crown from Anahita, although this is being disputed since his posture does not appear to be the appropriate one for meeting a goddess; it is thought that the lady is a relative, maybe Queen Shapurdokhtak. In between them stands a smaller figure, and it is suggested that this could be Narseh’s grandson and the son of Hormizd II. King Narseh succeeded Bahram II in 293 AD, and his successor, in turn, is Hormizd II.

King Hormizd II comes to power in 303 AD and is shown in the cliff wall underneath the Tomb of Artaxerxes I. He is riding a galloping horse, forcing his opponent from his horse with his lance.

And finally, the last relief is that of King Shapur II, who ruled from 309 to 379 AD, sitting on the throne.

In between this relief and the Tomb of Artaxerxes is a badly damaged and hardly recognizable relief of what is thought to be Shapur II, surrounded by his courtiers.

The Sassanid kings intended to leave their imprint on their empire, of which they were very proud. For me, the history of Persia would not have been complete without talking about the Sassanids, as they were the last of the long lineage of rulers that started with Cyrus the Great (see: Cyrus the Great, who made Pasargadae the capital of Persia). The rise of Islam spreading along the trade routes ever further east put a final end to the Sassanids and to the grandeur of Persia.

The powerful goddess Anahita in Persia

Anahita is a water goddess whose origins go back to Central Asia, from where her worship spread through Persia all the way to the Middle East. Anahita literally means "the moist, strong and pure one" and embodies the qualities of water, especially the fertilizing flow of water. Over the centuries, her role increased, including that of "patron goddess of royalty."

Her very name is not familiar to most of us, which is not surprising since, over the centuries, she has been assimilated into the Babylonian Anaitis, the Greek Aphrodite and Athena, the Roman Diana, and even the Egyptian Isis. The Armenians, who once were part of the great Persian empire, still call her the "Great Lady Anahita, Life-Giver of our Nation, Mother of Sobriety, and Benefactress of Humanity." In 1997, the Central Bank of Armenia –an orthodox Christian nation- saw fit to issue a gold coin with her image.

Anahita, however, lived a long and complex godly life. The earliest known records go back to Artaxerxes II, who ruled over Persia from 404 to 358 BC and was the first to make a statue of Anahita to be placed in temples at Babylon, Susa, Ecbatana, Persepolis, Damascus, and even Sardes. This same king put the name of Anahita directly after that of Ahuramazda and before that of Mithra – a clear sign of her importance. The inscription left by Artaxerxes II at Susa confirms this: "By the will of Ahuramazda, Anahita and Mithra, I built this palace." We should remember that Artaxerxes II was the father of the later Queen Sisygambis, the mother of Darius III, who was defeated by Alexander. Through his close contact with the Queen Mother, Alexander must have been well aware of Anahita's role in the Persian gods' realm. Like so many other Greeks of his days, he may have assimilated her with Aphrodite.

After a period of relative obscurity, the Sassanid kings revived the cult. One example is visible on the relief at Naqsh-e Rustam, where King Narseh (ruled 293-302 AD) is receiving his crown from Anahita in person and not from Ahuramazda as was customary till then. She is on the right of this relief, holding the crown in her right hand, while the king at the center receives the diadem with his right hand.

Anahita also appears in the largest cliff wall of Taq-e-Bostan, next to King Khosrow II (early 7^th century), who receives his crown from the high priest under the protection of Anahita as the guardian angel of the waters (on his right side, left looking at it). The founder of the Sassanid empire, King Ardashir (mid-3^rd century), venerated Anahita also as his Goddess of War and would, for instance, send the heads of the petty kings he defeated to be displayed in her temple. Unfortunately, the Romans destroyed Anahita's temples, and a few centuries later, Islam erased what was left of her rich legacy – yet her spirit lived on. 

It was a pleasant surprise to discover that at least two of her temples had survived, and this led me to start my own investigation of Anahita. Until then, my knowledge of her was minimal. Even my local guide in Iran had little to tell about her except that he linked her to the Sassanid rulers more than a thousand years after her origins in Central Asia.

My first encounter happened at Kangavar, situated on the antique highway between Ecbatana and Ctesiphon, close to modern Hamadan. It is quite an amazing site I knew only from pictures, mainly columns belonging to a temple set in Hellenistic style. On the billboard at the entrance, I read that this site is 220 meters long and 210 meters wide and that the columns were 3.45 meters high, but nothing about its time frame or construction. Information from the internet is scant and often unreliable and even contradictory.

Some say (Dr. Kaveh Farrokh) that this temple of Anahita was built during the early Parthian occupation, some time between 248 BC and 224 AD. Yet others (The Zoroastrian Education Institute) mention that it was built by Artaxerxes II between 404 and 359 BC based on the shape and carving of the columns, which is similar to those of Persepolis and Susa, but adds that the temple was plundered by Alexander in 335 BC which is utterly impossible since the new Macedonian king was still crushing the rebellion in the lands around Macedonia that arose after his father's death one year before. Robbert Bosschart, on the other hand, devotes an entire chapter of his book "All Alexander's Women" to Anahita and the role this goddess played in Persian religion. Still, he only refers to her "main temple" in Istakhr near Persepolis and says nothing about the temples I visited in Kangavar and Bishapur. Digging in further, I find that both Polybius and Plutarch mention a temple of Anahita at Ecbatana, once a most glorious sanctuary. Just remember that Ecbatana is the old name for Hamadan and could thus be linked to nearby Kangavar. 

