This web page is devoted to fantasy and science fiction that
makes use of Persian, especially Zoroastrian mythology (see
AVESTA- Zoroastrian
Archives for translations of the original scriptures of
Zoroastrianism and extensive information about this religion).
This seems to me an interesting theme (I will try to
motivate this soon below) concerning which few web pages
already exist, and which is treated very little even in printed
works of literary research on fantasy and science fiction.
Therefore I think there is need for this web page on this subject.
So far as I have been able to find out there is only one previous
web page close to this in topic, namely
Zoroastrians
and Parsis in Science Fiction.
However, the aim of that page is rather different from the aim of this
page. That page aims to collect all science fiction and fantasy novels,
short stories and movies which make reference to Zoroastrians and Parsis
as a religious community, even when such reference is brief and occasional
and not important to the plot of the work. I will concentrate on works
in which the mythology, not the community, is used
as a prominent story element. I will also include some works in which the
community is mentioned, but only those in which the community plays a
prominent role, not those where it is mentioned casually.
This page consists after this introduction
mainly of an annotated bibliography with plot summaries, reviews and other
information about fantasy and science fiction books and short stories based
on Persian mythology. I will try to make the plot summaries such that they
do not contain too may spoiler about the conclusion of the plots,
but if this page is to be useful as a reference work spoilers cannot
be completely avoided. The bibliography is probably far from
comprehensive, though it is as full as I have been able to make it. I will
try to update it in the future. There is also a section at the very end
on Persian mythology in multimedia.
Most fantasy appearing today is based on European Medieval
and Celtic mythology. This occasionally gets wearying;
fantasy based on more exotic mythologies is
a refreshing originality. There are relatively many novels
based on Chinese and Japanese myths, though far from so many as are based
on Celtic themes, but still enough. There are even fantasy and science
fiction novels based on Egyptian themes, as can be seen at
Ancient
Egypt in Science Fiction and Fantasy, a site I recommend highly.
However, novels based on Persian mythology are more rare.
I have always found ancient Persia a fascinating place to
read about, despite its many barbarities (unlike modern Iran,
which I do not find attractive). Thus novels based on its mythology
have always attracted me, especially as I find myself responding
sympathetically to its strongly dualistic world-view.
Most fantasy literature is based on the dualistic idea of a
cosmic conflict between good and evil in which mortal
heroes must take part. Even such famous authors as Tolkien
have been said to hold a dualistic view of the world. In
fact Tolkien as a Catholic Christian of course did not do so.
Tolkien's invented mythology follows Christian monotheism as in
it all begins from One God, Eru Iluvatar, and evil is the result of
the fall of Melkor, known after his fall as the
first Dark Lord, Morgoth, as in Christianity it is the result of the
fall of Lucifer and Adam. Tolkien makes clear in the Lord of the Rigns
that even such evil beings as the orcs are not intrinsically
evil but descend from good beings (elves or men)
who were once corrupted by Morgoth.
Thus they cannot for example eat poison but subsist on the
same kind of nourishment as other creatures.
However, Tolkien's mythology,
though not ultimately dualistic, comes often close to it.
Later genre fantasy is often even more strongly dualistic,
though unlike Tolkien later writers do not try to
express their own religious convictions.
In view of the dualism prevalent in genre fantasy,
it is odd that Zoroastrianism, the paradigmatically
dualistic religion, according to which all history is a long struggle between
the good god Ahura Mazda/Ormazd and Angra Mainyu/Ahriman, the origin of evil,
has seldom been used as a basis for fantasy novels. When
it has been used, the results
are usually interesting and impressive.
I here treat Zoroastrianism as a mythology. I apologize to those
for whom it may be their living faith. I assure them that I have every
respect for their religion. I think that as a mythology it is better
expressive of the nature of the world than more famous religions like
Christianity or Islam even though I myself cannot treat it
as literally true.
There are many syncretistic religions that borrow elements from Zoroastrianism, such
as Manicheism and Sethian Gnosticism. I also list works making use of
elements from such syncretistic religions (though there are not many).
Mithraism has also been thought to be such by traditional scholars
such as Franz Cumont (see
Mysteries of Mithra).
However, newer religious scholars such as David Ulansey have denied this (see
David Ulansey's Web Page).
Whatever the truth here, in any case many fantasy writers have
believed in Cumont's interpretation,
and therefore when they refer to Mithraism they usually also refer to
Zoroastrianism, so I will also list works referring to Mithraism,
such as John Ford's The Dragon Waiting and Howard's Conan the Conqueror.
The tales of Arabian Nights, even though they are the
product of Arabic culture and Islamic in nature,
nevertheless contain many elements borrowed from Persian folklore, as Persia
was a part of the Arabian empire when the Nights were written.
Richard Burton, the famous English translator of Arabian Nights, has even
gone so far as to state that "The Fairy Tale in the Nights is
wholly and purely Persian." where Burton means with Fairy Tale stories
based upon the assumption of supernatural agency (see the Terminal
Essay appended to Burton's translation, available online at
The
Thousand Nights and a Night, volume 10). Other scholars might think that Burton
slightly exaggerates here. Nevertheless, the existence of
a prominent Persian elements in Arabian Nights is undeniable.
One might therefore even argue that all fantasy and science fiction
that uses fantasy elements borrowed from the Arabian Nights
could also be taken to be based on Persian mythology. However,
including all such works would increase the length of my bibliography
considerably, as there are far more works based on the Arabian Nights than
works based on pure Persian mythology, though nowhere as much as
works based on Celtic mythology. Also there is far more material on
fantasy based on Arabian Nights in printed works than on works based
on purely Persian mythology. Even some websites have material on fantasy
based on Arabian Nights.
