Investigating the Concept of Paradise in Iranian Mythology and Rituals

“Paradise” is one of the concepts common between myths and religions. This paper uses an analytical-descriptive method to study the concept of Paradise, the origin of which is different in religions, and there is existence of commonalities of this aspect. The existing similarities and shared view of the Paradise indicate the conceptual commonality of this word in rituals. The religion of Islam uses the Paradise in the form of the word “فردوس” and considers it as a reward for the pious and righteous. In other religions, too, the high-frequency of Paradise in religious books suggests a broader concept of it. In other words, its purpose is to be close to God and the Creator of the universe to achieve immortality. Mythical man, by imitating the gods who are immortal, wants to join eternity and open the wings to the infinite world and immortality from destruction in the immortal universe. He has tried to build a utopia on Earth and his image of the Paradise that bears a complete resemblance to the worldly Paradise. The Paradise-like cities imitated from the heavenly ones and built on Earth were analyzed in this paper. Examples of the mythical heroes of Shahnameh who tried to build Paradise on the Earth were mentioned.