Persian mythologyThe term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
are traditional
talesIranian folklore, including jokes, legends, games, folklore heroes and beliefs is sophisticated and complex.-Heroes:*Samak-E 'Ayyar*Pourya-ye Vali*Hasan Kachal "Hasan the Bald"*Khaleh Soskeh "Auntie cockroach"...
and stories of ancient origin, some involving extraordinary or supernatural beings. Drawn from the legendary past of the Iranian cultural continent which especially consists of the state of
IranIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
,
AfghanistanAfghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
,
TajikistanTajikistan , officially the Republic of Tajikistan , is a mountainous landlocked country in Central Asia. Afghanistan borders it to the south, Uzbekistan to the west, Kyrgyzstan to the north, and China to the east....
and
Central AsiaCentral Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
, they reflect the attitudes of the society to which they first belonged - attitudes towards the confrontation of good and evil, the actions of the gods,
yazats (lesser gods), and the exploits of heroes and fabulous creatures. Myths play a crucial part in Iranian culture and our understanding of them is increased when we consider them within the context of Iranian history.
For this purpose we must ignore modern political boundaries and look at historical developments in the
Greater IranGreater Iran refers to the regions that have significant Iranian cultural influence. It roughly corresponds to the territory on the Iranian plateau and its bordering plains, stretching from Iraq, the Caucasus, and Turkey in the west to the Indus River in the east...
, a vast area covering parts of Central
AsiaAsia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
well beyond the frontiers of present-day Iran. The
geographyGeography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
of this region, with its high mountain ranges, plays a significant role in many of the mythological stories. The second millennium BCE is usually regarded as the age of migration because of the emergence in western Iran of a new form of
Iranian potteryIranian pottery or Persian pottery production presents a continuous history from the beginning of Iranian history until the present day....
, similar to earlier wares of north-eastern Iran, suggesting the arrival of the
Ancient Iranian peoplesIranian peoples first appear in Assyrian records in the 9th century BCE. In Classical Antiquity they were found primarily in Scythia and Persia...
. This pottery, light grey to black in colour, appeared around 1400 BCE. It is called Early Grey Ware or Iron I, the latter name indicating the beginning of the
Iron AgeThe Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
in this area.
Key texts
The central collection of Persian mythology is the
ShahnamehThe Shahnameh or Shah-nama is a long epic poem written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi between c.977 and 1010 AD and is the national epic of Iran and related societies...
of
FerdowsiFerdowsi was a highly revered Persian poet. He was the author of the Shahnameh, the national epic of Iran and related societies.The Shahnameh was originally composed by Ferdowsi for the princes of the Samanid dynasty, who were responsible for a revival of Persian cultural traditions after the...
, written over a thousand years ago. Ferdowsi's work draws heavily, with attribution, on the stories and characters of
Mazdaism and ZoroastrianismZoroastrianism is a religion and philosophy based on the teachings of prophet Zoroaster and was formerly among the world's largest religions. It was probably founded some time before the 6th century BCE in Greater Iran.In Zoroastrianism, the Creator Ahura Mazda is all good, and no evil...
, not only from the
AvestaThe Avesta is the primary collection of sacred texts of Zoroastrianism, composed in the Avestan language.-Early transmission:The texts of the Avesta — which are all in the Avestan language — were composed over the course of several hundred years. The most important portion, the Gathas,...
, but from later texts such as the
BundahishnBundahishn, meaning "Primal Creation", is the name traditionally given to an encyclopædiaic collections of Zoroastrian cosmogony and cosmology written in Book Pahlavi. The original name of the work is not known....
and the
DenkardThe Dēnkard or Dēnkart is a 10th century compendium of the Mazdaen Zoroastrian beliefs and customs. The Denkard is to a great extent an "Encyclopedia of Mazdaism" and is a most valuable source of information on the religion...
as well as many others.
Religious background
The characters of Persian mythology almost always fall into one of two camps. They are either good, or they are evil. The resultant discord mirrors the ancient conflict, which in Persian mythology is based on the Zoroastrian concept of the dual emanation of
Ahura MazdaAhura Mazdā is the Avestan name for a divinity of the Old Iranian religion who was proclaimed the uncreated God by Zoroaster, the founder of Zoroastrianism...
(Avestan, or
Ormuzd in later Persian).
Spenta Mainyu is the source of constructive energy, while
Angra MainyuAngra Mainyu is the Avestan-language name of Zoroastrianism's hypostasis of the "destructive spirit". The Middle Persian equivalent is Ahriman.-In Zoroaster's revelation:...
is the source of darkness, destruction, sterility, and death.
