The spring equinox arrived just after 1 this morning, a little early because of Leap Year.  The uncommon warmth of the winter had nothing to do with it, I see in the newspaper, and yet it seems a little hopeful.  The celebration of the vernal equinox has ancient roots, particularly among the Persians, and is still called Nowruz in Iran.  Among the ruins of Persepolis, by the staircase of Darius I’s palace, there is a relief of a bull fighting a lion. Whether this represents a celestial combat of the sun and earth is, as of now, a matter of scholarly debate, but I for one hope that’s what’s depicted.  The idea of the earth-bull at long last gaining an equal footing with the shadow-lion is appealing.  It is all the more appealing now, since I see in the same newspaper that we are debating the nature of the struggle we will engage in with Iran as it acquires nuclear weapons.  A delicate balance?  Or a longer period of darkness?  The Persian ruins augur uncertainly.