Statue of Hercules in Behistun

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Statue of Hercules in Behistun
Herakles at Behistun, sculpted for a Seleucid Governor in 148 BCE.
City of Kushinagar in the 5th century BCE according to a 1st-century BCE frieze in Sanchi Stupa 1 Southern Gate.

The Statue of Hercules in Behistun (or Statue of Heracles/Herakles in Bisotun, Persian: تندیس هرکول) is located on Mount Behistun, Iran. It was discovered in 1958,[1] and is the only extant rock sculpture from the period of Seleucid control over the Iranian Plateau, that lasted from c. 312 BC to c. 140/139 BC.[2]

The statue was sculpted in 148 BC, and dedicated in the name of "Herakles Kallinikos" (Ἡρακλῆν Καλλίνικον, "Hercules glorious in victory") by a Seleucid governor.[1][3][4] The Seleucid governor carved it in honor of a satrap.[2]

Hercules is lying on a 2 m long platform and holds a bowl in his left hand. His right hand rests on his leg. The statue is 1.47 m long and is attached to the mountain.[5] Heracles's club is carved in relief "as if propped up behind him" according to Matthew P. Canepa.[2] The form of the stele bears similarities to Seleucid stelae that bore official inscriptions in the area, most notably the stele from Laodicia-in-Media (Nahavand), on which a local Seleucid official wrote down a copy of the dynastic cult inscription of Seleucid ruler Antiochus III the Great (r. 222–187 BC), which he had created for his wife Queen Laodice III.[2]

The Bisotun Hercules was carved by a sculptor who was not formally trained in the Greek sculptural style.[6] Although executed in a well-balanced and accurate way, the style of the Hercules sculpture differs significantly from the contemporaneous Hellenistic naturalistic style.[6] Although the epithet of the god ("kallinikos") was quite common in the Greek religion, it was also appropriate for the Iranian god Wahrām (Avestan Vərəθraγna-), with whom Hercules was assimilated.[6] The statue of Hercules at Bisotun most likely attests to assimilation of the Greek god Hercules with the Iranian god Wahrām in the Seleucid period; however, it does not offer unequivocal evidence.[7]

An Aramaic version, drawn "quite a bit lighter" than the Greek version, was carved below. Matthew P. Canepa notes that this indicates that the sponsor of the inscription "intended to situate this message, both visually and linguistically, within the idiom of Seleucid imperial epigraphy".[2]

The head of the statue was stolen twice, but was recovered in 1996. The current head is a replica. The original head is held by the Cultural Heritage, Handcrafts and Tourism Organization.

Dedicatory inscription of Herakles[8]
(Behistun, 153 BCE)
Translation Inscription
(original Greek script)		 Original inscription

In the year 164 (of the Seleucid era)
in the month of Panemos (June)
[set this statue of] Herakles
Kallinikos ("Hercules glorious in victory")
did Hyakinthos, son of Pantauchos,
for the safety of Kleomenes,
Commander of the Upper Satrapies,
of the satraps.

ἔτους δξρ᾽, μηνὸς
Πανήμου, Ἡρακλῆν
Καλλίνικον
Ὑάκινθος Πανταύχου
ὑπὲ[ρ] τῆς Κλεομένου
τοῦ ἐπὶ τῶν ἄνω
σ[ατρ]απειῶν σωτηρίας
τῶν σατραπῶν

Herakles inscription at Behistun

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b "Behistun, other monuments". Livius.org. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Canepa, Matthew P. (2018). The Iranian Expanse: Transforming Royal Identity through Architecture, Landscape, and the Built Environment, 550 BCE–642 CE. University of California Press. p. 61. ISBN 978-0520964365.
  3. ^ Visscher, Marijn S. Beyond Alexandria: Literature and Empire in the Seleucid World. Oxford University Press. p. 75, note 26. ISBN 978-0-19-005908-8.
  4. ^ Frye, Richard Nelson. The History of Ancient Iran. p. 230.
  5. ^ Kasinec, Wendy F.; Polushin, Michael A. Expanding Empires: Cultural Interaction and Exchange in World Societies from Ancient to Early Modern Times. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 52. ISBN 978-0-8420-2731-1.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b c Canepa, Matthew P. (2018). The Iranian Expanse: Transforming Royal Identity through Architecture, Landscape, and the Built Environment, 550 BCE–642 CE. University of California Press. p. 185. ISBN 978-0520964365.
  7. ^ Canepa, Matthew P. (2018). The Iranian Expanse: Transforming Royal Identity through Architecture, Landscape, and the Built Environment, 550 BCE–642 CE. University of California Press. p. 180. ISBN 978-0520964365.
  8. ^ HIB Greek text – Parthian Sources Online.

Coordinates: 34°23′00″N 47°26′00″E / 34.3833°N 47.4333°E / 34.3833; 47.4333

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