ABSTRACT
Much of the evidence for understanding the organisation of the royal household is referred to very fleetingly in accounts of historical events, and will be found (through crossreferences) in the relevant chapters. Other aspects are embedded in a range of anecdotes and court stories retailed by Graeco-Roman and Jewish writers, 1 with a variety of interests – drawing moral lessons, displaying learned antiquarianism, or illustrating aspects of political theory. In the case of the Graeco-Roman writers, much of this is related to musings about the rise and fall of empires: the great wealth and power consequent on the acquisition of empire inexorably leads to soft living and indulgence (particularly in the domains of eating and sex), which turns the formerly hardy conquerors into decadent weaklings, who might be easily overcome. But notions about the effects of conspicuous consumption differed. The fourth century philosopher, Heracleides of Pontus, for one, argued that pleasure ennobled human nature, and that
all who give themselves up to pleasure and choose a life of luxury are noble and generous; for example, the Persians and Medes. For, more than any people in the world, they devote themselves to pleasure and luxury, and yet at the same time they are the noblest and the bravest of the barbarians. In fact, enjoyment of pleasure and luxury is the mark of free men; it liberates and elevates the spirit. Conversely, to live a life of hard labour is the mark of slaves and men of low birth.
(Athen. XII, 512a–b) Given these internal debates, the focus of the tales and notices we have tends to be on exotic aspects of the Persian palace and the extraordinary luxury surrounding the king, 2 the multitude of servants and officials, their rich dress and equipment, peculiar food and eating habits, and the strange, sinister or scandalous behaviour of royal women and eunuchs. The story structures serve to make particular political and moral points, which often leave us with an image of Persian decadence and kingly weakness. But, inside such dramatically spun webs, it is possible to discern some of the basic institutions of Persian court-life. By setting documentary material from Persepolis and Babylonia, as well as archaeological finds, alongside this, it can sometimes be possible to grasp elements of the palatial system and/or gain a different perspective.