The Images of the Fight between the Dragon and Simorgh on Persian Carpets: A Study Based on Myths and Literary Texts

The designs on Persian carpets include symbolic narratives, which have been beautifully depicted on the carpets by inspiration from the national myths. The fight between the dragon and Simorgh is one of these designs that are displayed in the form of "gereft-o-gir" (literally “captured and pinned,”). Each of these two myths has symbolic reflections; they refer to symbols of Ahura and Ahreman, good and evil, earth and heaven, life and death, and soul. The present article examines Iranian native myths by considering factors such as repetition, frequency, and originality. The findings of the research show the fight between the dragon and Simorgh which refers to the concepts of good and evil and the fight of Ahura and Ahreman. Also, the ritualistic approach is involved in the formation of this fight that in which the snake and the dragon (as the symbols of Ahreman) are in conflict with the Simorgh (as the symbol of Ahura).