The citadel at Persepolis was a pinnacle of Achaemenid architecture and art, begun under the reign of the Great King Darius in about 515 BCE.  This talk examines the possibility that the architecture of Persepolis might have influenced monuments on mainland Greece, specifically the Stoa of the Athenians at Delphi, located along the Sacred Way in the sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi.  This involves contested issues, including the date of its construction and for which enemy, which victory, and what spoils it was intended.  The talk also examines the possibility that this structure, constructed by some of Persia’s supposed greatest enemies and in one of the most pan-Hellenic sanctuaries on the Greek mainland, was meant to induce the viewer to a mental comparison with Persepolis and its monumental architecture.

Visit http://www.archaeological.org/societies/centralillinoisurbana (external link) for more information.

Location:  Knight Auditorium, Spurlock Museum, 600 S. Gregory St., Urbana, IL

Time:  3:00 p.m.

Cost:  Free Admission

For further information, contact Jane Goldberg at jgoldber@illinois.edu

Thanks to Kim Sheahan of Spurlock Museum  for this information item.

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