The horse: A perfect gift to a Persian (or Parthian)

"For a nomadic people like the Persians, the horse had a significant practical and symbolic purpose and the importance of horses among the Iranian nobility is evidenced by the fact that many of them bore names compounded with the Old Persian word aspa – ‘horse’, observes Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones, Senior Lecturer in Ancient History at the University of Edinburgh.  "Several of Darius I’s inscriptions note that Persia was a land containing both good men and good horses (DZe §1; DPd §2) and Herodotus famously states that Persian fathers were intent on teaching their sons ‘to ride, to draw the bow, and to speak the truth’ (1. 136; see also Strabo 15. 3.18). The premium Persian horses were bred in the alfalfa-rich plains of Media, and it was here that the main royal stud farms were located (Polybius 10.70). Most prized of all were those steeds bred on the plains of Nisaea near Ecbatana and Bisitun, and Nisaean horses became celebrated for their magnificence, fine proportions, and swiftness (Herodotus 3. 106, 7. 40; Aristotle, History of Animals 9. 50.30). Nisaea is said to have sustained 160,000 horses (Diodorus 17.110), although stiff competition came from Media and Armenia which were also used for breeding good steeds (Strabo, Geography 11. 13.7; 11. 13.8, 14.9), as were the provinces of Babylonia (where one satrap possessed 800 stallions and 16,000 mares; Herodotus 1. 192), Cilicia (which provided an annual tribute of 360 white horses, Herodotus 3. 90), Chorasmia, Bactria, Sogdiana, and lands of the Saka which provided the Empire with its cavalry."

The Persepolis texts tell us that individuals who safeguarded the royal horses and officials serving as Masters of the Horse were paid well and enjoyed a diet of regular meat. Horses symbolized wealth and status and appeared in courtly ideology to model the ideal warrior image. They were also the center of aristocratic pastimes including hunting and racing.

According to Xenophon, the finest present to give a Persian was a horse and horses served as exceptional religious sacrifices.  

"As founder of the Empire, Cyrus II was honored with a horse sacrificed to his soul every month (Arrian, Anabasis 6. 29.7.)," states Llewellyn-Jones. "Moreover, the infamous tale recounted by Herodotus (3.85) of how Darius I acquired his kingdom through a trick involving the neighing of his horse is, in all probability, a Greek misunderstanding of the Iranian practice of hippomancy, or divination through the behavior of horses (see also Ctesias F13 §17), demonstrating the deep-set importance of the horse as a hallowed species in the Iranian consciousness."

Image: Procession of nobles, possibly from Palmyra, Syria, 100-150 CE, limestone, now in the collections of the Cleveland Museum of Art, image courtesy of the museum.

Palmyra was a key center for trade between the Roman and Parthian Empires. This unique relief at the Cleveland Museum of Art has been associated with Palmyra only through stylistic comparisons because its find spot is unknown. 

"It depicts men in Parthian dress riding Arabian horses with bejeweled harness trappings ahead of riders on camels—a possible reference to the caravans that made Palmyra so wealthy. Although all of the riders are dressed and equipped as Parthians, the proportions and perspective of the scene seem to be informed by Greco-Roman conventions. It may depict a ceremonial procession." - Cleveland Museum of Art

The museum defines the horses as Arabians but their body structure is quite stocky, not at all like the Arabian horses of our time. Yet, a 2017 study by evolutionary biologist Barbara Wallner at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna concluded that nearly all modern horse breeds can be traced to two distinct, ancient Middle Eastern lines, the Arabian and the now extinct Turkoman horses from the Eurasian Steppe. Wallner and her colleagues studied variations in a segment of DNA along the Y chromosomes of 52 modern male horses that represented 21 modern breeds then expanded their analysis to include 363 males representing 57 modern breeds.  

 

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Professional mourners in the ancient world

 

Statues of Mourning Women, South Italian (Apulian, Canosan), 300-275 BCE Terracotta, now in the collections of the J. Paul Getty Museum, Villa venue, Pacific Palisades, California

This group of mourning women, often understood as female figures in prayer (orantes), was likely produced in the area of Canosa in south-eastern Italy. Although there are considerable differences in terms of clothing, poses and hairstyles, the four statues seem to depict a type of youthful female figure, probably envisioned as one of the mourners who expressed their grief during funerary ceremonies. The group was intended to be placed around a funerary couch (kline), and was probably produced for a fairly prestigious client who, in the context of Romanization in the area, aspired to underscore his economic prosperity, personal identity, and native traditions. The figures were made not with molds, as has been previously conjectured, but rather through a modeling process over a fairly thick conical structure. Working from the bottom up, clay pieces were laid over this hollow structure to define the anatomy and iconographic details of the figure. The forearms, created separately, and the head, made with a bivalve mold, were inserted in holes specially made by the craftsman. The tubular structure was then modeled from within to establish the round shapes of knees and breasts, and from the exterior, through the application of clay parts, to depict the details of the chiton and himation. A spatula and other sharp tools were used to define the hair, eyes, and various details of clothing. Colors were applied after the firing over a preparatory layer of white slip, which has been preserved in several areas. The palette shows little variety, consisting of pink, red, white, possibly dark brown, and black. - J. Paul Getty Museum

These sculptures probably represented women who were known by the Romans as praeficiae, professional mourners, who followed musicians in the funeral procession and sang a funeral song praising the deceased. Paying mourners to attend your funeral showed society the importance of your social status.

The practice of hiring professional mourners has been documented in ancient Egypt, China, and the Middle East as well as in Greece and Rome.  In ancient Egypt only childless women could become professional mourners as it was considered unseemly for men to weep in public. These women could not have any body hair and had the names of goddesses tattooed on their shoulders.

Mycenaean larnakes, burial chests, depict mourners performing ritual laments. During the Greek Archaic Period, greater simplicity in burial practices coincided with  the rise of democracy and the egalitarian military of the hoplite phalanx.  But during the 4th century BCE,  the decline of democracy and the return of aristocratic dominance was accompanied by the return of more elaborate funerary rituals.

"Ancient Romans honored their dead through extended mourning. Men would typically mourn for a period of a few days, during which they would always wear black and would not cut their hair or beards. Women would wear white and might not cut their hair as well. However, while formal mourning usually only lasted a few days for men, when a woman lost a husband or parent, it wasn’t uncommon for her to mourn for a year. Adopting traditions from the ancient Greeks, many Romans also periodically visited their deceased loved one’s tombs or burial sites to offer gifts and sacrifices. Toward the end of February, ancient Romans sometimes celebrated Feralia as well. This was a general festival for honoring the dead. Romans would traditionally celebrate by bringing food to the sepulchers of the deceased." - Joe Oliveto, State University of New York at New Paltz

Statue of Mourning Woman, South Italian (Apulian, Canosan), 300-275 BCE Terracotta, now in the collections of the J. Paul Getty Museum, Villa venue, Pacific Palisades, California

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