From Rapihwin to Syavash: A Mythological Analysis of Syavash Story

Document Type : Research Article

Author

• Ghaemi Farzad

10.22067/jls.v46i4.25298

Abstract

In the prehistoric cultures, the annual ritual of death and re-birth of the vegetation god is a fundamental myth of the tragic romance about the relationship between the god and the fertility goddess or her human counterpart and her mate: the martyr lord- hero. Such accounts are closely linked with the early man’s thoughts concerning time cycle, the cyclical sequence of the calendar and the belief in the repeatability of the nature’s cycle of death and birth. These narratives have a universal pattern and in Persian epic poetry are connected with the story of Syavash and Sudabeh, primarily originating from the mythological account of the same story. The story is connected with the myth of Rapihwin’s descent into the underground (along with Winter) and his role in the preservation of nature, the warmth of waters and the fertility of earth and his subsequent return (along with Spring and rejuvenation of nature). The first part of this pattern is comparable with migration and mortality of Syavash and the second part with the return of Kai Khosrow.

Keywords

• Syavash
• Rapihwin
• annual rituals of death and rebirth
• vegetation god
• Nowruz
• fertility goddess
• Kai Khosrow

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