Found in abundance in Persian mythology are the
daēva (Avestan, Persian:
div), meaning 'celestial' or 'bright'. These divinities were worshipped in pre-Zoroastrian Mazdaism, and as in
Vedic religionThe religion of the Vedic period is a historical predecessor of Hinduism. Its liturgy is reflected in the mantra portion of the four Vedas, which are compiled in Sanskrit. The religious practices centered on a clergy administering rites...
s, the adherents of the pre-Zoroastrian form of Mazdaism considered the
daēva holy and sacred beings. It is only after the religious reforms of
Zarathustra (Zoroaster)Zoroaster , also known as Zarathustra , was a prophet and the founder of Zoroastrianism who was either born in North Western or Eastern Iran. He is credited with the authorship of the Yasna Haptanghaiti as well as the Gathas, hymns which are at the liturgical core of Zoroastrianism...
that the term
daēva became associated with
demoncall - 1347 531 7769 for more infoIn Ancient Near Eastern religions as well as in the Abrahamic traditions, including ancient and medieval Christian demonology, a demon is considered an "unclean spirit" which may cause demonic possession, to be addressed with an act of exorcism...
s. Even then the Persians living south of the
Caspian SeaThe Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth by area, variously classed as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. The sea has a surface area of and a volume of...
continued to worship the
daeva and resisted pressure to accept Zoroastrianism, and legends that involve
daēva survive to this day. For instance, that of the legend of the
Div-e Sepid (white
daēva) of Mazandaran.
Moreover,
Angra MainyuAngra Mainyu is the Avestan-language name of Zoroastrianism's hypostasis of the "destructive spirit". The Middle Persian equivalent is Ahriman.-In Zoroaster's revelation:...
or
Ahriman in Persian, once the Zoroastrian epitome of evil, lost its original Zoroastrian/Mazdaist identity in later Persian literature, and was ultimately depicted as a
div. Religious depictions of
Ahriman made in the era following the Islamic invasion show
Ahriman as a giant of a man with spotted body and two horns.
Good and Evil
The most famous legendary character in the Persian epics and mythology is
RostamRostam is the national hero of Greater Iran from Zabulistan in Persian mythology and son of Zal and Rudaba. In some ways, the position of Rostam in the historical tradition is parallel to that of Surena, the hero of the Carrhae. His figure was endowed with many features of the historical...
. On the other side of the fence is
ZahhakZahhāk or Zohhāk is an evil figure in Iranian mythology, evident in ancient Iranian folklore as Aži Dahāka, the name by which he also appears in the texts of the Avesta...
,
a symbol of despotism who was, finally, defeated by Kaveh the Blacksmith who led a popular uprising against him.
ZahhakZahhāk or Zohhāk is an evil figure in Iranian mythology, evident in ancient Iranian folklore as Aži Dahāka, the name by which he also appears in the texts of the Avesta...
(Aži Dahāka) was guarded by two vipers which grew out of his shoulders. No matter how many times they were beheaded, new heads grew on them to guard him. The snake, like in many other mythologies, was a symbol of evil. But many other animals and birds appear in
IranIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
ian mythology and especially the birds were signs of good
omenAn omen is a phenomenon that is believed to foretell the future, often signifying the advent of change...
. Most famous of these is Simorgh, a large beautiful and powerful bird; and
HomaHoma may refer to:* Homa, a religious practise in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism, involving making offerings into a consecrated fire.* Homa bird, a creature of Eastern fable* Homa F.C., a professional league football club based in Tehran, Iran...
, a royal bird of victory whose plume adorned the crowns.
PeriIn Persian mythology, which constitutes the mythology of not just Persians but all Iranian peoples, peris are descended from fallen angels who have been denied paradise until they have done penance. In earlier sources they are described as agents of evil; later, they are benevolent...
, considered a beautiful though evil woman in early mythology, gradually became less evil and more beautiful until the Islamic period she became a symbol of beauty similar to the
houriIn Islam, the ḥūr or ḥūrīyah are commonly translated as " companions of equal age ", "lovely eyed", of "modest gaze", "pure beings" or "companions pure" of paradise, denoting humans and jinn who enter paradise after being recreated anew in the hereafter...
s of
ParadiseParadise is a place in which existence is positive, harmonious and timeless. It is conceptually a counter-image of the miseries of human civilization, and in paradise there is only peace, prosperity, and happiness. Paradise is a place of contentment, but it is not necessarily a land of luxury and...
. However another evil woman, Patiareh, now symbolizes whores and prostitutes.
See also
- Iranian mythology
Iranian mythologies include:*Persian mythology*Scythian mythology*Ossetic mythology...
- List of articles related to Persian mythology
- Persian folklore
Iranian folklore, including jokes, legends, games, folklore heroes and beliefs is sophisticated and complex.-Heroes:*Samak-E 'Ayyar*Pourya-ye Vali*Hasan Kachal "Hasan the Bald"*Khaleh Soskeh "Auntie cockroach"...
- Persian literature
Persian literature spans two-and-a-half millennia, though much of the pre-Islamic material has been lost. Its sources have been within historical Persia including present-day Iran as well as regions of Central Asia where the Persian language has historically been the national language...
- Proto-Indo-Iranian religion
- Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism is a religion and philosophy based on the teachings of prophet Zoroaster and was formerly among the world's largest religions. It was probably founded some time before the 6th century BCE in Greater Iran.In Zoroastrianism, the Creator Ahura Mazda is all good, and no evil...
External links