Persepolis and Palace of Knossos - Term Paper Example

Ashley Gardini Persepolis and Palace of Knossos Introduction The history of the world has been rich since the time of its inception. The emergence of civilization has been witnessed over the years laying down dominion over the continent and leaving behind their architectural remains. Even as time went, some of the outstanding architectural gains of great civilizations leave behind impressive landmarks that inspire the designs of the current architects. Historic buildings indicate the past civilizations were influenced by numerous factors (McDonald 36). On the other hand, the role played by religion was significant, and the role is easily observed in the entire history. History indicates that among the earliest surviving print activities that show exemplary architecture is De architecture that was designed by Vitruvius a Roman architect (McDonald 36). Apart from dating back to the 1st AD, the De architecture showed key aspects of architecture including delight, firmness, and commodity. This paper highlights a section of the historical ruins that resulted from the greatest civilization of the earth and also analyzes numerous components of architecture that constituted ancient structures. Adding to that, the paper compares the Palace of Knossos and Persepolis; which are two architectural marvels that provide a picture of the ancient thanks to their ruins that prevail up to today (Woods 11). According to odysseyadventures.ca (1), construction of the palace of Knossos took place around 1900 BC, and its site is approximately 200 acres. The palace was the main as well as most substantial structure though several buildings in the vicinity also had ceremonial elements. The civilization that developed Knossos Palace was referred to as “Minoan” by Sir Arthur Evans. Odysseyadventures.Ca (1) observes that the naming was after the Crete King. The Oriental Institute (1) indicates that Darius the great, founded The Persepolis around 518 BC and completing it took over a century. The main purpose of constructing it was to create a place where Achaemenian kings dwelled and also a place where ceremonial festivities took place. The power and wealth of the empire are reflected in its construction. Clear similarities and differences can be noted between the Persepolis and Knossos. In that regard, this paper aims at evaluating ways by which these structures depict religion’s power in the ancient time and the ways in which it is shown in the architectural elements. A first look at the Knossos palace shows a rambling and chaotic structure, but the reality is that the design was well thought of. An extensive rectangular central and a big open area located on the west of the palace usually described as the West Court are the focal points of this complex (odysseyadventures.ca 1). The West Wing acted as the section where a most of the cult rooms and formal areas were placed. The West Wing was also a storage location for agricultural produce. Some walls with big windows that allowed a clear view of the West Court constituted the upper story. That is where royalty sat while viewing the ceremonies. On the other hand, the East Wing was not very formal and constituted industrial areas and workshops of the palace. It also contained domestic apartments. Stone and timber frames were the major building materials mainly because of their flexibility in case of earthquakes. The number of doors in the building was high, and they were referred to as polythyrons or pier-and-door partitions. Polythyrons were essentially sets of numerous openings that made use of square sectioned timber frames and piers. Other than each of the two wooden doors being double-leafed, they are constructed in a way that enables the two leaves to fit. This characteristic reveals a fall on all sides of the partition. Another observable characteristic is that the wooden doors are unhinged, and the whole door moves in sockets in the stone threshold and wooden lintel. Construction of the Knossos palace was done on a humane scale but the great temples of Mesopotamia and Egypt tough its architectural design remain inspiring. The central court was the main focus, and this feature is common in the Minoan palaces. Though the Eastern section is highly eroded, it is vividly observed that there was a lack of uniformity in the central facade (odysseyadventures.ca 1). Mark (1) observes that the location of Persepolis is about 70 miles in the Northeast of Shiraz in Iran. Limestone is the primary material used in constructing Persepolis. There is an inscription on the southern section of the terrace which indicates that the founder of Persepolis was Darius. When Darius was the king of the great empire, he ordered erection in some parts of the town. Darius ordered the Apadana Palace, the central Imperial Treasury, and the Council Hall. As a result of the constraints in the construction activities at that time, the completion of the buildings was when Darius’ son was in office. King Xerxes the Great- Darius’s son ensured that construction on other sections of the ancient city progressed. Historical records show that construction activities in the great city went ahead after the death of Darius and his son until when the Achaemenid dynasty fell (Nissinen 54). Despite the fall of the Achaemenid Kingdom, its gains still live in the current world. The start of the construction activities was around 518 BC and lasted approximately 100 years. The oriental Institute (1) points out that before erecting any of the buildings, considerable work had to be done. A key example is that the process of building started by shaping and raising a big platform. That was followed by filling the gaps and depressions with rubble. Also, tablets of Old Persioan an Elamite seen at the construction site indicate that Darius not only set up the construction as an administrative center but also as a center for receptions and festivities for the Achaemenian Empire and kings. The Persepolis city was built in terraces from the Pulwar River and rose to a bigger terrace over 125,000 square feet. While creating the level terrace, soils, and heavy rocks were used to obscure large openings. Materials were fastened together using metal clips after which the Persepolis palace was erected. The Persepolitan stairway is an