Arabian Nights
and How they Happened is a good brief introduction to Arabian
Nights and art, music and literature inspired by it. The American University
in Cairo has a very good homepage (despite overemphasis on their
political aspects) on Arabian
Fantasies covering movies and TV series based on Arabian Nights. I may try to give
such a list later but now I list here only such works making
use of Arabian Nights as also derive
elements explicitly from Zoroastrianism, such as Stephen Goldin's
excellent Parsina Saga (see Parsina Press).
I only include works in which Zoroastrian influences are important.
There are many works with occasional mentions of Persian tropes.
E. g. many fantasy worlds have some analogue of Persia. In Guy Gavriel
Kay's (see Kay's official website,
Bright Weavings)
critically acclaimed Sarantium duology there is a land called Bassania that is
clearly inspired by Persia and its Sassanid dynasty. In Kay's Bassania men worship
Perun and fear Black Azal, obvious analogues of Ormazd and Ahriman.
One Zoraostrian divinity, Anahita, is actually called by (the shorter form of)
her actual name. However, no figures of Zoroastrian myth take any
active part in the story, so Kay's books do not really fit into my theme.
In the Forgotten Realms game world there is
a Persia-like land called Calimshan. No doubt there are many more examples.
Annotated Bibliography: Persian Mythology in Books and Short Stories
Bova, Ben. ORION, 1986. The first in a long series of
light science fiction (or science fantasy) time travel novels
and short stories which provide a science-fictional
rationalization for many myths. The series is based on the premise
that the gods of myth are really humans from a far future, the
Creators, who possess godlike abilities derived from genetic
engineering and high technology and have travelled back
in time to the past. With a typical time paradox, though descended from mankind,
the Creators have also brought about the birth of mankind.
The hero of the novels, O'Ryan, notices one day that he
remembers nothing of his past and starts to search for an explanation for this.
It turns out that he is Orion, the original of the hero from Greek myth,
and is an artificial human who has been created as a servant to one of the Creators,
the Golden One. The Golden One is supposed to be the original of
Ormazd (and also of the Greek god Apollo, the Egyptian god
Aten etc.). Orion travels from one time period to another,
dying in one time and place and being recreated in another, including
modern day, the Mongol court of Ogotai and stone age. In all times he
seeks to counter Ahriman's schemes to destroy mankind and the
whole space-time continuum. Ormazd has commanded him to
ultimately kill Ahriman. However, it turns out that in this book Ormazd
is an evil and (as we find out in the sequels) even insane character, while
the original of Ahriman is an originally good character who has been turned menacing by
an understandable desire for vengeance because of what Ormazd has done to his people.
This of course is a revisionary treatment which turns the Zoroastrian
scheme upside down. The later novels and short stories in the
series do not have Zoroastrian references. In them Orion meets many more
famous historical and mythical characters, including Helen of Troy, Alexander
the Great and even Beowulf and King Arthur. Central to them is the
romance between Orion and a female Creator, who is the original of the Greek
goddess Athene. The novels are good entertainment, though the later novels become
rather chaotic, with lots of messy time paradoxes. See the
Ben Bova Official Site
for some more information about the Orion books.
Burland, Harris. DACOBRA or the White Priests of Ahriman.
Originally published in 1903 and recently republished by
Wildside Press.
The subtitle of the book is unfortunately misspelled White Priests of
Ahirman on the cover of the Wildside Press edition.
An occult fantasy set in Scotland turning on an Persian legend
(apparently invented by the author) about one hundred immortal persons whose life
Ormuzd gave into the hands of Ahriman as a pledge of good faith
when negotiating with the god of evil. These White Priests of Ahriman have the power to
transfer the soul from a willing living human or an animal to a dead organism,
killing the first organism and resurrecting the second one.
They are also willing to grant the power to move one of the souls they possess around
temporarily to any person asking it who has performed enough
evil deeds and agrees to give his own soul to them after a set time.
The protagonist of the novel, Lionel Maxwell, is a sculptor and
an amateur biologist who discovers in a Paris bookstall a book written by a Deva
Dacobra about the legend of the White Priests. Lionel joins an
expedition and unsuccesfully seeks for the White Priests in the Kohrud
Mountains in Persia where they are reputed to live. Lionel then
comes to Ardrachan in Scotland to make a sculpture based on
a Zoroastrian theme. He meets a sinister scientist of Oriental
origin, calling himself Dr. Rawlins, who lives in nearby Balath Castle and seeks
to break down the barriers between life and death. Dr. Rawlins wants
Lionel to include a statue of her amnesiac daughter, Elaine Rawlins, in the sculpture.
When Lionel Maxwell's friend, Fox Faversham, comes to visit him,
Fox recognizes Elaine Rawlins to be a woman he had loved in
Spain, Alice Borrodaile, whom he had seen die and be buried.
I will not tell any more of the plot here;
the reader can probably guess some of how it goes on,
but not all of its rather clever twists.
Crawford, Francis Marion. ZOROASTER, 1885.
Now available online as a plain text version at
Project
Gutenberg and in many other formats (with illustrations), perhaps
most usefully as a LizardTech Djvu Document, at the
Internet
Archive This is mainly a historical novel (and in my view a
rather good one, though it may not be much to the contemporary
taste as it is very melodramatic and poetically told)
about the founder of Zoroastrianism by an author who
is today best known for many classical horror stories
such as "For the Blood is the Life" and "The Upper Berth".
