Mytho-Mystic Literature
Year:2010 | Volume:6 | Issue:18|Papers Count:9

By considering the two archetypes of "mountain - cave" and "circle" in Persian mythology and Ferdowsi's epic, Shāhnāmeh, the present article attempts to study the Milad Tower, the tallest tower in Iran, in order to see the impressions of the above mentioned archetypes in it. Its stucture, head stucture and revolving restaurant are inspected with respect to these archetypes.

Artists, poets and mystics use Language of Symbols to convey artistic and abstract concepts. Paulo Coelho in his allegorical novel, The Alchemist, uses such terms as the spirit of the world, the language of spirit, personal dream, Love and the like. Closer study of his works shows that he is familiar with Islamic mysticism.The influence of Islamic mysticism on his works is the subject of the present article.

Ashī is a pre-Zoroastrian divinity. In the Gathas, it is still an abstract concept and not yet a divinity, and implies both material and spiritual recompense. In the younger Avesta, Ashī appears as the goddess of fertility; in the Middle Persian, it is also referred to as aši/arti, (Aši vaηuhī, nominative Ašiš vaηuhī "Good Reward").The present article tries to study the role of Ashī in ancient Iran.

Rābiah al - Adawiyya al-Qaysiyya or Rābiah al - Basrī (717-801), the first Muslim female Sufi saint, had a profound influence on later Sufis. She was the first to set forth the doctrine of Divine Love.In her unorthodox approach, she explores the narcissistic symptoms and the Divine Love. The present article tries to show that, as in her case, tendency towards mysticism can be a result of alienation from worldly affairs.

Golshan-e Rāz (Garden of Secrets) is a collection of poems written in the 14th century by Sheikh Mahmud Shabestarī (1288-1340). It is considered to be one of the greatest classical Persian works of the Islamic mystical tradition.Shabestarī uses the figures of speech to express mystical ideas. At first, to compare abstract and real concepts, simile is used. Then, the metaphor and symbol to state mystical intuitions are employed. And finally, he takes amphiboly and paradox for explaining complicated concepts.The present article tries to show the aesthetical aspects of Golshan-e Rāz.

Plato's rejection of Poetry and Aristotle's ideas on poetry, instigated a literary discussion in which "commitment" and "performance" have been two controversial topics. Homer's Iliad is one of the first works that has been studied from this point of view.A discussion of commitment and performance requires a consideration of two elements, namely, the writer's intentions and conditions of the era.The present article tries to make comparisons of Ilad and Shānāmeh.

In Iranian mythology, metal is a scared and divine element. According to Zoroastrian texts, the stuggle between good and evil beings when man, with his conduct, takes sides and participates. The end will come when the molten metal purifies all men and brings about the complete exclusion of evil.The present paper tries to show the role of metal in Iranian mythological texts.