Traces and Origin of Demon in Persian Literature

A popular belief common among all nations is the conflict between good and evil forces, the division of the world into two zones of light and darkness, and the belief in the perpetual battle between the good (divine) and the evil (devil) phenomena. It is a battle that will be continued as long as the life shall last, in which the light will be the final victorious and dominant party. Such a view can also be traced in the myths, religions, and even among the thoughts of the modern world.The objective of the present research is to investigate the origin of one party of this battle: the evil forces and demons in Persian literature. To this end, it pursues the origins of such a thought in the Western Asia and the Mesopotamian civilization, the influence of which is undeniable on the Iranian culture. This study attempts to demonstrate the changes that took place in the above beliefs through the course of the time and the changes of geographical regions. The study is supported by the fact that the belief has passed both through the filtering of a reformer like Zoroaster and the culture of Islam as a religion. Meanwhile, the increasing awareness of man through the time and his dominance over the nature and his milieu has also played a role in the evolution of this belief as compared with its early origin.