Persepolis · 450 BC
What you're walking through
Around 450 BC, under Artaxerxes I, the royal complex of Persepolis stood above the plain at the foot of Kuh-e Rahmat. Darius I had begun its great terrace in 518 BC, and successive kings added halls and palaces for receptions and royal ceremonies.
The Gate of All Nations marked a monumental entrance to the terrace. Nearby stood the Apadana, with tall columns and stairways showing processions of guards and people bringing gifts. Some columns carried double-bull capitals, supporting timber roof beams between their backs. Farther east was the Hall of a Hundred Columns.
Who lives here
Persian attendant
A long robe · the royal terrace hosted receptions and ceremonies
Attendants and craftspeople maintained the palaces and prepared their ceremonial halls. The robes in this scene are stylized interpretations, inspired by the silhouettes in Achaemenid reliefs.
Woman at Persepolis
An illustrative long dress · this is a reconstruction of a working royal complex
The monumental ruins tell us more about royal ceremony than the appearance of everyday inhabitants. The women here represent people around the complex, with simplified clothing and colours.
Donkey
About 1.2 m at the shoulder · the pack animal of farms, roads and markets
Donkeys and mules carried firewood, grain and the farms' produce into town, and goods to and from the markets and harbours.
A compact interpretation of the royal terrace: the palace footprints, access stairs and distances are reduced or rearranged. Roofs, colours and much of the carved detail are conjectural. Relief figures and guardian creatures are simplified original shapes. Later royal tombs and the unfinished gateway are omitted. Clothing and the surrounding settlement are illustrative.
How to walk
Press Start walking above. WA SD or the arrow keys move you, the mouse looks around, hold Shift with a movement key to run at 3× walking speed, and Space jumps. Look at someone to see who they are. Esc pauses, and M turns the sound on or off. You're invisible: nobody here can see you.
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