Читать книгу A Companion to the Achaemenid Persian Empire, 2 Volume Set - Группа авторов - Страница 142

The main characteristics of the Achaemenid archeological material of the fifth satrapy are multiplicity, diversity, and eclecticism. Local, Near Eastern, Cypriot, Egyptian, Greek, and typical Achaemenid elements were combined. But, obviously, style is only an external shape, which does not touch on the content of the represented figure. This is especially clear amongst the clay figurines and the seals, on which some themes, such as single women with a child, men, or the “Master of the animals,” are repeated in Egyptian, Greek, local‐Phoenician, or local Near Eastern style, whereas their meaning remains identical. It is also evident that only figures or themes, which were either pre‐existing in the Levantine culture or easy to integrate into Levantine life, were chosen. The figurative Attic ceramic provides a good example for this. The pictures on the vessels showed Greek gods, in particular Dionysos, heroes, amongst them Herakles, mythological scenes, mixed beings, and men and women. The broad categories of the divine, the heroic, and the human were understood by the local population. Herakles could easily fit into the image of the “Master of the animals.” The same can be said for mixed beings such as satyrs, maenads, sphinxes, and centaurs. Even if the fashion may have started in royal circles, because Hellenized objects were in part expensive, it was largely accepted and supported by the entire population from 550 BCE onward. The numerous affordable local clay figurines and seals also underwent a phase of hellenization.

Another novelty of this period is the choice of the figurative representations which allow us to draw conclusions about religious changes. If in the second millennium it is already very difficult, due to the lack of attributes or special garments, to identify the gods, by the first millennium it is often impossible to ascertain whether the represented person is even divine. Iconography and written sources allow us to follow the evolution from a “classical” polytheistic religion, where each god is responsible for one domain to a religion, where one god embraces all aspects. Each individual is able to choose his god – the main goal is his personal wellbeing and salute. The idea of protection is predominant in all realms: combined with care (pregnant women), with power (“master of the animals”), or healing (temple boys).

These developments were indirectly fostered by the Achaemenid Empire. The Levant became part of a large territory, whose borders were open to the political center in the east, as well as to the west, where the cultural and economic entwinement increased.

The scarcity of Achaemenid remains raised the issue of an “elusive empire.” But the Levant has always been shaped by a mixture of cultural elements, precisely making its own unique cultural profile. This continues in the Achaemenid period. While Persian dresses, jewelry, furniture, or architectural elements mainly entered the royal and elite circles, they did not change basic elements such as language, religion, or the content of pictures.

The Achaemenid Empire was in reality not elusive in the Levant, even if the coast profited more than the inland, which remained more rooted in the Iron Age. The “lack” of Achaemenid material turns more and more out to be a matter of awareness.