Achaemenid Satrap Asia Minor end of 6th century BCE

The Herakleia head is the portrait of a probable

Achaemenid The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, wikt:𐎧𐏁𐏂𐎶, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an History of Iran#Classical antiquity, ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Bas ...

Satrap of

Asia Minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

of the late 6th century, found in Heraclea, in

Bithynia Bithynia (; Koine Greek: , ''Bithynía'') was an ancient region, kingdom and Roman province in the northwest of Asia Minor (present-day Turkey), adjoining the Sea of Marmara, the Bosporus, and the Black Sea. It bordered Mysia to the southwest, Pa ...

, modern

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

. The head is now located in the

Museum of Anatolian Civilizations The Museum of Anatolian Civilizations ( tr, Anadolu Medeniyetleri Müzesi) is located on the south side of Ankara Castle in the Atpazarı area in Ankara, Turkey. It consists of the old Ottoman Mahmut Paşa bazaar storage building, and the Kurş ...

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...

Overview

The man depicted in the sculpture was probably a

Satrap A satrap () was a governor of the provinces of the ancient Median and Achaemenid Empires and in several of their successors, such as in the Sasanian Empire and the Hellenistic empires. The satrap served as viceroy to the king, though with consid ...

under

Darius I Darius I ( peo, 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁 ; grc-gre, Δαρεῖος ; – 486 BCE), commonly known as Darius the Great, was a Persian ruler who served as the third King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, reigning from 522 BCE until his ...

. The man is the service of the Achaemenid Empire is bearded and mustachioed, but probably a Greek from

rather than a Persian. The statue is made of marble, and was probably made by a Greek sculptor. The sculpture has been dated to circa 530 BCE, or at least

Late Archaic Late may refer to: * LATE, an acronym which could stand for: ** Limbic-predominant age-related TDP-43 encephalopathy, a proposed form of dementia ** Local-authority trading enterprise, a New Zealand business law ** Local average treatment effect, ...

. The Herakliea head is considered as an early attempt towards

portrait A portrait is a portrait painting, painting, portrait photography, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, Personality type ...

ure with a realistic likeliness. This Eastern portrait in purely East Greek Archaic style, is one of the two known forerunners of extant Greek portraits, together with the

Sabouroff head The Sabouroff head is a Late Archaic Greece, Archaic Greek marble sculpture. It is dated to circa 550 BC, 550–525 BC. This head of a Kouros was named after Peter Alexandrovich Saburov, a collector of ancient Greek sculpture and antiquities. It i ...

. It is comparable with the

, from about the same period. These nearly life-like portraits allow to define a date for early portraiture which is much earlier than had been previously thought. The first truly individualistic portrait is often considered to be the 470 BCE portrait of

Themistocles Themistocles (; grc-gre, Θεμιστοκλῆς; c. 524–459 BC) was an Athenian politician and general. He was one of a new breed of non-aristocratic politicians who rose to prominence in the early years of the Athenian democracy. A ...

. In numismatics also, the first portraits of rulers appear with the coins of

as ruler of Magnesia, and continue with the nearby rulers of

Lycia Lycia (Lycian language, Lycian: 𐊗𐊕𐊐𐊎𐊆𐊖 ''Trm̃mis''; el, Λυκία, ; tr, Likya) was a state or nationality that flourished in Anatolia from 15–14th centuries BC (as Lukka) to 546 BC. It bordered the Mediterranean ...

towards the end of the 5th century BCE. The Herakleia head is also an important marker for the depiction of Satraps in the period. In particular, the banned Athenian general

, who became Achaemenid Satrap in Magnesia, is seen wearing a tight

bonnet A Bonnet is a variety of headgear, hat or cap Specific types of headgear referred to as "bonnets" may include Scottish * Blue bonnet, a distinctive woollen cap worn by men in Scotland from the 15th-18th centuries And its derivations: ** Fea ...

with

Olive wreath The olive wreath, also known as ''kotinos'' ( el, κότινος), was the prize for the winner at the ancient Olympic Games. It was a branch of the wild olive tree ''Kallistefanos Elea'' (also referred to as ''Elaia Kallistephanos'') that grew ...

on some of his coins (circa 465-459 BCE). This possibly reflects the headwear of Achaemenid

s, such as seen in the Herakleia head. File:Busto di temistocle, da originale greco del V secolo ac, dal decumano presso il casamento del temistocle.JPG, A Roman-era bust of

in " Severe style", based on a Greek original, in the

Museo Archeologico Ostiense The Museo Archeologico Ostiense (or ''Archaeological Museum of Ostia'') is an archaeological museum dedicated to the ancient Roman city of Ostia in Rome, Italy. The museum was built by Pope Pius IX, who in 1865 had to readapt a fifteenth-century ...

, Ostia, Rome, Italy. The lost original of this bust, dated to circa 470 BC, has been described as "the first true portrait of an individual European". File:IONIA, Magnesia ad Maeandrum. Themistokles with bonnet. Circa 465-459 BC.jpg, Hemiobol of

as Satrap of Magnesia, where he is seen wearing a tight

with

, reminiscent of the headwear of the Herakleia satrap.

References

{{reflist 6th-century BC works Archaeology of the Achaemenid Empire Ancient Greek art Archaeological discoveries in Turkey Officials of Darius the Great Sculptures Achaemenid Anatolia