Comparative Study of the Form and Shapes of Sassanid and Parthian Rhytons

Abstract

There are two major Hellenic and Oriental tendencies in party art. In addition, the gradual transformation of Greek thought under the influence of the East can be discerned. Sassanid art is a sign of ethnic effort and taste, whose culture and art follow the Achaemenid and Parthian art. This art embodies the principles of Iranian aesthetics, which inherits the arts of early Asia. Making Rhyton is one of the most interesting and valuable examples of Iranian art and expresses the creative spirit and inherent genius of Iranians. Rhytons are animal drinking vessels, some with one mouth and some with two or more openings for liquids to enter and leave, used for drinking liquids at banquets, court ceremonies, and ceremonies. Drinking from such cups has symbolically meant the transfer of living vital force to man. By examining the achievements of the ancient Iranians, the possibility of recognizing and understanding their mental concepts as well as the type of social and cultural life of the societies of that time becomes clear to us. Based on this, it was decided to study the unique form, role and composition of a small number of Rhytons of the Parthian and Sassanid periods. The early Parthian rites were influenced by Greek and Hellenic culture, but gradually the national tendencies of the Iranian tribes emerged in them, while the early Sassanid rites were influenced by the Achaemenids, but the influence of Parthian and Roman art can’t be denied.