§ II. Sculpture.
In sculpture, even more than in architecture, the triple influence, Chaldæo-Assyrian, Egyptian and Græco-Ionian, which is dominant among the works of the Achæmenids, is to be traced. Like the
Fig. 128.—Cyrus. Bas-relief (after Dieulafoy).
sculptures of Ninevite palaces, those of Pasargadæ and Persepolis are in low relief, the figures being always placed in profile, and arranged for the purpose of lining the lower portion of the walls. In the execution, however, the chisel of a Greek artist is felt, or at least of one who has studied under Greek masters. M.L. Heuzey[58] reminds us that an archaic Greek school existed in Thessaly, which was remarkably flourishing, and the productions of which, such as the bas-relief known under the name of the Exaltation of the Flower, were closely analogous in the details and the finish of the work to the Persepolitan and Susian sculptures; there are the same draperies with broad flat folds, and the same methods of treatment in the muscles of the face and limbs. The most ancient Persian sculpture known is the famous bas-relief in which the full-length portrait of Cyrus himself has been preserved for us (fig. 128). Cyrus, of Iranian origin, has a face like that of an European; he has nothing in common with Egyptian and Assyrian faces; the top of his head is bald or shaved, his beard is slightly curled, his hair is short and matted. But everything else in this royal figure is of foreign importation. His head is crowned with a triple disk surrounded by Uræi, in the fashion of Egyptian deities; the king is furnished with wings, like the genii of Assyria and Chaldæa, and these wings, with rows of well-marked feathers, are like those of the Ninevite monsters. Even the border of the robe is decorated with a broad Assyrian fringe; finally, the king holds in his right hand a statuette, the headdress of which is surmounted by the Egyptian Uræus.
