Greek Representations of Persian Warriors and the Near Eastern Archaeological Evidence

Abstract This paper presents and discusses Achaemenid Persian (ca. 550–330 BC ) warrior attire and armament. It seeks to present, among others, certain relatively little-known evidence that bears on the subject. Attention here is placed primarily on the evidence from Near Eastern cuneiform texts and recent archaeological finds from the Iranian domain. This new material allows to better assess the relationship between the ancient Greek visual record of the Persians and (ancient?) Iranian realities. To date, there has been considerable discussion of Greek representations of Persians and Persian warriors, using four main groups of sources: Greek and cuneiform written sources, actual elements of armament, armour and textiles found in excavations, and iconographic evidence. For each group specific examples are given below in the relevant sections of this article. The present paper considers Greek representations of Persian warriors from the viewpoint especially of ancient Iranian and more generally Near Eastern textual and archaeological evidence. The evidence on hand indicates a common understanding between Greek written and visual sources, aligning with Achaemenid material. The diverse array of Persian garment decorations depicted in Greek pictorial art, when compared to the known Iranian materials, suggests a possible awareness among Greek painters of ethnic and social diversity. Additionally, modern ethnographic observations validate some similarities of the ancient Persian attire.