Shahnameh

This paper aims to explore the relationship between epic poetry and national self-consciousness and in particular study how Shahnameh may be analyzed from this angle. What is the relationship between the Shahnameh and the Iranian national self-consciousness? What can one say about the Iranian national self-consciousness on the basis of this text? What does the text reveal about the Iranian identity? A related question should also be answered, is the Shahnameh an epic? This is not a pedantic question concerned merely with definitions and labels. As will become clear, an epic reveals a great deal about the national consciousness of the people to whom it belongs (or who belong to it); to identify a poem as an epic, is to be making an important statement about the national consciousness of a people. The question of whether the Shahnameh is an epic or not is hence far from a pedantic one. It takes us right into the heart of Iranian national consciousness

Background: Iliad and Shahnameh are two transnational works which are precious treasures for studying the customs and culture of two ancient nations of Iran and Greece. In this research some of the ethical specifications of the mythological gods and paladins of Iran in Shahnameh and Olympus gods and paladins of Iliad have been studied and the basic differences between two nations which stem from the differences of their culture and beliefs have been shown. The essay plans to show the Iran ancient cultural highlights and a closer look at the immensity of this ancient land. Method: The method of this research is analytical descriptive and based upon comparison of two ancient culture from the views of beliefs and ceremonies. Conclusion: The studies show that there are some differences between the human and divinely behaviors of Iliad and Shahnameh. In Iliad we see that the unethical conducts, discrimination, inclination to the front of oppression and promise breaking towards the devoted people by the Achaeans on the one hand and on the other corruption, lying and rivalries between the Olympus gods terminated to the vast carnage of Achaeans and Trojan tribes. The paladins and the heroes of Iliad in compare with the Olympus gods are more noble and are more promise leal. The Iranian gods are the symbol of ethics and the punisher of promise breakers and those who violates the others’ right. Such ethical solidarity and stability make the heroes of Shahnameh incline to cavalier. The Iranian gods hatred towards war and violation. But seriously believe in revenge and defense of their lands while the Olympus gods support the violators and they themselves are the main factor of war and massacre.

The second half of the eighteenth century was a period of transition in European aesthetics. It was also a time of increasing contact between Europe and Asia. The rise of Oriental literary scholarship was a natural outgrowth of the public interest in things Oriental. While the earlier part of the century had sought to reaffirm the basic tenets of the Enlightenment with the help of its indirect knowledge of the Oriental literatures, the later generations became increasingly fascinated with the new possibilities of the literary heritage of the East. The Shahnameh first attracted the attention of the eighteenth-century Orientalists such as Sir William Jones as the supreme example of Oriental epic poetry. The present essay proposes to study Jones's conception of Persian literature and his remarks on the poetry of Firdawsi, as well as his fragmentary translations of the Shahnameh .

Thomas Malory's Le Morte d’Arthur and the epic part of Ferdowsi's Shahnameh , addressing two key questions: how does Hillman’s concept of archetypal images illustrate the major images of women presented in Le Morte d’Arthur and Shahnameh ? And, how are these images treated in their respective contexts? Using James Hillman’s Post-Jungian theory of archetypal images, which emphasizes preserving the individual details of the images, in contrast to Jungian archetypes that are reductionist and imprecise, this study explores the images of the women in Le Morte d’Arthur and Shahnameh both individually and in relation to one another. Based on a detailed examination of the unique characteristics of their images, collected from textual evidences, each of these women are categorized under the archetypal images of the daughter, the lover/wife, and the mother. The results of this study propose a comprehensive pattern, supported by various examples, for further detailed analyses of such archetypal images, as they open up new horizons for feminist studies by illuminating women’s multidimensional personalities. In addition, the major diversions from this pattern under the archetypal images of the sorceress and the warrior are discussed according to their respective contexts and societies as well.