The Story of Rostam and Sohrab: An Analysis Based on Aristotelian Ethics

The aim of present article is to study the story of Rostam and Sohrab based on moral virtues in the thoughts of Aristotle. According to Aristotle, virtue is a praiseworthy ethical habit between excess and negligence. Some of these virtues are courage, honesty, nobility and hauteur. In the present article, after a cursory examination of the Aristotelian approach to moral virtues, they are studied in the story of Rostam and Sohrab. The analysis of the story shows that there is a considerable correspondence between virtues and moral conducts of the characters of the story and Aristotelian virtues. It also shows that moral codes have an important function in Shāhnāmeh and the behaviors of Iranian heroes. The moral behaviors of Sohrab, considerably correspond to Aristotelian virtues.