However, like many of Crawford's historical novels this
novel has some fantastic elements. These include the biblical
miracle of the famous message that appears on the
wall of Belshazzar's palace. Zoroaster also has in the
novel various occult powers which are explained
and partly rationalized in theosophical terms.
These include an ability to create a perpetual fire that burns without any heat.
Crawford's interpretation of Zoroastrianism also follows theosophical lines.
Zoroaster is represented as a Persian prince who is a subject
of the famous Persian king Darius and a pupil of the Hebrew
prophet Daniel. This portrayal is of course historically
dubious - while it is debated exactly when Zoroaster has
lived, not many scholars think today that he would be this recent.
Against the will of Daniel, Zoroaster and the Hebrew princess Nehushta fall in love.
After Daniel dies prophesying that Zoroaster will fall into
misfortunes because of his love, Darius summons Zoroaster
to serve him in Istakhar, i. e. Persepolis.
Unfortunately, king Darius also falls in love with
Nehushta while the villainous wife of Darius, queen Atossa, falls
in love with Zoroaster. All the elements are then in place for a
classic tragedy that ultimately leads Zoroaster to live as a hermit
in solitude where he gains mystical wisdom (together with
the mentioned occult powers) which leads him to become a religious reformer.
The novel has a very tragic ending with a strong religious
message of hope for a life beyond the grave.
Dick, Philip K.. THE COSMIC PUPPETS, 1957. First published in
the magazine Satellite in 1956 under the title "A Glass of Darkness".
Philip K. Dick is mainly known as a science fiction writer, though
his science fiction is not particularly hard;
however, this novel is pure fantasy. As Ted Barton returns after many years
to the town where he spent his childhood, Millgate, he finds it strangely changed.
The town has become a battleground for Ormazd and Ahriman, who have taken
human form. Armaiti appears also, one of the seven Bounteous Immortals,
the greatest gods or archangels below Ormazd
in Zoroastrianism. Dick treats her as the daughter of Ormazd.
Ford, John M.. THE DRAGON WAITING, 1983. An alternate history fantasy
about an Europe threatened by the Byzantine Empire in a world where
Julian the Apostate succeeded in restoring paganism.
Goldin, Stephen. "In the Land of Angra Mainyu". A short story contained
in the collection NAMELESS PLACES, edited by Gerald W. Page, Arkham House, 1975.
Part of Goldin's Angel in Black series. The Angel in Black is a magical pendant
that hangs about the unnamed protagonist's neck. A simurgh comes to ask the protagonist for help,
as Zohak, who should not escape his captivity before the end of the world,
is prematurely loose. The protagonist must enter the subterranean depths beneath
Mount Demavand to rescue a hero seduced by a Druj that has taken
the guise of a beautiful woman, as the hero can help him to recapture Zohak.
We will see that other writers like Harlan and Grant also use the character
of Zohak. However, the name of this mythical villain is spelt in
many different ways and there are different versions of his myth.
Goldin actually uses in this story a later version that comes from
Shah
Nameh, the Persian national epic that was written down in Islamic times,
though most of the mythical elements in Goldin's story are from pre-Islamic times.
In the Shah Nameh version Zohak is treated as an essentially human being with
serpents (that have to be fed with the brains of babies) growing from his
shoulders which Iblis has kissed, while in the Zoroastrian writings
he is a three-headed dragon. Goldin uses this earlier version of the
myth in his Parsina Saga.
Goldin, Stephen. THE PARSINA SAGA: Shrine of the Desert Mage,
The Storyteller and the Jann, Crystals of Air and Water and The Treachery
of the Desert Mage. An epic four-novel fantasy series set in the land of Parsina,
a fantasy analogue of Persia. The first
three books of the series were published by Bantam in 1980s and
the last book was published (and the first three republished) by e-Reads in 2002.
Most of the figures of Persian myth appear in this series with
names that are only slightly altered from the originals:
e. g. Ahriman is called Rimahn in this series. Nevertheless, this series
is still secondary world fantasy and not historical fantasy or an
alternate history fantasy such as Harlan's series discussed below; Goldin's world of
Parsina is a fullfledged secondary world, like Middle-Earth or Narnia. Goldin
combines Persian Mythology with elements from the Arabian Nights -
a quite natural combination, if the fantasy elements of the
Nights are as Burton claims derived from Persia. The combination is
almost seamless, which is testament to Goldin's writing skills. Goldin tells
he has also been inspired by the Broadway musical Kismet
and by Ray Harryhausen's Sinbad movies - a Sinbad-like captain El-Hadar appears
in the last novels. It is nice to see a truly epic fantasy making
good use of the Arabian Nights setting; most fantasy novels based on Arabian Nights
tend to be humorous. The plot of the novels is not as original
as the setting; some might even say it is cliched, but though the elements
are tried and true, they are handled in a vivid way so that they seem like new.
The style is not quite sufficiently poetic for the theme either,
being a bit prosaic, though it is swift-moving and always clear.
However, the characters are well drawn. Hakem Rafi, a thief,
accidentally steals from a temple in the holy city of Ravan
a jewelled urn in which Aeshma, king of daevas, is imprisoned.
Hakem Rafi frees the demon from his imprisonment, making it swear
to serve the petty thief as long as he lives.
