fundamentalism, fanaticism, and terrorism. As an Iranian who has lived more than half of my life
in Iran, I know that this image is far from the truth. This is why writing Persepolis was so
important to me. I believe that an entire nation should not be judged by the wrongdoings of a
few extremists. I also don’t want those Iranians who lost their lives in prisons defending
freedom, who died in the war against Iraq, who suffered under various repressive regimes, or
who were forced to leave their families and flee their homeland to be forgotten.
One can forgive but one should never forget.“
By naming her graphic memoir
Persepolis
, Satrapi connects her “never-forget” statement by
naming her memoir after the city in ruins, and perhaps is hoping for a phoenix-rising-from-the-
ashes rebirth to Iran’s future.
Persepolis was at one time the capital of Persia. Persepolis existed from 522 BCE as it was built and run
by Darius the Great, until it was pillaged and
burned in 330 BCE by Alexander the Great during Xerxes’
reign.
The area we now know as Iran was an extremely powerful empire from the reign of Cyrus (559-
530 BCE) until 330 BCE. By the time Alexander came to Persepolis, it was one of the wealthiest cities in
the world. Not only was the royal palace and citadel full of ancient treasures dating back to Cyrus’s reign,
but all of the empire’s most important literary works and pieces of art as well.