extensive dual stairway which opens up the palace. It had wide steps on the stairway such that the noble class and the Persian royalty could ascend and descend by horseback devoid of stepping on the ground. Subsequent to leveling natural rock as well as filling the depressions, builders made tunnels to channel sewage through the underground rock. A lofty cistern was made at the east plane of the mountain’s foot to harvest rainwater for drinking and bathing. Accounts by historian Diodorus Siculus show that Persepolis had three walls that had fortified towers that were usually manned. A more than 7 feet tall wall was the first, the second being 14 feet and the third, 30 feet high surrounded all four sides (Mark 1). Started by Darius and finished by Xerxes, the Apadana at first comprised thirty-two columns, but just thirteen still stand on two enormous stairways that provide access to the north along with east sides. Persepolis is as well called the “hall of a hundred columns” (Mousavi 197). A writing of the name of Xerxes is on one of the columns. An additional noteworthy monument in the southern plain is the little Apadana. It is a huge structure, with a four columns hall that covers approximately 325 square meters (Mousavi 197). The key hall has three 2-collumned doorways made of capitals of stone lion-creature. The columns are ornamented with aesthetically attractive reliefs that portray images from New Year celebrations and demonstrations of representatives selected from twenty-three countries of the territory. The reliefs as well bear scenes of Medes, Persians and court notables, guards as well as soldiers, along with their horses and royal chariots. In addition, delegates wearing their indigenous clothing would take goods to reaffirm their faithfulness to the king and as an honor to his leadership (Mousavi 198). In terms of place, both the Palace of Knossos and the Persepolis have very dissimilar geographical features. The Knossos Palace is situated on a hill overlook a harbor whereas the Persepolis is on a basin. The two constructions have very dissimilar features as were employed by their residents were the Persepolis sat on a patio 40 feet high that reached toward the heavens. It had a Hall with a Hundred Columns, some columns still stand currently (Mousavi 198). Alternatively, the Knossos palace was more of a presidential palace, the west wing being used for religious and ritual purposes (Woods 25). Stylistic Analysis and Cultural (Historical) Context It is widespread for palaces to encompass images of slaves or military processions triumph that are characteristic to the principles of kingship in antique times, such scenes are not portrayed in the Knossos palace. In its place, there are several minor shrines in the composite such as pillar scripts and lustral basins. The Knossos lustral basins are a sunken room with a rectangular shape, and it is contacted by a dog-legged staircase. The lustral basins in the throne room were used for ceremony cleansing by lustration (odysseyadventures.ca 1). The majority of the lustral basins encompass occult objects inclusive of sacred vessels along with offering tables. Religious themes associated with the crocus return at House Xeste 3 Akrotiri on Athera are as well portrayed on the wall decors. The lustral basins were beyond limits as one of the holiest division s of a traditional Greek temple. Actually, the throne room is as well considered a shrine along with that the inhabitant of the throne ought to have been a woman, either a priestess or a goddess. This can be accredited to the fact that the wall paintings at Knossos focus typically on women even as men are portrayed as attendants (odysseyadventures.ca 1). Conversely, things recovered from the rubble at Persepolis reveal the esteem and submission to fundamental government home traditions, religion and laws of the people of Persepolis. The clay tablets illustrate accounts of land deals, taxes paid, sales and the amount of money that people borrowed from the territory’s treasury (The Oriental Institute 1). Other tablets have instructions of the quantity of sacred exciting drink (haoma) that may possibly be employed at a given cult service. Moreover that, the historical backdrop of Persepolis can be mapped out via writings on wall pegs, seals, foundation slabs. Predominantly, their submission and respect to the vital government is shown in the fact that every inscription noted the names of the Achaemenid leaders chronologically. In addition, they set aside the Apadana, the most splendid structure whose min use was a welcome by the king. Additional, the royal seals as well as royal reliefs made throughout the reign of Xerxes along with that of Darius portray the conquest of a king in his battles ferocious animals or monsters. Cylinder seals were made out of stone and showed subjects like martial or hunting scenes, combating animals, and offerings in addition to rituals (The Oriental Institute 1). In both Knossos and Persepolis, there were particular sacred worship places. Naqshi-I-Rushtam in Persepolis was taken as a sacred region and one of its openings leads to the tomb compartment that is deeply cut into the rock. A relief image of a king stands on a pedestal prior to an altar, with the hand of the king raised to imply that he was in worship. On top of the relief, the disk of Ahuramazda, the god of the Zoroastrain was seen floating. The empire’s twenty-eight states are represented here by the bearers of the throne. The side panels portray the Persian security and the carriers of the weapons of the king. The cuneiform writings on the panes of the rock wall stand for the twenty-eight states and support the throne, adoring the king and his leadership (The Oriental Institute 1). The Knossos palace west wing was used for ritual along with religious reasons. From depictions of Minoan shrines and sanctuaries, it is apparent that the roof of the construction was crowned with “horns of consecration” standing for the power of the bull that is strictly tied to labyrinth (odysseyadventures.ca 1). A seal thought at Chania illustrates a youthful valiant figure that can be taken as a god, standing on the peak of a mountain on top of an incoherent building. Such horns crown the roof tops of the building. In addition to that, the throne room was later added with