At the same time, the widow of the late king Shunnar,
Shammara, is leading a conspiracy to usurp the kingship of Ravan
from the crown prince Ahmad for her son, the feeble-minded
younger prince Haroun. Shammara is even ready to make a pact with
worshippers of Ahriman to gain her ends. The storyteller
Jafar al-Sarif and his daughter Selima are
by an unhappy concidence (typical of the Nights)
suspected of the theft of the urn, which brings them into the attention of Akar,
a powerful, amoral wizard who wants the urn for himself.
To save his and his daughter's life, Jafar must pretend to be a
wizard himself. The deception becomes reality, as he steals from Akar a Jann
servant Cari and a magic carpet and begins to gain magic powers. The paths of
Jafar and Ahmad meet at the Shrine of Sarafiq, where the
prophet Muhmad tells them that in order to save the world,
Jafar, Selima and Ahmad must reassemble the Crystal of
Oromasd, which was once used to defeat the forces of
evil by the legendary mage Ali Maimun,
and was divided by him into four pieces. These pieces serve
in this series as what the Encyclopedia of Fantasy
calls plot coupons. The last of them is guarded by the three-headed
dragon Azhi Dahaka; here Goldin uses an older version ot the same myth
he used in the short story above. Meanwhile Ahmad must
gather an army to fight the evil empire that Aeshma is building for
Hakem Rafi, while the demon waits for the thief to die so that he might seize
the reins of power and destroy mankind.
See Parsina Press for further
information and free reading samples.
Harlan, Thomas. THE OATH OF EMPIRE SERIES: The Shadow of Ararat,
The Gate of Fire, The Storm of Heaven and The Dark Lord. An epic
alternate world fantasy about a war between the Eastern and Western
Roman Empires and the Persian Empire in what would
be A. D. 600 in our world, set in a world where the Roman Empire never fell.
The plot of this series is so complex that only a cursory summary is possible here.
Another prominent theme of the series besides the war is a spell
cast long ago and sustained by the legionaires's oath of loyalty that protects the
Roman Empire but stifles its progress. Maxian, a prince of the
Roman Empire and priest of the healer god Asclepius,
discovers the existence of this spell, the eponymous Oath of the Empire,
and starts a private campaign to free Rome from it - a quest that
leads him to employ unlawful arts of necromancy and resurrect the
dead heroes Alexander the Great and Julius Ceasar to help him.
The main villain of the series is the evil sorcerer Azi Dahak,
who is taken from Zoroastrian mythology. He is in fact the
same as the Zohak mentioned in Goldin's
short story. Harlan treats Dahak rather freely, though; so far as I know
Azi Dahak was never characterized as a sorcerer in any traditional
version of his story. As the war goes badly for the Persians, they come to rely
more and more on the evil magic of Dahak, who becomes the true leader of
the Persian Empire. The Oath of Empire novels blend elements
of Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos with Persian mythology and other historical
mythologies (Graeco-Roman mythology, Hermeticism etc.). Such Cthulhu Mythos
monsters as byakhees appear as allies of Dahak and Great Old Ones from the Mythos
are alluded to. Many historical figures appear as characters in this
series, including for example Zenobia, Queen of Palmyra,
and even Mohammed, the historical founder of Islam. The Palmyrans are at first allies
of the Roman Empire, but as the Romans abandon them to the Persians
they turn against them, and the followers of Mohammed
join them. The novels are definitely among the best alternate
world fantasies and even more surely among the best recently published epic
fantasies. They easily beat the latest snail-paced Robert Jordan novel! See
Oath of Empire website
for lots of further information and reading samples.
Havewala, Porus Homi. THE SAGA OF THE ARYAN RACE I - V,
1995 and 2003. While this series of books is intended as historical
fiction, it reads much like fantasy to all
those who are not Zoroastrians themselves, as historians would
not be very happy with its accuracy. A sample (first 11 chapters)
is found online at Traditional Zoroastrianism
Home Page. The first book tells of the migration of the
Aryans to Iran, when their legendary homeland at the North Arctic region,
Airyanam Vaejo, which used to be warmer than today, becomes uninhabitable
when its climate turns too cold. The migration faces such difficulties
as attacking mammoths. The tale of the migration is interspersed with
the love story of the Ratheshtar (warrior) Peshotan and the girl Yasmin.
Howard, Robert E..
CONAN
THE CONQUEROR. Originally published in the legendary fantasy
and horror magazine WEIRD TALES in 1935 and 1936 under the title
"The Hour of the Dragon" and reprinted often since then (by Gnome Press in 1950,
by Berkely in 1977, by Donald Grant in 1989, etc.); now available online.
This is the only novel Howard, the main founder of the Sword and Sorcery subgenre
of fantasy, wrote about his most famous character Conan, a
barbarian warrior. The novel is definitively one of the basic classics of
fantasy. It features centrally some elements derived from
Zoroastrianism. Central to the novel is a magical jewel
called the Heart of Ahriman, named after the Zoroastrian demon Ahriman.
Conan is at the beginning of the novel the king of Aquilonia, but
he has many enemies, both in the rival kingdom of Nemedia and among
Aquilonian nobles who do not like to see a barbarian on the throne.
Conspiring together, these enemies have the Heart of Ahriman stolen
from a crypt below the temple of Mitra and use it
to resurrect the dead sorcerer Xaltotun from the ancient
sorceror kingdom of Acheron. With the aid of Xaltotun, Conan's
kingdom is taken from him, and his only
hope to regain it, the priests of Asura tell him, is to
find the jewel and use it against Xaltotun.
