Visit Stone Lion Statue at Hamedan during Your Travel to Iran
Stone Lion Statue was originally built with two lions on both sides of a gate in Hamedan. But later, one was destroyed and you can only see one of them during your travel to Iran.
|
|
Visit Stone Lion Statue at Hamedan during Your Travel to Iran
Destination Iran invites everyone to travel to Iran and explore Iran tourist attractions. To learn more about this fascinating country, visit our blog at http://www.destinationiran.com/articles.
Shir Sangi (Stone Lion) Statue is an ancient monument which can be seen in Hamedan close to a small hill, near an old cemetery belonging to the Parthian times. Initially, there were two such lions guarding the gate. In fact, after the Arab invasion, the victorious rulers proclaimed it as the lion’s gate or “bab ul asad”.
But later on, when the Deylamids invaded the city, the gates were demolished. There was a futile attempt to transfer one of the lions to the city of Ray by Mardavij. When the mission failed, he ordered the lions to be pulled down. He was able to demolish only one lion completely, but the other one could not be fully destroyed.
Ambiguous Date of Construction
You can still see the half destroyed Stone Lion Statue during your travel to Iran. This one has one of its arms broken and was pulled and placed down so that it lay on its side. It was reinstated again in 1949 and another arm was built to replace the destroyed one. According to some sources in Iran’s Cultural Heritage Organization, the lions were constructed by Alexander when his beloved companion Hephaestion died.
Of course, this must not be forgotten that lions have always been symbolic of power in ancient Iran. You can find them at sites like Persepolis, artifacts like rhytons, as part of armaments like swords, etc. Lions were also found in different parts of Iran till early 20th century. This has been a very old tradition to depict this animal as a power element in Iranian arts.
The statue standing now is 2.5 m x 1.15 m x 2.2 m when you view it from the front. Although the exact date of the structure is not known, some stories suggest that it was built by the Medes dynasty and others attribute it to the Parthian dynasty.
Conservation
Stone Lion Statue was left in ruins till 1949 when Hushang Seyheun, a well known architect and painter, was assigned the task of reinstating the lion by the last Shah of Iran. A platform was built for the structure and the lion was reconstructed. With the lion being gradually ruined, care is being taken to place it on a high plinth. The wax on it was cleansed off and it was heaved on top of a high platform.
This has been done to make sure that no visitor is able to play with the statue or place lighted candles on its head. The next time you travel to Iran, you may see a covering on its head to guard against sunlight and rain.
Looking For More Information?
Make sure to explore other articles in the Air Travel category or contact us to suggest a website or a service to review.
|
|
