مجتبی گلی آیسک

In process of transition from myth to epic, we see some changes in mythological manifestations such that in myth, we face confrontation between God and Demon, but this duality, in its epic appearance, takes a logical structure and converts into a confrontation between the Iranian hero and the Non-Iranian king. myth of dragon-slaying is one of these cases that takes epic texture in Shahnameh; As in mythology, a dragon or a demonic creature causes destruction and sterilization of earth until Glory of God defeats this dragon or devil and causes fertility of earth. But in epic of Esfandiar's confrontation with draconian Arjasb, Zoroastrian hero as essence of God defeats dragon or devil, and saves earth from sterility and drought. This descriptive-analytical study seeks to prove that Arjasb is a dragon in seventh khan of Esfandiar and that the Iranian hero confronted the non-Iranian kingdom in the form of a confrontation between God and the devil. In this epic, Arjasb causes the drought of the earth by imprisoning the Esfandiar’s sisters as manifestations of life and fertility. Esfandiar, who has a divine appearance in mythology, defeats devilish Arjasb and causes the liberation of water and the greenness of the earth. Hence, it can be said that the epic of Esfandiar's confrontation with Turani Arjasb is a transformed shape of the myth of the dragon-slaying and the confrontation of good and evil. An in-depth review of Shahnameh stories leads us to a better understanding of the themes of ancient Persian mythology.