Paradoxically the novel states that the jewel "came from some far universe
of flaming light", though it is named after the Zoroastrian god of darkness. However,
the jewel does also have sinister aspects; it is powered by blood and
tends to cause bloodshed around it. The novel also mentions the god Mitra worshipped by the
Hyborian states such as Aquilonia; this
imaginary divinity is clearly inspired by the historical god Mitra
(also spelled Mithra) worshipped by a Roman mystery cult,
who may have been derived from the Zoroastrian (and Hindu)
god Mithra. The Hyborian Mitra was first alluded to in Howard's first short
story about Conan, "The Phoenix in the Sword". The conflict between
Mitra and the Stygian serpent-god Set in Conan's Hyborian
world is very similar to the conflict between
Ohrmazd and Ahriman in Zoroastrianism; its strong dualism (Mitra being good
and Set evil) forms an interesting exception in Conan's world, as most of its divinities
are amoral. This makes it likely that Howard was also inspired by Zoroastrianism
in creating this part of his Hyborian world. It is also significant
here that some classical authors such as Plutarch (whom Howard may well
have read) identified Ahriman with the Egyptian god Seth, who is clearly an
inspiration for the Stygian god Set; Stygia is supposed to be a prehistoric
preedecessor of Egypt. In the novel there appears also an Eastern god
Asura, who may have been inspired in part by the main Zoroastrian divinity
Ahura Mazda (though he is probably also inspired by the Hindu god Varuna
mentioned in the Vedas; Howard's Asura is worshipped in the Hyborian nation
Vendhya, which is supposed to be the prehistoric version of India).
It must also be mentioned that in Howard's Hyborian world there is also a
Persia-like land called Iranistan as well as a land named after the legendary foes
of Persia, Turan.
See
Robert-E-Howard Electronic Amateur Press Association for more on
Robert E. Howard. See also
the entry on
Asura in the Unofficial Handbook of the Marvel Universe
for reflections on the appearance of Howard's Asura in the Marvel
comics adapting or inspired by Howard's Conan stories.
Howard, Robert E.. "Black Wind Blowing". A short story which originally appeared
in 1936 in THRILLING MYSTERY and has been reprinted a few times, most recently in
GRAVEYARD RATS AND OTHERS by Wildside
Press, a collection of Howard's detective tales. Emmett Glanton,
a young Texas rancher, gets a great surprise
when his neighbour John Bruckman who holds a mortgage on Glanton's
ranch summons him to his house and tells him that
he will get the mortgage and a thousand dollars if he agrees to immediately
marry his niece Joan. It turns out eventually that Joan is sought by an evil cult,
the Black Brothers of Ahriman (of which Bruckman has been a member), for
human sacrifice. This short story is somewhat peripheral to the theme of this bibliography
as its only connections to Zoroastrianism and its only
fantastic elements are this cult. Bruckman tells in the story that Ahriman is the Lord of Fire -
something he certainly not is in Zoroastrianism, which holds fire to be holy
while Ahriman is according to it the very opposite. However, the cult are surely
depicted as vile and cruel enough to be worshippers of the
source of all evil. For a longer review of this story, see
Dr Hermes Reviews.
Iliowizi, Henry. "The
Mystery of Damavant" and "The Fate of Arzemia",
two short stories that are part of the collection of short stories based on
oriental subjects THE
WEIRD ORIENT, published in 1900 by a Russian-born hebrew Rabbi,
now found online at Horror Masters.
"The Mystery of Damavant" tells of the sad last days of the famous Persian
poet Firdusi, author of Persia's national epic, the Shah Nameh. The Fate of Arzemia tells of the fall of
the Sasanian Empire. Both stories are mostly historial fiction rather than fantasy;
however, both also contain some fantasy material, especially the first, in which
Firdusi visits a hermit, Almanzor, who dwells in seclusion in the mountain Damavant
and is granted a vision by the hermit. The second story contains an unnervingly accurate
prophetic dream of misfortunes to come dreamed by Chosroes Nushirvan on the
day his daughter Arzemia is born, confirmed by similarly accurate
astrological prophecies given independently of each other by three Magi, inlcuding
the high-priest high-priests, the Zarathustrotema. In fact also many of the stories in the collection
that are not expliclty based on Persian material may have a Persian origin, for
Iliowizi tells in his preface that the stories have
been based on material accumulated during his residence in Tetuna, Morocco and that
he is most indebted for the mass of his material to a Parsee, Yakoub Malek
(a Parsee by birh, though according to Iliowizi he had converted first to Buddhism and
then to Islam). The stories in THE WEIRD ORIENT that are not based on Persian material contain more
explicit fantasy elements, such as Jinns, Peris etc. and one story even has Greek and Norse gods
warring with each other (revealed to be a dream in the end). The collection as a whole,
though sadly forgotten today, is certainly one of the very best collections of fantasy
stories with an oriental theme ever published.
Khamsehpour, Baktash. "Meeting Mazdak", "Year 8800 A.Z." and "Epic of Future",
two science fiction short stories and one narrative poem online at the
Iranian Futurism
website. "Meeting Mazdak" tells of Arman Payman, a reporter in the future, who intends to
use the Zurvanvand, a time machine, to go back in time to the days of the
Sasanian Empire in order to interview Madak, the famous Persian revolutionary and
religious reformer, often considered one of the first socialists in the world.
"Year 8800" tells of Anahita Afsab, a superscientist of the
89th century, who discovers that she is genetically identical with
the original Anahita, a historical figure who is worshipped as a
goddess or angel in Zoroastrianism, and meets her.
