Persepolis
Darius I built the greatest palace at Persepolis on the western side of platform. This palace was called the "Apadana". The King of Kings used it for official audiences. The work began in 518 BC, and his son, Xerxes I, completed it 30 years later. The palace had a grand hall in the shape of a square, each side long with seventy-two columns, thirteen of which still stand on the enormous platform. Each column is high with a square Taurus (bull) and plinth. The columns carried the weight of the vast and heavy ceiling. The tops of the columns were made from animal sculptures such as two-headed lions, eagles, human beings and cows (cows were symbols of fertility and abundance in ancient Iran). The columns were joined to each other with the help of oak and cedar beams, which were brought from Lebanon. The walls were covered with a layer of mud and stucco to a depth of 5 cm, which was used for bonding, and then covered with the greenish stucco which is found throughout the palaces.
History of Benghazi
Modern Benghazi lies in the province of Cyrenaica, an area which was heavily colonised by the Greeks in antiquity. After the war of Othomi in 464-460 BC. the Messenians settled in Naupaktos. In 399 BC, expelled once more by the Spartians, they took final refuge in Euesperides. The Greek city that existed within the modern day boundaries of Benghazi was founded around 525 BC. It was called Euesperides and was one of five important cities in Cyrenaica known as the Pentapolis — the other four were the chief city Cyrene, its port Apollonia, Taucheira, and Barca. Euesperides was probably founded by people from Cyrene or Barca on the edge of a lagoon which opened from the sea. At the time, the lagoon may have been deep enough to receive small sailing vessels. The name Euesperides was attributed to the fertility of the area, and gave rise to mythological associations with the garden of Hesperides. The city was located on a raised piece of land opposite what is now the Sidi Abeid graveyard, in the Eastern Benghazi suburb of "Sebkha Es-Selmani" (Es-Selmani Marsh).