فصلنامه ادبیات عرفانی و اسطوره شناختی
سال دوازدهم شماره 42 (بهار 1395)

One of the ways for recognizing the culture, thoughts and beliefs of a nation is studying her myths. The origins of some rites and cults which are useful in the life of contemporary man are rooted in the myths as well. Some modern writers and/or poets use myths for relating a message; and by doing so, they enrich their works. In the present article, the attempt has been made to show the function of myth in the works of Sohrāb Sepehri employing descriptive-analytical method. Considering the origin of man as subject that is beyond the social themes, Sepehri uses an ontological approach and goes to the world of myths. He rejects the tyranny of the times and skill fully shows the conditions of his society by comparing it to the myths. Sepehri's poems demonstrate rebelling against the history of his times and show the desires and material and spiritual needs of contemporary man.

Fratricide, as an archetype, has a precedent as old as human life and its origin goes back to religions and the myths of Creation. According to the myth of fratricide, sense of competition and jealousy among brothers are instigated by their father paying too much attention to one of brothers or one of the brothers somehow gains a better position than the other. We can read the stories of fratricide in the texts of nations and compare their differences and similarities. The present article attempts to answer this question: How has the theme of fratricide appeared in the myths of various nations? To answer this question, at first, we consider the samples of the myth of fratricide among various nations by using descriptive-analytical method. Then the common themes of the myths and their structures are analyzed.

According to Abulfazl Rashideddin Meybodi in Kashf-Al-Asrar and Odat-Al-Abrarin his interpretation of the story of Cain and Abel, Cain is afraid of a song and escapes from people and becomes familiar with wild animals. The story has a connection with an archetype named the first decline. According to the archetype, the man has fallen from a golden age and has lost his roots. The present article tries to study the first decline archetype in some cultures based on descriptive-comparative method. The archetype can be seen in most of the rituals which indicates the close relationship of man with the nature and animals, the relation that has forgotten by an evil thought. Although the affinity of man and nature that existed in the Golden age has been forgotten, but its trace can still be seen. This archetype is present in different cultures with various forms and some common themes can be found in them.

One of the most common conjugal unions in Shāhnāmeh is the marriage of Iranian men with non-Iranian women, especially the marriage of heroes with non-Iranians that is a common occurrence. In Shāhnāmeh, the prominent Iranian heroes get married with non-Iranian women, mainly with Turanians. These kinds of marriage are called exogamy. According to the symbols of Shāhnāmeh, Iran is sacred and divine land but Turan is the territory of impurity and evil forces. On the other hand, according to ancient beliefs, woman is symbol of land and the earthly world and man is a divine being who is free of impurities. Since in the prevailing pattern of patriarchy in ancient Iranian mythology man has a central role in Iranian myths, therefore, in the process of transformation of myths to epics, misogynic concepts have been added to the epics. In the present article, after considering the mythic deep-structure of epics, their patriarchal components of has been analyzed.

Although epic isn’t the oldest narrative genre but it is the most prevailing one in the ancient time and middle ages. Epic and myth, oral or written, can be found in all cultures and sub-cultures. Myths provide the raw material for the epics and in some cultures epics are continuation of them. The world's literature is full of epic-mythical themes. We can see these themes in two prominent books of Persian and German literature, namely Nibelungenlied and Shāhnāmeh. The common subjects such as mythical heroes, super-natural animals, war, battle, revenge and the like can be seen in these works. In the present article, after presenting the backgrounds of two epics, the two super-heroes, Siegfried and Rostam, are compared and common themes and common historical and epic features in these two prominent masterpieces are entertained.

Jalāl al-Din Rūmi insists on recognizing the carnal soul. The soul is an abstract concept and is far from human understanding, so for depicting it, Rūmi uses allegory in which he relates the human soul to the elements of nature. Among the souls, he focuses more on the carnal soul and tries to express its ugliness by using allegories about animals and the four elements. By this way, he refers to didactic and ethic issues and by an indirect and impressive way warns his readers of the carnal soul. In the present article, the allegories related to the carnal soul have been extracted from first three books of Masnavi Manvavi and have been divided to two groups of allegory: allegories of animals and imaginary beings, allegories of the four elements and inanimate. In order to show the results clearly, the rate of usage of the concept has been presented by diagrams and samples. In the first group, the imaginary beings have the most frequency and in the second group, the most common element of the carnal soul belongs to fire.

In the passage of time, the myths influence and are influenced by the social and political events occurring at the present time. In the contemporary history of Iran, 1953 Iranian coup d’état as one the most impressive contemporary events inclined Iranian writers and novelists to notice to myths that are reflection of unconscious of Iranian people after the coup. EsmāilFasih’s Dard-e Siāvash (The Pain of Siavash), as one of the prominent novel, points to prevailing tendency to myths in those days. Employing descriptive-analytical method and mythological criticism, the present article tries to consider the themes existing in mythical literature and the resonance of the myths in the novel. The research shows that based on his personality, social situation and intellectual climate, the writer recreates characters, narrations and mythic spaces relying upon the story of Siavash in Shāhnāmeh. Esmāil Fasih designates the time of death of the hero of the story, Siavash, on 19 August 1953 (28 Mordad). By doing so, the writer identifies the hero with Mosaddegh and refers to the role of hero-killing among Iranians. In other words, he generalizes the space of the story to the whole history of Iran.

From the beginning of the creation, man seeks a way to know his creator. Appearing and development of mystical schools refers to this need. From way back, Iran has been a cradle of mysticism and culture, and the rich Persian literature has expressed ample mystical and cultural concepts. But it is necessary to review mystical doctrines to coordinate them with the ways of thinking of modern man. The teachings of Jalāl al-Din Rūmi have been inspiring for many thinkers throughout the world and we can see the traces of his ideas in some contemporary spiritual movements. In the present article, the attempt has been made to compare common themes in mystical thoughts of Rūmi and teachings of Osho. The results of the research show that many of teachings of Osho can be found in mysticism of Rūmi, and these teachings can guide the modern man to reach to spirituality and exalted mystical state.

Ethics is one the most principal concerns of humans. It determinates the limits of normal behavior and acts. No institution and profession can live without ethical concerns. Ethics has religious and mystical origin and is influenced by custom, culture, history and other social phenomena. Indeed, there is a continuous interaction among these factors that bring about changes in the principles, values and norms of society and define the characteristics of the acceptable patterns of personal and social behaviors. Professional ethics are the codes and standards that a man/woman or an organized group of people working in the same occupation must respect. Indeed, Professional ethics are process of rational thinking, its aim is to nourish the values that must be protected and spread in the society. The present article tries to study the subjects of professional ethics in the poems of Sanāī and his book Hadiqat al Haqiqa. According to him, mysticism and Sufism are means for promoting ethics, knowledge and any attempt. Anyone who considers ethical manners modifies his/her demands for other's sake, and serves to others by strengthening his/her spirituality. Sanāī insists that God, as the highest beauty, is the ultimate criterion of ethics. According to his system of thought, approximation to god, obtaining the consent of Him and accessing to social justice and freedom are the ideal of ethical codes.

Myths change from over time. Some factors like social structure, mode of production and government administration lead to changes in the nature of myths. Also religious beliefs have some interrelationships with these factors; that is, they influence and are influenced by them. In the mythology of Zoroastrianism, the myth of first man, as a part of the myth of creation, has changed in the passage of time. After settling down in Iran, Aryans reshaped the myth of the first man while considering the needs of the society and novel situation. Yameh or the first man who performed the role of the first king and ideal king, gained some of the most distinct features of the most important character in mythology of Zoroastrianism that were bestowed on him. The present article tries to study these issues.