The Champion/Dragon Battle in Iranian Heroic Narratives

The battle between champions and dragons is among the well-known themes in heroic stories of different cultures. Each mythological trend has adopted its own perspective to analyze this battle. In Iranian mythology the battle between “Izadān” and “Ahriman” is the typical example of killing dragons. Such a story can be seen in the combat with Evils(Divān) and Evil doers (Patyaregān). In Iran, most researches focus on heroic narratives or written folk tales, and oral folklores have been rarely the matter of concern. This article deals with the latter case in Shāhnāmeh and provides the reader with some information about the origins of the champions as well as the ways they act in their battles.