Iran (Persepolis)

Relief of a Lion Attacking a Bull (Apadana Stairways, Persepolis)

2382

Late 6th to early 5th century BC (approx. 520–486 BC), created during the Achaemenid Period under the reigns of Kings Darius I the Great and Xerxes I.

This fragment is a masterfully crafted low relief (bas-relief) carved from dark grey, dense local marmoreal limestone. It depicts a dramatic mythological and symbolic encounter where a powerful lion fiercely attacks a bull, biting into its hindquarter while the bull turns its head backward toward the predator.