“That My Body is Strong”: The physique and appearance of Achaemenid monarchy

Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapter (peer-reviewed)peer-review

Abstract / Description of output

The body of the Persian Great King was carefully and skilfully constructed through text and image as a series of signs to be decoded and read. Placing the Persian royal body within the context of general Near Eastern ideologies of the monarchic body, this chapter explores the codified meanings of, firstly, the royal head because the Great King’s eyes, nose, beard, and hair are rich in cultural and symbolic meaning. But more than anything it is the clothed body of the king that speaks in a uniquely ‘Persian voice’. The chapter explores how the monarch’s clothed body is a site of representation, an emblem of his power, potency, legitimacy, and strength.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationBodies in Transition
Subtitle of host publicationDissolving the Boundaries of Embodied Knowledge
EditorsDietrich Boschung, Alan Shapiro , Frank Wascheck
Place of PublicationCologne
PublisherWilhelm Fink Verlag
Pages211-248
ISBN (Print)9783770558087
Publication statusPublished - 13 Jul 2015

Publication series

NameMorphomata
PublisherWilhelm Fink Verlag
Volume23
ISSN (Print)2511-2341

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