Persepolis, the groundbreaking electroacoustic paean by Xenakis for the millennia-long Persian history, was presented at the Shiraz Festival on August 26, 1971, on the occasion of the celebrations for the two-and-a-half thousandth anniversary of the founding of the Persian Empire.

Although it was received with considerable awkwardness by music critics, the Iranian press, and local students, amidst the rise of the theocratic anti-modernism in the country, it remains an important chapter in the musical career of the Greek creator, who is gradually taking his rightful place in the musical pantheon.