Hypertext Analysis of the Relationship between Religion and Myth in Bahram Gur's Hunting Painting

The hunting motifs of Bahram Gur's painting are considered as the themes with "religious" and "mythical" essence in "Iranian painting". Despite numerous researches on paintings related to Bahram Gur's hunting, these works have so far been less studied in terms of the possibility of representing religious concepts and mythical beliefs. These works are mainly based on literary texts related to the Islamic period, especially "Ferdowsi's two narrations" in "Shahnameh" and Nezami in "Haft Peykar" and some lesser-known sources. These sources have narrated events related to "Bahram Gur" in the context of history, but not exactly in accordance with historical facts. The reason for this is the influence of the literary texts of the Islamic period on the literary features and Sassanid historiography, that is, "mixing with Iranian myths and legends and magnifying the heroism". This means that the efforts made in the historical and literary texts of this period can also include an indispensable part of life and events related to Bahram Gur. Therefore, it is expected that in illustrating the works of the "painting in question", in addition to historical narratives in related events, the manifestation of his religious aspects and myths in the structure (form and content) can be observed and followed in a more specific way. Therefore, the research has been done with the purpose of filling the gap of existing studies and giving insight into the relationship between the religion and myth with the selected paintings. The research questions are: 1.what is the relationship between "religious concepts and mythical beliefs" as a pretext, with "hunting motifs of Bahram Gur" in "Iranian painting" as the "final texts". 2. Which of the possible pretexts, religious or mythical, had a more important influence and place in the formation and richness of the theme of Bahram Gur's paintings? In this research, relying on the descriptive method using the "hypertextual" approach, the position of "religion and myth" in the content of selected works has been analyzed. Data collection was also done using library studies, documents and visual study of selected paintings. The combination of seven selected works in the present study includes: two works taken from Shahnameh by Ferdowsi, two works taken from "seven figures" by Nezami, one work from the history of Balami, one work from the collections of Amir Alishir Navai and one work from an unknown source. Results of the studies have shown that: Religion and myth have effective relationships in the formation of hunting motifs of Bahram Gur during the Sassanid period and then in the reproduction, and the continued presence of these motifs in Iranian painting. In the context of hypertextual and intertextual relations, the existing conditions have moved towards the transformation in religious pretexts and in mythical ones. Religion in concepts and generalities and myths in the form and descriptions of paintings, and in some cases with overlap, have provided the means to improve the quality of the works. According to the hypertext theory, the relationships towards transformation or homogeneity can never be considered as "absolute". For this reason, based on the studies conducted during this research, the general and "relative"  type of hypertextual relationships in the selected paintings  was determined, which were studied and summarized in the form of "tables and analyses". The divisions made in this table show that although religion and myth have each had approximately the same requirements for the effect (presence) on the examined final texts, in this case the transformations and effects of the presence of religion tend to decrease or even eliminate. This is the case, if the elements, concepts and beliefs related to myth, while expanding and increasing in the final texts, have shown a more noticeable and effective presence in the paintings. In addition, the study of visual elements and qualities in the selected works shows the attractiveness of the topic and the existence of repetitive elements and motifs related to this character. Repeatable patterns have formed a kind of uniform visual pattern by which the form and appearance of these works became closer to each other.  These features can provide the grounds for considering them in the form of generalities of thematic art in the forthcoming studies; that the religious and mythological foundation and essence should be sought in its components and elements.