Archetypal Criticism of Roots of Mythical Dualism in Ferdowsi's Shahnameh

Gomizshan and Vazarshan are the names of two most important cycles of creation in Persian mythology during which the battle between two forces of goodness and vice reaches its most severe stage and at last leads to the final victory of the good over the vicious. Belief in the struggle between good and vicious principles which constitutes the basis of Persian mythical thought is manifested in Shahnameh in the form of long battles and wars between Iran and Aniran (non-Iranian). In Shahnameh، Iran symbolizes Ahuramazda whereas Aniran (mostly Turan) mostly symbolizes the land of Ahriman and the struggle between the two lands embodies Gomizshan in Persian myths which is finished by Keikhosrow at the end of epical part of Shahnameh and reaches its Vazarshan in Shahnameh. Based on psychological views of Carl Gustav Jung، this article aims to explore the roots of dualism in Persian mythical thought and thus Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh، and good and vicious aspects are decoded as the symbols of consciousness and unconsciousness in such kind of psychology. The results of this study show that، in the dualist attitude of the myth، the worlds of goodness and badness are comparable with consciousness and unconsciousness respectively، and the opposition Ahuramazda/Ahriman or Iran/Aniran in Shanhnameh and mythical thought can be evaluated as the struggle between consciousness and unconsciousness for reaching the perfect Self. Since the sequence of ups and downs of prominent kings in Shahnameh ends with the final victory of Iran over Turan in the reign of Keikhosrow، it can be said that the spirit of national epic which had been blown into the body of Kiomars from the beginning leads to the immortality of Keikhosrow via passing different embodiments، which can be the symbols of persona in Jung theory، with continuous sequence of life and death archetype.