"Epic of Future" is a verse epic about interstellar wars in the future.
Moorcock, Michael. "The Greater Conqueror". An early short
story by Moorcock which first appeared during the 1950s or 1960s in the magazine SF
ADVENTURES and has been included in many collections of Moorcock's short
stories including EARL AUBEC, Orion Paperbacks, 1997
and DYING FOR TOMORROW (MOORCOCK'S BOOK OF MARTYRS)
and SINGING CITADEL. Simon of Byzantium tries
to join the army of Alexander the Great. Meeting Alexander, he sees Alexander's
personality change suddenly from a pleasant, practical soldier to a manifestation
of evil and incurs Alexander's wrath. Simon is rescued by the Magi who ask
his aid, among them the apparently thousand years old Abaris. It turns out
that Alexander is possessed by Ahriman, though the practical Simon has a
hard time in believing in this or in anything supernatural. Interestingly
a recent duology by David Gemmell, composed of LION OF MACEDON and DARK
PRINCE, uses pretty much the same basic plot idea of Alexander being possessed
by an evil demon, though in Gemmel's hands the idea is of course developed
differently as well as at much greater length. Gemmel, however, does not identify the
demon possessing Alexander as Ahriman nor make much use of the magi. It is an interesting question
(which I cannot answer) whether this a matter of influence
or just coincidence? The Greater Conqueror foreshadows Moocock's later Eternal
Champion series slightly. Its world is dualistic, however, unlike the world
of the Eternal Champion stories, where neither of the opposing forces of
Lords of Order and Lords of Chaos is wholly good or evil. However, Simon
of Byzantium already says that mankind would be better off without any gods
at all, and here he foreshadows manifestations of the Champion like Corum,
who actually frees mankind from all gods in many universes of Moorcock's
multiverse. See Moorcock's Weekly Miscellany
for more information on Moorcock.
Rohmer, Sax FIRE-TONGUE.
One in a series of novels and short stories featuring Rohmer's
detective hero Paul Harley; first published in 1920 and 1921 in the magazine COLLIER'S
and often reprinted; now available online at
Project Gutenberg and at
Internet Archive.
As noted surgeon Charles Abingdon asks for help from Paul Harley,
Harley faces a conspiracy of a cult of Persian fire-worshippers
led by the mysterious Fire-Tongue. These fire-worshippers
are not called Zoroastrians in the book; however, they are linked
to Zoroastrianism as their headquarters are said to be in a
secret City of Fire that according to legend was built by Zoroaster.
This novel is somewhat peripheral to the theme of this bibliography
as its only connections to Zoroastrianism and its only
fantastic elements are this cult and
this City of Fire; however, I mention this novel since these
elements are central to its story. Like most of Rohmer's books,
this is an entertaining read; however,
like many of Rohmer's books, it is marred by serious racism. Rohmer
is best known for his stories about Doctor Fu-Manchu,
a Chinese master criminal. These books have been with some
reason accused of racism, though Fu-Manchu is not a
wholly negative stereotype; though ruthless, he is also shown in the books
as honorable and intelligent (the movies made from
the books unfortunately usually leave out the honourable part).
Fire-Tongue, however, is even more clearly
racist than the Fu-Manchu books; the main Persian villain of
the novel, the eponymous Fire-Tongue, is shown as a very
typical and strongly negative stereotype
of Persians, being "effeminate", deceitful
and lecherous (with rapist tendencies) and there are
no sympathetic Persians in the story. See
The Page of Fu-Manchu
for more about Rohmer.
Tierney, Richard E.. "The Fire of Mazda". A short story
about Tierney's series character Simon of Gitta, or Simon Magus.
Originally published by Orion Press in 1984 and reprinted in
THE SCROLL OF THOTH, a collection published in 1997
by Chaosium Inc..
Simon's mentor, Dositheus, tries to bring about the fall of the
Roman Empire by offering a blasphemous human sacrifice to
the Roman Emperor Tiberius and thus bringing the wrath of the
offended gods down on the Roman Empire. The Zoroastrian fire-god
(or fire-angel) Atar appears in the story. The
Simon of Gitta stories are sword and sorcery stories influenced by Robert E. Howard,
but (unlike Howard's stories of Conan) set in a historical time period. Simon of
Gitta is based on a historical figure mentioned (derisively) in the Bible,
a religious thinker who was apparently one of the founders of
Gnosticism, a syncretistic and usually dualistic religious movement that
Christians thought heretical. The stories take place
in the days of the Roman Empire; Simon meets Jesus
in an unpublished novel by Tierney, where Jesus is revealed to be the son of Yog-Sothoth!
The tales of Simon of Gitta belong to the tales of Lovecraft's
Cthulhu Mythos and in my view are among the very best of Cthulhu Mythos tales.
Tierney has combined the ideas of Cthulhu Mythos with Gnosticism, a quite
appropriate combination as there are significant similarities; Lovecraft's idiotic
creator god Azathoth is very similar to the Gnostic moronic demiurge
Ialdabaoth. Tierney identifies Azathoth not with Ialdabaoth but
with his mother Achamoth. Azathoth is also identified (peculiarly)
with the Zoroastrian Azdahak, the same as the Zohak or Azi Dahak
we have already encountered. Goldin's and Harlan's versions of the character
are closer to the original, where Azi Dahak is a powerful
man or monster but not a god of evil; with Tierney
Azdahak seems to replace or be identified with Ahriman.
