L'avvincente biografia di una statua: la 'Penelope' di Persepoli

This article aims at suggesting an alternative perspective that can overcome the dialectic of War / Peace between the Persian and Greek worlds as to the interpretation of the so-called Penelope of Persepolis. This marble statue, which can be classified as Greek both for style and material, was found in a fragmentary state in the Treasury of Persepolis. The first extensive essay on the sculpture interpreted it as a Persian loot from the Greek world, whereas the most recent theories have suggested that it arrived at Persepolis as a diplomatic gift from the Greeks. This article, following an approach to the statue already attempted in the past decades, aims instead at reconsidering the biography of the ‘Penelope’ in light of the frequent contacts between Greek and Persian worlds, especially in Asia Minor. Furthermore, the article suggests to recontextualise the iconographical scheme of the statue, which was employed also for mourning figures not necessarily recognisable as representations of Penelope. These observations, which will be followed by a broader study, aim thus at inviting to reconsider the widest range of evidence in order to reconstruct the intriguing biography of the statue from Persepolis.