of his face, into the heart of a lion, a bull or a fantastic animal, which rises erect upon its hind legs, ready to devour him. Do not the exaggerated muscles of the beast betray a servile copy of the Assyrian monsters? Elsewhere, on the wall which borders the staircase of the palace of Darius, a lion devours a bull (fig. 130); he bites him on the thigh, and furiously digs his powerful claws into his haunches. Though the lifelike attitude of the two animals strikes us, it reminds us, at the same time, of the Chaldæo-Assyrian cylinders in which a similar subject is reproduced. Farther on, on the same wall of the staircase, servants appear to mount the stairs, with their hands loaded with presents of all kinds which they are about to offer to the “king of kings”; Assyrian sculptures contain analogous scenes. The same must be said of the bas-relief of the central door [Illustration: Fig. 132.--Bas-relief at Persepolis (after Flandin and Coste).] of Darius’ palace, in which the prince is seen attended by two servants, one holding the umbrella and the other the fly-flap (see fig. 122); how many times this subject is repeated on the Ninevite walls, with the same naïve representation of the king, like a Greek hero, as of colossal stature in comparison with the persons of his suite, in order to exhibit his superiority and strength! On one of the walls of the apadâna of Xerxes’ palace, the prince sitting on a high throne, with a canopy above his head and his feet upon a footstool, is seen surrounded by his guards. He is receiving a personage of high rank, doubtless a satrap, who is bringing on his shoulder the tribute of his [Illustration: Fig. 133.--Bas-relief at Persepolis (after Flandin and Coste).] province. In the compartments below rows of Persian soldiers are drawn up in line, probably those that composed the famous guard of the _Immortals_; they carry lances, bows and quivers, and have swords at their sides. The throne is of a truly Assyrian form. “The canopy, made of woven stuff,” says M. Dieulafoy,[59] “is decorated with a very curious design. Each strip is composed of two similar bands heavily embroidered. A band covered with rosettes is followed by a band adorned with bulls like those which decorate the cornice of the royal tombs; in the centre appears the winged emblem of Ahura-Mazda. The lower band ends in a trimming covered with rosettes, and a thick fringe; round patches adorn the angles. The position of the winged emblems on the top give this piece of drapery the appearance of an Egyptian tent, but the procession of bulls, the trimmings, the fringes, and the rich embroidery are of Assyrian origin.” [Illustration: Fig. 134.--Portico at Persepolis (after Flandin and Coste).]