Power politics and Persian palaces
In the court of the crimson king “Persia: Ancient Iran and the Classical World” at the Getty Villa by Bondo Wyszpolski The more you learn, the less you know. We’ve all heard of Caligula, Claudius, Nero, Hadrian, and Marcus Aurrelius, but most of us, I assume, will scratch our pates at the mention of Arsaces, Phraates, Oredes, and Vologeses. In other words, welcome to “Persia: Ancient Iran and the Classical World,” the second of a multipart “Classical World in Context,” spearheaded (a good choice of words in the present context, yes?) by the folks at the Getty. It follows on the heels (but not Achilles’) of “Beyond the Nile: Egypt and the Classical World” and foreshadows “Thrace and the Classical World,” coming to a Getty Villa near you in 2024. “Royal Sphinxes beneath a Winged Disk,” Achaemenid, 522-486 BC; Glazed brick; Musée du Louvre, Département des Antiquités orientales, Paris, Sb 24868. Image © RMN-Grand Palais / Art Resource, NYThe current endeavor, accompanied by a (cliché alert) door stopper of a catalogue, covers roughly 1200 years and delves into the relationship between Persia (present-day Iran with wings of additional territory). We’re introduced to the Achaemenid…
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