An analytical investigation of the relationship between two identical myths (Kianid's glory and aegis of the king)

Reliance on divine glory and belief in idealistic king in Iranian culture, literature and mythology are among the ancient thoughts and well-established opinions. As a deep-rooted mythology, glory had at least two basic functions. First, it justified the hereditary system of kingship, and second, through connecting the power of the king to thepower and volition of god gave it a religious and spiritual dimension. In Avesta and Pahlavi texts, and following them in Shahnameh, traces of this myth are deeply and clearly observable. Pivotal role of the thought of glory reveals the considerable depth and inclusiveness of this old myth in the political philosophy, religious thought and humanbeing's beliefs in ancient Iran. However, taking account of the undeniable impact of the religious and social developments on the structure and content of the myths, throughout the Islamic period – as the distance from the ancient periods gets larger –conversion of the myth of glory from a religious thought having a political and social basis into a fanciful and imaginary thought and folk belief is more observable. In this period, on the one hand, the myth of glory fades away, and on the other hand, gets blended with the myth of "glory of prosperity". This mixture could be abundantly seen through interpretations such as 'glory of Homa' and 'having the glory of Homa' in the literary works of middle centuries. In recent periods, the more the thought of Kianid's glory loses its position, the more we can gradually see its replacement with "glory of prosperity" with muchless depth and only within the literary works and layers of folkopinion.