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.
Roman Cyprus
Arsinoe (immediately north of the modern city of Polis) was founded in 270 B.C. and continued with varying levels of prosperity into the Roman times and so it is well recorded by the geographers of the Roman period as being an important regional city. Arsinoe's importance depended on its proximity to the south Anatolian coast and the Aegean for trade as well as being a major center of exportation for the Imperial copper mines at Limni through the natural harbor at the site. However, Arsinoe's civic importance in the Roman world is attested to the mile-markers found in the region, which were measured in distance from the city. A Roman theatre and a gymnasium from the Ptolemaic period are the only major ruins left at the site. However Strabo, the Greek geographer, tells about a sanctuary to Zeus and Aphrodite a short distance outside the Roman city. Although there are a few archaeological remains, there is a surprising lack of epigraphical evidence for a city that played such an important role in Roman Cyprus. In the past there have been no major excavations done at the site except for a survey in 1960 conducted by the Cyprus Department of Antiquities. Recent excavations undertaken by Princeton University are still ongoing but a preliminary exhibition of the artifacts found at Arsinoe is available at the Princeton Art Museum. (http://artmuseum.princeton.edu/exhibitions/upcoming)