A Study of Kaveh the Blacksmith’s Uniqueness in Ferdowsi’s The Shahnameh with an Approach to Urban Iranian Thought and World Myths

With the discovery of iron, in addition to material changes, the intellectual and cultural order of the world also undergoes a transformation. The value, depth, and consequences of this discovery are a modern phenomenon with features  of the age called iron, which creates its own myths and heroes. Iran, as one of the oldest ritual civilizations in the world and the first centers to achieve iron smelting and extraction technology, is not without its cultural consequences. The most famous Iranian hero of this era is Kaveh Ahangar, who appears in the dark and turbulent millennium of Zahaki (Iranian version of the beginning of the Iron Age) and provides the ground for the re-creation of the drinking world by Fereydoun. Despite his reputation and constant influence on Iranian thought, Kaveh is not reflected in Iranian patriotic and religious myths. This has led some scholars to consider him a historical figure made by the writers of the Sassanid theologians, which is certainly unbelievable, because it is incompatible with the intellectual foundations of prehistoric peoples in understanding existence. Kaveh, like other mythical characters, has symbolic motives and metaphorical features. In this research, using archetypal analysis, comparative attitude and library method the researchers  try to study the mythological themes of Kaveh's mediation in Shahnameh and present new results by introducing new ideas to show that Kaveh  is , a prehistoric hero who, for some reason, disappears from the scene of Iranian mythology.