More in the spirit of Gnosticism than of Zoroastrianism,
which is usually theistic in that it holds the distinction
between man and God to be sharp, Tierney postulates that
the Ultimate God, Mazda, fell under the power of Azdahak,
and was splintered into many True Spirits who incarnate as
human beings. Simon is one of these True Spirits
imprisoned in the world of matter as is the woman he
has loved in many incarnations, Helen (whom Dositheus tries to sacrifice). Other
tales of Simon of Gitta also contain minor Zoroastrian references. See
Reader's
Guide to the Cthulhu Mythos
for an introduction to the Cthulhu Mythos and
Gnostic Society Library for
information on Gnosticism.
Persian Mythology in Multimedia
Computer Games
The real-time fantasy strategy game KOHAN:IMMORTAL SOVEREIGNS
published in 2001 by Timegate Studios uses elements from Persian mythology.
The background story mentions Ormazd and Ahriman. However, Ormazd is not
in that story the supreme divinity but only one of the ten Saadya who
advise the Creator when he decides to create a new world, Khaldun.
However, in the spirit of dualism there is also a force of
evil opposed to the Creator, the Shadow. The game tells of
the Kohan, a race of immortals created to rule
and guide Khaldun. When slain, the Kohan merely fall into a long
sleep from which they can be awakened again.
In the aftermath of a series of cataclysms caused by the Shadow, the Kohan
wake to a sadly altered world and must seek for clues to what
has happened while fighting the forces of evil, including the Ceyah, Kohan who
have turned to the side of the Shadow. Kohan had a sequel which may be easier
to find today, KOHAN II:KINGS OF WAR. See
the official site for the game and
The Awakening, a fan
site for the game.
The computer role-playing game Lionheart: Legacy of the Crusader
has some references to Zoroastrianism; one of the locales
in it is the Lair of Azi-Dahaka. The game is one of the
less popular games by the famous studio Bioware, which
has made some of the most popular computer role-playing games in recent times.
The story of the game is very original and good, but the gameplay is
not as good, being somewhat repetitive and frustrating.
The story of the game is a rare example in computer games of the
alternate world fantasy genre which Harlan's and Ford's books
which are discussed above represent in literature.
According to the background story in the 12th century
Richard the Lion-heart is tricked by a disguised demon to
perform an evil ceremony of blood sacrifice which unleashes magic to
the world in an event called the Disjunction. The game story itself begins in
the sixteenth century in Barcelona, Spain and then ranges over
Europe and even visits Persia. The player characer can have
as symbiotic relationship with a spirit which can be
elemental, demonic or bestial. Elemental spirits are
identified with Amesha Spentas. See
Lionheart Chronicles
for more on the game.
The popular Prince of Persia games have been mainly based on the Arabian Nights,
but some names of magical potions and weapons (such as Dahaka's Blood
and Atar's Fiery Messenger) in the third game in the series, PRINCE OF PERSIA 3D
(Red Orb Entertainment, 1999) are derived from
Zoroastrian names. The upcoming seventh Prince of Persia game (sometimes called
the fourth as the oldest games are not taken into account, though the new games would
never have been created were it not for the original classics) seems to
have greater Zoroastrian content. The battle between Ohrmazd and Ahriman as
the very basis of its story line, though with details naturally changed from
the original myths (with Ahriman being imprisoned in a tree etc.). The homepage of the game is
here.
A HD preview of the game story can be viewed
here. More
information after the game is released (especially after I find the
money to update my computer so that I can play it:)).
There is an obscure real-time strategy game with a fantasy theme
named Persian Wars, but it is based wholly on Arabian Nights, with
bedouins, ghouls and amazons (!) fighting for possession of Solomon's ring.
The japanese Final Fantasy console role-playing games have a character
called Ahriman, but I amn not sure how much connection it has to persian mythology.
Role-playing games
Some supplements to role-playing games describe gods and demons from existing
mythologies so that they may be used in role-playing campaigns.
Some of them use also Persian myths, though most restrict themselves to
more commonly known mythologies. For example, a supplement to
Palladium's
role-playing game RIFTS, Rifts Conversion Book Two: PANTHEONS OF THE MEGAVERSE,
describes and gives stats for gods from many mythologies, including
the Persian. The game is set in a universe where the gods of all the pantheons
coexist. There are probably other examples.
Below you can see a portrayal of Ahura Mazda from Pantheons of the Megaverse.
Television
The popular humorous TV fantasy series XENA: WARRIOR PRINCESS
had the two episodes THE DELIVERER
and GABRIELLE'S HOPE, where Zoroastrian mythology came to play.
More information about first episode can be found at
Whoosh
and a video commentary at YouTube.
The series was originally based on a humorous treatment of Greek mythology, but eventually introduced
other mythologies such as the Norse pantheon, Hindu gods (which some Hindus protested
about) and even Christian angels into the mix.
