PERSEPOLIS: Art, Architecture and Ideology of the Persian Em

​Sunday 16 August 2026 2:45 PM - 4:00 PM (UTC+10)
PERSEPOLIS: Art, Architecture and Ideology of the Persian Em
Presented by James Renshaw
Venue: ANSunshineCoast: Lecture Theatre 1, K Block, University of the Sunshine Coast, 90 Sippy Downs Dr, Sippy Downs

The Persian empire exploded into life during the middle of the 6th century BC and was the largest empire in the world for the next two centuries. In around 515, its third Great King, Darius I, commissioned the building of a new city, Persepolis, with his palace at its centre. We know a great deal about this palace, and one of its central features, the Apadana Staircase, can be seen in replica in the British Museum. What can this palace and its art tell us about the ideology of this extraordinary, influential empire?

Following a degree in Classics from Oxford University, James has taught Classics at secondary school level since 1998, including early in his career at Sydney Grammar School. He currently teaches at Godolphin and Latymer in London; here he runs the school’s Ancient World Breakfast Club, which has an ethos similar to that of The Arts Society. Since 1998, James has published a number of textbooks related to the classical world, including In Search of the Greeks and In Search of the Romans. James has also lectured for the V&A Academy, most recently on their Classical World and its Afterlife and Classicism from the Ancients to the Renaissance courses. James is a keen traveller and photographer of ancient sites.