a young man that was revered as a god. They carried out many activities inclusive of games that had a religious function. After conquering Athenians in a war to take revenge of the killing of his son, King Minos removed a tribute of youths and maidens who went to Knossos once in nine years to be given as sacrifice to Minotaur (odysseyadventures.ca 1). Mino’s wife, Pasiphae, was forced to fall in love with a bull as retribution from Poseidon. She requested Daedalus, a craftsman to construct her a hollow cow made of wood with leather upholstery so that she may lie inside as she awaits her lover. Their aberrant union resulted to the Minotaur, half man and half bull, who stayed hidden plus his mother at a maze below the Knossos palace. The bull is an important feature of Cretan culture. Minoan shrines were bedecked with consecration horns at palaces at Mallia, Knossos and Phaistos (Jeremy 7). Ritual axes made of bronze indicated that bulls were slaughtered as sacrifice. Further, gold rings, terracotta figurines, stone seals as well as relief frescos in the Minoan world had the bull image. The entrance ways to the main court exhibited reliefs that bore customary themes including bull-leaping as well as processions suggestive of the rituals that one would come across. Bull-leaping in Minoan culture indicated the man’s mastery tension of nature as he sought reaffirmation of his victory over the animal kingdom, a ritual that was a public show displaying human expertise in Minoan culture (Jeremy 13). Conversely, King Alexander of Persepolis carried out costly sacrifices to the gods. He as well held celebrations to entertain his friends (Mark 1). Alexander regarded himself a son of the gods, and as a result he devoted 12 monumental altars to the gods to show his gratefulness (Fildes, Alan, and Joann Fletcher136). These altars were constructed from mud brick that easily wears out and consequently they have never been found. It is of importance to note that the Persia’s religious belief was based on the polarity of good and evil. The artists’ works were greatly determined by the manner the gods were portrayed locally. The artists gave out pieces that acted as architectural adornment, such as the scene of lions attacking bulls. Later, such scenes became religious signs like the one of the slaughtering a bull by use of the sun god (Mithra) (Encyclopedia of Ancient Art 1). The structures at Knossos and Persepolis reflect the advanced development of the society through science, arts and politics. At the South-eastern region of the Persepolis porch, there were constructions of flimsy structure and reticent size whose elements imply that they were used as houses for artisans and garrison members. Parts of military equipment were found out in the garrison quarters as well as the treasury including bridle ornaments, arrowheads and scabbard tips (The Oriental Institute 1). Clay tablets inscribed with Elamite cuneiform were discovered in the debris. The tablets were written in Old Persian and interpreted in Elamite and Babylonian. From these inscriptions, it is evident that skillful workmen were present in Persepolis, with inscription as well as stone relief workers from Egypt, goldsmiths from Caria and ornaments makers from Susa (The Oriental Institute, 1). A few gold and silver coins, some jewelry pieces, in addition to silver buttons were as well recovered. The alabaster bowls and bottles excavated have inscriptions and dates that prove that they were sent to Persepolis by Egypt as an accolade during the Xerxes and Darius leadership. Vessels fragments found at the site have inscriptions that imply that they were utilized at the king’s table. Ritual objects, mortars and pestles, weights and tools were also discovered. The vessels made of Egyptian blue were of high value, imported and manufactured from Egypt (The Oriental Institute 1). In Knossos, elements of the society’s advanced development were also present. For instance, drainage systems were of significance for huge buildings such as the Knossos palace, and this was outfitted to by terracotta pipes and stone ductwork. The systems had a very accurate engineering, since the gradients were carefully measured. In addition, paintings of Minoan culture depicted that they were fond of blue and red sheds in their beautifications. Their building walls as well as architectural elements like columns and pillars were made of paint and stucco. Flat surfaces like the beams were adorned with chequer board with spiral patterns or rosette and engraved in limestone (odysseyadventures.ca 1). The utilitarian rooms’ floors were generally beaten earth even though other materials like small pebbles and cement were used with flagstone pavement. Interior surfaces were constructed with gypsum blocks even as limestone was used for areas like courtyards. Conclusion Even though we have various differences amid Persepolis and Palace of Knossos, the architectural features of both structures illustrate the power of religion at their era. Both Knossos and Persepolis belonged to eras that had advanced development through science, arts, as well as politics. Both Persepolis and Knossos had pillars as well as columns having inscriptions though the ones at Knossos were constricted on human scale while the ones at Persepolis were monumental. Conversely, Knossos builders used stone as the main building materials while the Persepolis used limestone as building materials. Furthermore, whilst the Persepolis portrays processions images of slaves or military triumph that are characteristic to the ideology of kingship in antique times, the Knossos palace has several shrines like the pillar scripts and lustral basins. Items recovered from the debris at Persepolis prove obedience as well as respect to central government. While king of Persepolis, Alexander, offered costly sacrifices to the gods counting monumental altars, king Minos of Knossos offered bull and human sacrifices to Minotaur and other gods. Bibliography Woods, Michael, and Mary B. Woods. Seven Wonders of the Ancient Middle East. London: Lerner, 2009. Print. 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Persepolis and Ancient Iran. Retrieved 18th March 2015, from: https://oi.uchicago.edu/collections/photographic-archives/persepolis/persepolis-terrace-architecture-reliefs-and-finds Read More