Ancient architecture is the manifestation of artistic patterns and has been beautifully designed with it.
Although these patterns may look striking at first sight , but there is a secret meaning in them, and figuring this meaning out can explain why such patterns have been created and used in ancient architecture . This knowledge can link us up with the ancestor’s beliefs and worldview. In this respect Achaemenid - known as the largest Persian Empire - has vast Architectural monuments such as Pasargadae , Susa and Persepolis which are full of meaningfull patterns , since these monuments were built and designed at the command of the kings of that time and their beliefs as society’s highly valuable political and religious models . Hence, different ideas have been presented by researchers regarding the Achaemenid cosmological point of view, i. e. their religion and ideological perspective , none of which was definitively expressed. Therefore, a study on the motifs remained of the Achaemenid civilization can remove the ambiguities in this regard to a large extent. Accordingly , in the present research, the authors seek to answer the following questions: To which theory of Achaemenid religion do the symbolic motifs created on the Achaemenid architecture correspond? Can this theory be regarded more probable than others? Therefore , in this research, which is based on an analytical-comparative method and has been conducted in the form of a library study, eight motifs from three sites, i.e. Pasargadae , Susa and Persepolis, were identified , categorized and then semantically analyzed. After the comparative analysis and concept analysis of the motifs, it was revealed that polytheistic worship with centrality of the worship of Ahura Mazda and the influence of the religious ideology of Mesopotamian and pre - Aryan (Empire Elamite) civilization have been prevalent in the Achaemenid religious view, which is in accordance with this theory that the Achaemenids have been henotheistic .