'Transactions of the Bombay Geographical Society, from January 1847 to May 1849. Edited by the Secretary. Volume VIII.' [‎299] (408/496)

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Great Darius is portrayed by a superior execution. His features are well
developed, and exhibit that energy and determination of character for
which he was celebrated. A degree of finish and study pervade the
fioure of the monarch, who is singularly enough represented with bare
feet, while his captives and followers are either sandal-clad or wear a
coarse species of shoes. His head, surmounted by the diadem, displays,
after the fashion of the day, a carefully-curled mop of bushy hair,
extending nearly to the shoulders. The upper lip, too, is adorned with
an elegant moustache, and the beard, fantastically disposed in stiff
and separately curved tresses, adds much to the dignity of his appearance.
The left hand grasps the bow, the symbol of regal power; while the right
is elevated and extended towards the prisoners, in the attitude of angry
expostulation. The wrists are adorned with bracelets, and a girdle or
zone, terminating in two tassels, encircles the waist of the monarch, and
serves to bind the flowing tunic that he is habited in. A loose vest or
jacket, with large open sleeves, completes his attire. The attendant
guards, in their dress, differ but little from the monarch. They have
sandals on their feet, and the head is covered with a circular cap only.
The one nearest to majesty also bears the regal bow, and a well-stocked
quiver hangs pendant at his back. The farthest removed from the king
differs from the last only in being armed with a spear, which is held
upright by both hands in front, the shaft resting on the ground.
The serial figure which hovers over the centre of the group would
seem to represent the Supreme Being ; and this idea is in a measure con
firmed by its also presiding over the sculptured monuments of antiquity
met with at Persepolis. As the old Persian records always contained
an invocation to the deity, so it would appear that their statuary tablets
likewise required to be hallowed by the introduction of the Omniscient
Creator. Some writers have imagined that the figure merely denoted
the spirit of a departed monarch, and was symbolical of the immaterial
substance of man. Others have denominated it the “ Eerooher”* of
the Zend-Avesta : the soul or spirit that presided over all the royal acts
—a constant guardian over the regal head : an emblem of the favou
ritism of Ormazd—a type of the anointed of the Lord.
From its elevated and exact central position on the slab at Behistan,
I think, however, we may conclude it to be the effigy of the Creator
himself.
* Heeren’s Researches. Vol. 1., pages 205-206.