The door-ways or entrances which remain, have a per fect resemblance to those which are between the great moles at the entrances into the Egyptian temples. (See Plates CLIII. and CLIV.) They have tapering out lines ; and the crowning member is a large cavetto, similarly fluted. The columns are of more slender proportions than the Egyptian, being about 13 diameters sigh ; that is 72 feet high, and 17.7 diameter. Each has a moulded base, 4.3 high, and 24.5 in circumference. Their capitals occupy about one-fourth of the whole height of the column. The shaft does not diminish, and in this bears a resemblance to those at Tentyra. The capital at Tentyra, also, by having first four heads of Isis, with a sort of drapery, and above that an ornament ed square member of considerable height, occupies a space much greater in proportion to the column, than the vase capitals. But the Persepolitan capital occu pies a still greater proportion of the whole height. It is possible, as alleged by some historians, that these co lumns, and the numerous sculptures at Persepolis, have been executed after the time of Cambyses, by Egyptian workmen ; or that the idea of constructing columns of this magnitude of stone, may have been suggested by those of the Thebaid. But the Persians, detesting the Egyptian mythology, and instead of temples, being enga ged in constructing palaces, they adopted representations of the ornaments with which they had been accustomed to decorate the posts and walls of the public apartments at their splendid festivals. The Persepolitan capitals therefore convey the idea of rich silks and feathers hay ing been tied round the upper part of tall wooden posts ; and, as has just been shewn in the case of India, rich silks, feathers, and precious stones, have always been the materials with which eastern monarchs formed their most gorgeous decorations. By inspecting the Plate of Per sian capitals it will be seen, that they exhibit distinct re presentations of the spirals of the volute, said to have been invented long after by the Ionian Greeks.
The appearance of the tall slender columns, and there not having been any fragments forming parts of a roof found amongst the ruins, has led some to conjecture, that Susa being the winter palace, Persepolis was a summer residence only, with a temporary covering. The roof may, perhaps, have been slightly constructed of wood ; and the interior covering and decorations being silks, &c. may have been occasionally fixed up and remo ved as the court was present or absent ; but economy never having been attributed to Persian princes, even this circumstance does not wear an air of great proba bility ; and much less that roofs and partition-walls were alternately fixed up and removed. Respecting the nature of the partition-walls, and the forms and dimensions of the apartments, we are left quite in the dark.
The sculptures upon the terraces and sides of the stairs are very numerous. Le Brun considers them triumphal processions ; and, from the circumstances connected with them, endeavours to determine the era of their execution. He observes, that the dress and arms are partly Persian and part Median. The Persians offered horses to the sun, and oxen to the moon, as slim') in the sculptures. In the processions there is the tiara
worn by the nobles in the time of Cyrus, when it is known that the great lords did assist. The umbrella, which is so frequently represented, was in use amongst the Per sians ; the long robes with foldings are a Median dress. The offerings before the altar, as exl.ibited, were made by Cyrus, Cambyses, and other princes of the royal blood.
Although the ancient tombs of the kings belong pro perly to the word SEPULC IIRE, where the subject will be treated generally, yet in this instance, forming, as they do, one of the most striking features of Persian architec ture, we cannot, amongst the scanty remains of that school, avoid describing, and also giving an engraved re presentation of the front or entrance to the principal one, where it is said the body of Darius was deposited. (Sec Plate CLIII.) To obtain a perpendicular front or en t•ance into the tomb, a recess is cut in the rock for about 60 paces in depth. The front so obtained is about 70 feet in breadth in the base, 40 in the decorated part, and about 70 feet in height. By consulting the Plate, it will be found to bear a striking resemblance to the entrance of the cave of Biskurma at Ellora. The lower columns which support the sculptured gallery have capitals com posed of oxens heads and necks, projecting from the top of the column. Upon the columns arc represented four great beams as an architrave ; upon this runs a cornice, which has 2 feet 9 inches projection ; and upon this is a dado, where 18 lions are sculptured, nine looking from each side towards a small vase, which stands in the mid dle of the length. Above the lions are two ranges of human figures, fourteen in number, and nearly as large as life ; they are each holding up both hands, as if to support the entablature. At each extremity of these there is a sort of column, crowned with the head of a strange animal. Above all these, upon three steps, is the figure of a king with something in his right hand, the form of which cannot be distinctly made out ; but he holds a bow in his left hand. Before •him is an altar, with a flame rising from it ; and it is said that the figure of the sun was behind the king. Above the altar is a small figure, too indistinct to be made out. At right angles with the line of front, in the returning face of the rock, on both sides of the front area, there are niches with statues in them. Le Brun entered a tomb to the south of this ; the entry had only two feet of height, and the vault was 46 feet broad and 20 deep. Two hundred and fifteen paces south of the edifice, there is a column now standing upon its base ; and near it arc the bases of eight others, at seven and eight paces distant from each other : the height of the base is 3 feet 6 inches. At the sides of the two bases towards the south, are two frag ments of camels, which may have been upon the columns. Six hundred and fifty paces to the north, is another por tico, not inferior to that which has been described. Le Brun found about 1300 figures of men and animals sculp tured on the tombs ; some of the men were from 7 feet 5 inches to 10 feet 7 inches high, some had parasols or umbrellas over them, and many were armed with lances, and combating lions.