Staircase Relief of a Lion Battling a Bull

STAIRCASE RELIEF OF A LION BATTLING A BULL
Central Building, Main Staircase
Field Negative P-480
Negative N. 37611
Schmidt Expedition 1935

The motif of a lion biting the backside of a bull is found in the preserved triangular sections of the staircase reliefs at Persepolis. The message of imperial power and prosperity represented by the neighboring reliefs of a subject peoples bringing gifts to the king is also expressed by this motif:

"the lion and the bull were the two most powerful and noble beasts in the Iranian sphere. The emblem projects their union in a symbolic landscape of abundance signifying the combined powers of nature brought together by and for the Achaemenid empire" (Margaret Root, Professor of Near Eastern and Classical Art and Archaeology, University of Michigan)