The concept of ‘Graeco-Persian’ or ‘Perso-Anatolian’ art, as a distinct style produced under Achaemenid rule, has attracted increasing attention over the past two decades. Originally defined as a formal mix of the Greek and Persian – Greek style and Persian themes – interest has more recently shifted to a phenomenological conception of the materials as unique products of Western Anatolian culture in the Achaemenid period. There are still many questions about this phenomenon, concerning the transmission of ideas, the formation of identities and cultural change at large. For instance: did Greek art or artists play a role in the formation of ‘Perso- Anatolian’ art? What is actually ‘Persian’ in the images and material culture of Western Anatolia? How were such images employed and what did they mean in their social context? What socio-cultural identities are linked with the political and economic changes provoked by participation in the Achaemenid imperial sphere? This panel consists of five fifteen-minute papers presenting new research on Western Anatolian material culture of the Achaemenid period, with a particular focus on new material, and with the aim of making a further contribution to the understanding of cultural exchange, identity formation andthe history of Persian Asia Minor.

1. Catherine M. Draycott (Somerville College, Oxford)

Introduction: What does “being ‘Graeco-Persian’” mean? An Introduction to the Papers

2. Catherine M. Draycott (Somerville College, Oxford)

Convoy Commanders and Other Military Identities in Tomb Art of Western Anatolia around the Time of the Persian Wars

3. Elizabeth P. Baughan (University of Richmond)

Persian Riders in Lydia? The Painted Frieze of the Aktepe Tomb kline

4. Maya Vassileva (Centre for Thracology, BulgarianAcademy of Sciences, Sofia)

Achaemenid Interfaces: Thracian and Anatolian Representations of Elite Status

5. Burcu Erciyas (Middle East Technical University (METU), Ankara)

The Perso-Anatolian Origins of the Administrative and Religious Structure of the “Temple-States” of Pontus

6. Lindsay Allen (King’s College, London)

Glass Drinking Vessels and Questions of Influence and Hierarchy in Achaemenid-Period Anatolia