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The Conversation

Peter Edwell, Associate Professor in Ancient History, Macquarie University

Almost unimaginable beauty and opulence: the paradise pleasure gardens of ancient Persia

Persia Cyrus Gilgamesh Lysander Earth Iran

Eram Garden in Iran. Sergey-73/Shutterstock

Some of the most enduring ancient myths in the Persian world were centred around gardens of almost unimaginable beauty and opulence.

The biblical Garden of Eden and the Epic of Gilgamesh’s Garden of the Gods are prominent examples. In these myths, paradise was an opulent garden of tranquillity and abundance.

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