Sassanid Seals Symbolism

Sassanid Seals’ Motifs presented in bestial, vegetative and human forms, indicate the effect and influence of mythical beliefs symbols and religious beliefs. The main part of these illustrations are based on khvarenah and gods of Zoroastrian religion and also partly from other cultures and civilizations. The present paper aims to study Sassanid seals’ motifs and find out their function and the reason they were used. The research questions are: 1- what was the aim of using these seals during Sassanid era? 2- what concepts are used in these seals’ motif and what is their connection with religious and mythical beliefs of Sassanid era? To answers these questions, the author first presents an explanation about how these seals work and what is their physical shape; then an explanation about symbol and myth is presented and finally, the motif of these seals are interpreted by presenting a number of Sassanid seals. The study concludes that religious and mythical beliefs of an individual had the greatest effect on choosing a seal. On the function of these seals, one must add that, beside the usage as a kind of ownership document, they also worked as a talisman and such point played a very important role in selecting a seal.