PERSIA the ANCIENT IRAN



( ãÚÈÏ ÂäÇåíÊÇ ) Anahita, or Nahid, was a major deity in the Persia. She was the protector of water and the goddess of beauty, fertility and fecundity.
The Anahita Temple is the name of one of two archaeological sites in Iran popularly thought to have been attributed to the ancient deity Anahita. The larger and more widely known of the two is located at Kangâvar in Kermanshah Province. The other is located at Bishapur.
The remains at Kangavar reveal an edifice that is Hellenistic in character, and yet display Persian architectural designs. The plinth's enormous dimensions for example, which measure just over 200m on a side, and its megalithic foundations, which echo Achaemenid stone platforms, "constitute Persian elements". This is thought to be corroborated by the "two lateral stairways that ascend the massive stone platform recalling Achaemenid traditions".
In the first half of the first century AD the Greek geographer, Isidore of Charax, was the first to mention the Temple in his book, refering to it as the "Temple of Artemis".