Stamp Seal: Man Attacking Lion

This is a disc-shaped sardonyx stamp seal. The face is engraved with the image of a heroic encounter. The hero holds one arm outstretched towards the neck of the lion he is fighting; his other arm, held down behind him, holds a long sword which he points towards the lion’s belly. The man wears a tunic with two vertical elements that create a v-neck. He has a large, pointed nose, full cheeks, and cropped hair. The lion is rampant, with its forelegs extended towards the hero. It has a bristling mane, a curled tail, and an open mouth. This scene is paralleled on numerous seals and impressions from the Neo-Assyrian (c. 911-612 BCE) and Achaemenid (c. 550-330 BCE) periods. The closest match for the hero’s pose appears on a clay bulla found in the Persepolis Treasury, dating to the fifth century BCE (1). The hero’s garment is also paralleled on another bulla from the Treasury (2). Thus this seal likely dates to the fifth century BCE, but given the wide chronological distribution of this type of scene it could also be earlier. NOTES 1. E. F. Schmidt, Persepolis II: The Contents of the Treasury and Other Discoveries (Chicago, 1957) pl. 13 (seal no. 60). 2. Schmidt, Persepolis II, pl. 11 (seal no. 37).