Posters

Posters made for the Animals table illustrate diverse uses and ideas about animals in Ancient Iran, as revealed in the region’s art, archaeology, and literature. These witnesses range from paintings on Neolithic vessels to Greco-Roman comments on the camels, horses, and elephants of Ancient Iranian empires. An activity table used replica animal bones to help children and other visitors appreciate what faunal remains can teach us about the animals of Ancient Iran.

Photo: Jasper Winters and Joel Walker at the Animals table

All posters are free to download and use.

Although Zoroastrians usually imagined their gods in human form, they sometimes also resorted to animal imagery. Here, the battle god Verethragna is depicted as having the strength and ferocity of a wild boar.

Camels, especially the two-humped Bactrian species, were common pack animals in ancient Iran. This passage describes King Cyrus' deployment of camels during his invasion of Lydia.

Highly-stylized images of animals often appear on the ceramic vessels of Ancient Iran. This remarkable prehistoric beaker from Susa includes images of goats, canines, and snakes.

Ancient Iranians were aware that animals felt pain. Here, a medieval Zoroastrian manual specifies how to kill cattle with compassion, limiting the animal's suffering.

The Parthians, a semi-nomadic people who established one of Ancient Iran's great empires, prized their horses. Greek descriptions confirm, but sometimes distort, the horse's centrality to Parthian culture.

Many of the animals depicted in Ancient Iranian art still inhabit the region. The saw-scaled viper depicted on this prehistoric vessel from Susa is native to southwestern Iran.

Elephants, captured and traded from northern India, were incorporated into armies throughout the imperial history of Ancient Iran. These intimidating animals were renowned for wreaking havoc across battlefields.

The Zoroastrian faith distinguished between pure and impure animals. Killing unworthy animals such as insects and reptiles was considered an essential religious duty.

While Zoroastrian doctrine called for the killing of evil animals, it protected good animals. Dogs were respected for their role in animal husbandry, and those who harmed them were severely punished.