These episodes introduced the Zoroastrian figure Dahak into the series. Oddly, Ahriman
is never mentioned, but Dahak seems to be
treated as an evil god similar to Ahriman himself, just as in Tierney's literary
version. Ohrmazd is not mentioned, and there are no Zoroastrians in the show, just
worshippers of Dahak. These worshippers are treated like a Satanistic cult (however,
the Christian devil Lucifer appears later in the series and is treated as a
figure separate from Dahak). Indeed, these episodes draw heavily on
imagery anb tropes from such classical horror movies as Rosemary's Baby and
the Omen-series and the Exorcist-series. The Greek gods
themselves are worried about the cult and about the growing power of the evil
god Dahak. The audience is intentionally misled at first to think that
the cultists are Jews or Christians, because they seem to have a monotheistic religion. Xena
shares this misconception. When Xena and her sidekick Garielle travel to Britain to help Boadicea
fight against Julius Caeasar, the cultists of Dahak trick Gabrielle into killing one of them, so
losing her innocence. Dahak then mystically impregnates Garielle, in
effect raping her. This results in the birth of Hope, an innately evil child
similar to Rosemary's baby. Hope becomes a recurring character in the series,
killing Xena's son Solon in the episode MATERNAL INSTINCTS and dying, but returning from the dead
in later episodes like SACRIFICE. These episodes were crucial to the
series, since they were the darkest in the whole series so far and marked
a turn of the series in a more serious direction (IMHO a change for the better, though
some fans of the series have a different opinion), though comedy episodes
still remained common. Therefore though
the use of Zoroastrian mythology in Xena was very infrequent, it was a
crucial element for the series.
Dahak also appeared in the series HERCULES: THE LEGENDARY JOURNEYS by the
same producers in the episodes FAITH, DARKNESS RISING, LET THERE BE LIGHT and REDEMPTION. See
for example Get Critical
for reviews of these episodes. In these episodes Dahak caused the death of, then
resurrected and possessed Iolaus, Hercules's sidekick
when the two travelled to Sumeria to help its king.
A character called Zarathustra, called after the Zoroastrian
prophet himself, appeared in the latter two of these episodes.
However, this character bore little resemblance to the prophet; he was
a man whom Dahak had made kill his family and cursed with immortality.
If Parsees had noticed this portrayal, they might have been as offended by it
as the Hindus were by the portrayal of their region in Xena!
This Zarathustra did serve the role of teacher to Hercules, however,
and did present dualistic ideas - the world is said to be divided
between powers of creation and destruction - but the aim is to
restore a balance between them, not secure a victory for one side, as in Zoroastrianism.
In these episodes Dahak is treated as a parody of a charismatic religious leader, but
the object of the parody is somewhat confused. Dahak's cult has features that
seem parodical of fundamentalist Christianity, but Dahak also quotes the
noted occultist Crowley.
The anime ALEXANDER SENKI - translated as REIGN THE CONQUEROR - based on a novel
by a great japanese science fiction writer Hiroshi Aramata, and written by
Sadayuki Murai, also mentions Zoroaster and Zoroastrianism. This anime had some
Western involvement in its creation, with Peter Chung, the creator of Aeon Flux. This is an
alternate historical fantasy (of a genre sometimes called sandalpunk, in analogy
with steampunk, since in it ancient civilizations like the Greeks and Persians,
possess advanced technology). The basic plot idea has similarities with the works by Moorcock and
Gemmel mentioned above; Alexander is a half-demonic being, destined to destroy the world but trying
to struggle against this destiny. As in Moorcock's short story, the Persian priests, the Magi,
are (along with other mystical orders such as the Pythagoreans) among those fighting
against the destruction of the world, following an ancient prophecy by Zoroaster.
This is a great anime series (despite very unusual and somewhat odd character designs
by Chung), with strong roots in actual history though strongly
fantasticated. If only someone would translate Aramata's novel to some western
language!
Comics
The four-issue comic series TWILIGHT MAN (published by First Publishing in 1989
and written by Steven Grant and illustrated by Tristan Schane and
Eric Vincent) uses Zoroastrian themes. It also uses many other
mythologies (e. g. the Greek god Pan makes a very unpleasant
appearance in it) but Zoroastrian elements are
prominent in it. The comic is based on the atheistic premise that mankind is better
off without any gods at all. The title character Mick Kincaid inherits from
his father the family duty of being an enemy of gods, the Twilight Man,
together with mystical artifacts to help him do the job. Mick's
father tells him that for 10 000 years Tyrant Gods ruled the world. Then a
thousand years ago, an Irish magician,
Machain Iar, gathered magicians from over the world and they banished
all the gods from the world in a great battle. Mick is a
descendant of Machain Iar, with the duty to prevent the return of the gods.
Mick naturally thinks his father is crazy. However, when
Mick helps to write a movie script and includes in it an invocation to Ahriman
the evil god is really summoned (an accident involving atomic power
helps here too) and Mick finds out he was badly mistaken.
He must now begin a desparate fight where he can pray for no god's help.
Ohrmudz and the Zoroastrian messiah Saoshyans also appear in the comic, as does
Dahak, who should by now be familiar to the readers of this website.
The comic is in my view one of the best uses of mythology in comics. See
here for an amazing splash
page showing Schane's and Vincent's view of Ohrmudz fghting
Dahak (here portrayed as a three-headed dragon,
as he was in Zoroastrian writings, rather than the more human version
of Shah Nameh) and Ahriman, possessing a satanist.
Most other references to Persian mythology in comics are very
minor. E. g. DC Comics's wizard-superhero Doctor Fate
(the original Nabu-Kent Nelson version)
occasionally swore in the name of Ohrmazd or called upon Ohrmazd
in his invocations together with - oddly enough - Egyptian
deities like Osiris and Ra (see an example
here, from Secret Origins 24,
1988, written by Roy Thomas and drawn by Michael
Bair and Bob Downs). Both the Persian and Egyptian gods are taken
to be Lords of Order in this comic, a notion probably inspired by Moorcock's
Eternal Champion stories.