On the other hand, Arrian tells about a temple at Ecbatana that, according to local lore, had been razed on orders of Alexander because it was considered a sanctuary of Asclepius, and Alexander was furious at this God of Health for not having saved the life of his dear friend Hephaistion in Ecbatana. However, Arrian explains why this local lore is not at all believable. Anyway, it is clear that in the Successor Wars after Alexander's death, Macedonian troops plundered the Anahita temple more than once. This is confirmed by Polybius, who tells us that when Antiochus III arrived in Ecbatana in 209 BC, he found much of the temple's wealth scattered around: columns covered in gold, silver tiles, and many gold and silver bricks. Yet, all of this doesn't reveal much, if anything, about the appearance of the temple or its origins. It is, however, clear that I am confronted with an edifice of Hellenistic character with Achaemenid architectural elements and that it is not impossible that Alexander visited the place.

Excavations from 1968 match the comment made by the geographer Isidore of Charax that this temple is set on a high platform (32 meters high actually) and has Ionian columns (which, of course, must have been much taller than the 3.45 m mentioned on the entrance billboard). He attributes this temple to Artemis, who was associated with Anahita in his days (1^st century BC/1^st century AD). It sounds very plausible that the temple underwent later adjustments and/or modifications by the Parthians and the Sassanids. However, archaeologists from the University of Tehran tend to attribute the ruins to those of a Sassanid Palace. Not much to go by except my own instinct!

Upon arrival here at Kangavar, I am immediately drawn to a stone wall with a staircase on either end that reminds me of the Apadana at Persepolis. The theory that this is the location of an Achaemenid Palace is not unfounded because of this typical stairway and the superposed platforms, one of which is supported by a smooth wall in Achaemenid style and the one above it being older and rougher but very strongly built of large rocks alternating with horizontal rows of smaller rocks. Many broken columns and capitals are lying around. The only recognizable structure I could associate with the Temple of Anahita is at the far left end, where I see a relatively well-preserved row of columns overlooking the landscape below – now a modern street with houses. A small mosque is apparently set on a corner of the temple floor; otherwise, I cannot make out much from these ruins resting on this straight stone wall. To the site's far right, I find the remains of earthen walls or some kind of fortification dotted with more bits and pieces of columns. The place definitely is in dire need of some archaeological cleanup.

The second Anahita Temple is located at Bishapur, some 100 km west of Shiraz. This temple is said to be built by Roman prisoners captured by the Sassanid King Shapur I in 260 AD. The city of Bishapur was founded by Shapur I after his impressive confrontation with the Romans when he killed Gordian III, captured Valerian, and forced Philip the Arab to surrender. These glorious facts are commemorated in the reliefs he etched in the walls on the other side of the nearby Bishapur River. 

The city walls of Bishapur are still solid and look rather Roman because of their rectangular shape. Originally they were ten meters high and punctuated with round towers, suggesting they were designed as a battery for catapults. Interestingly, on the northeastern side, the remains of a city gate are still standing. Bishapur was clearly intended to hold a population of 50,000 to 80,000 people.

The so-called Palace of Bishapur is still a puzzle to the archaeologists with its four half vaults that are closely related to later mosques with four iwans and its walls with 64 niches that supposedly were decorated with freestanding statues – a relatively rare occurrence in Sassanid art. Close to the center there is a fire altar that is however often interpreted as a shrine to Anahita. This association may be the consequence of an iconoclastic movement launched by Bahram I (272-273 AD), who had the statues of divinities removed from the sanctuaries that were consequently either abandoned or converted into fire altars. According to a recent report published in a Bulletin of the Georgian National Academy of Sciences, it seems that water and fire were being worshiped together in early Sassanid times.

To the north of this complex are the remains of the Temple of Anahita, which draws attention because of its plain white wall built with regular ashlar blocks. It looks like another puzzle for this building has no parallel so far. The temple is deeper than any other part of the palace and can only be accessed by descending a vaulted straight stairway that ends in a small square area measuring 14x14m surrounded by 14-meter-high walls that each has a doorway in the middle. 

These doorways with lintels not unlike those of Persepolis lead to a corridor that runs around the patio and connect to an aqueduct. It is said that the central square must have been a pool. If so, the water must have run through the hole in the threshold into the surrounding corridors with a gutter on either side of the floor. It is assumed that the water flowed only on certain days of the year, which could be related to ceremonies venerating Anahita as the goddess of waters. The abovementioned report shows that the northwest and the northeast corridors were used to bring in the water.

In contrast, the southwest corridor was exclusively used to expel the water. To add to the many questions this temple creates, we can wonder about the two outer walls that top in a triangle. Since the sanctuary had no roof, scholars believe these triangles were crowned with a large bull impost. Yet others speculate that there was a roof and that its wooden beams were supported by those bull-heads.

The goddess Anahita certainly deserves more attention as she excelled in her godly realm for centuries. According to the Avesta, the water goddess Anahita was the mother of the god of Victory, Mithra. Zoroaster, a Bactrian reformer, turned Mithra into the Savior, and Anahita consequently was venerated as an immaculate virgin, the Mother of God. Nothing new under the sun, I would say.

[Click here for Pictures of the different Anahita sites]