#persian mythology

[inspofromancientworld]

Legendary Creatures: Simurgh

By Alaexis - Own work, CC BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2115489

A simurgh (سیمرغ, also spelled senmurv, simorgh, simorg, simurg, simoorg, simorq or simourv) is a Persian bird that is related to the phoenix that spans an area from Georgia, to Armenia, and the Byzantine Empire and other areas that were influenced by the Persian Empire.

By Unknown author - This file has been provided by the British Library from its digital collections.Catalogue entry: IOSM J.67, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=31453107

The word simurgh is related to the words meaning 'the bird of Saēna', a raptor, probably an eagle, falcon, or sparrowhawk as the Sanskrit śyenaḥ (श्येनः) meaning 'bird of prey'. Though it is also closely related to the phrase sī murğ (سی مرغ) that means 'thirty birds', which was used by Sufi poet Abū Ḥāmid bin Abū Bakr Ibrāhīm (c. 1145 – c. 1221; Persian: ابوحمید بن ابوبکر ابراهیم), better known by his pen-names Farīd ud-Dīn (فریدالدین) and ʿAṭṭār of Nishapur (عطار نیشاپوری) in his The Conference of the Birds as a word play.

By Nickmard Khoey - https://www.flickr.com/photos/nickmard/2887513290/in/set-72157607483985460/, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5619184

The simurgh is frequently depicted as a winged creature, large enough to carry an elephant or a whale, with the body of a peacock, head of a dog, and claws of lions. Sometimes, it has a human face. It is old enough that it 'had seen the destruction of the world three times over'. It also plunges itself into flames every 1,700 years, similar to phoenixes.

By Painting: Unknown 7th century artist.Photographer: undetermined - This file has been extracted from another file, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=95912662

They are benevolent, purifying land, bestowing fertility, mediating the union between the Earth and the sky by serving as a messenger. It lived in the Tree of Life in the middle of the world sea. When it flew away from the Tree of Life, the Tree shook so hard that it lost leaves, which became the seeds of every plant. It also expresses the divine mandate of kingship and priesthood.

By From the Sarai Albums. - http://www.ee.bilkent.edu.tr/~history/Pictures1/im16.jpg, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5760173

Abul-Qâsem Ferdowsi Tusi (940-ابوالقاسم فردوسی توسی 1019/1025), also Firdawsi or Ferdowsi (فردوسی) wrote the most famous story about the simurgh in his Shahnameh (Book of Kings). In it, a prince named Zal, son of Saam, was born albino, causing his father to cast him out, believing him to be demonic. A simurgh rescues him and raises him, teaching him wisdom as they have all knowledge. When Sal was old enough, he wanted to rejoing humanity and the simurgh and the simurgh gave him three feathers to call her should he need her help. He married a woman named Rudaba who had a difficult labor with their first child. The simurgh responded to his call for help and taught him to perform a cesarean section.

[godzillabreath]

Simurgh, the benevolent mythical bird with the dog head and the claws of a lion

[nantosueltas]

Rudabeh and Zal from the Shahnameh 🥹🫶🏼♥️✨

(I didn't read the story yet but as soon as I saw the pic in reference I had the urge to draw them bc how could I not 😭)udabeh and Zal from the Shahnameh 🥹🫶🏼♥️✨

[allmythologies]

talysh mythology: peri

peri are exquisite, winged spirits renowned for their beauty. depending on the source, they can either be there for good or for their own benefit. they are described in another reference work as mischievous beings that have been denied entry to paradise until they have completed penance for atonement.

[azural83]

I can't believe this bitch actually brings good luck

[blackcur-rants]

Ideas for albums the Mechs could have done alongside their already existing ones

01. Cyberpunk retelling of events from "The Shahnameh" wherein King Jamshid and his Chief Engineer Mirdas create a powerful super-computer called the Zahhak to help them run their city...only for it to go crazy with power and absorb all the minds of the people into itself using a virus a la The Acheron before being defeated by the heroic hackers Kaveh and Fereydun (who are probably boyfriends in The Mechanisms Universe, because why not).

02. Film Noir retelling of the Hero Twins wherein they are detectives trying to bring down the Brotherhood of Xibalba crime syndicate society that runs their city.

03. Dickens crossover universe involving Fagin and the DeFarges as rival space pirates, Cartmanay and Twistperpip as polycules, Paul Dombey running a spaceship firm, the Dorrits having to escape from a prison planet, and Miss Havisham as a cyborg with Estella as her adopted daughter/repairwoman.

04. Steampunk crossover AU of all the Bronte works featuring Jane Eyre crushing on Helen Graham and queer tension between either Heathcliff and Rochester or between Heathcliff and Arthur Huntingdon or between Rochester and Arthur Huntingdon.

05. Retelling of a classic Shakespeare play, preferably one that hasn't already been adapted a billion times already.

06. Retelling of "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" as a space opera about a war between different planets seeking to rule over the same solar system.

07. "Journey to the West" but it's about explorers on an unknown planet.

08. Polynesiian mythology retelling wherein Maui is a biio-engineer who keeps creating whole new planets and ecosystems by accident.

09. Space opera retelling of either "The Ramayana" or "The Mahabharata".

10. Russian mythology retelling about Marya Morevna and IIvan Tsarevic facing down a Koschei the Deathless who's actually a clone of King Cole alongside one of the Bogatyrs who in this retelling is in fact a former Rose Red.

11. Retelling of "Dream of the Red Chamber" wherein the house is a virtual reality computer simulation.

12. Steampunk retelling of "Les Miserables" featuring Javert as a cyborg.

13. Retelling of "War and Peace" with a Rose Red as Napoleon and Pierre trying to shoot down King Cole.

14. Sherlock Holmes but make it Film Noir.

15. Dracula or something Dracula related.

16. Snow Queen retelling.

@lady-asteria @carcosa-commune @cynicalclassicist @miralines @cinderswife

[mythologyolympics]

Mythology Olympics tournament round 1

Propaganda!

Nephthys or Nebet-Het in ancient Egyptian was a goddess in ancient Egyptian religion. A member of the Great Ennead of Heliopolis in Egyptian mythology, she was a daughter of Nut and Geb. Nephthys was typically paired with her sister Isis in funerary rites because of their role as protectors of the mummy and the god Osiris and as the sister-wife of Set. She was associated with mourning, the night/darkness, service (specifically temples), childbirth, the dead, protection, magic, health, embalming, and beer.

Anahita is the Old Persian form of the name of an Iranian goddess and appears in complete and earlier form as Aradvi Sura Anahita (Arədvī Sūrā Anāhitā), the Avestan name of an Indo-Iranian cosmological figure venerated as the divinity of "the Waters" (Aban) and hence associated with fertility, healing and wisdom. The symbol of goddess Anahita is the Lotus flower. Lotus Festival (Persian: Jashn-e Nilupar) is an Iranian festival that is held on the end of the first week of July. Holding this festival at this time was probably based on the blooming of lotus flowers at the beginning of summer.

[queer-ragnelle]

This might be a specific/niche question, but at what point in a projects lifespan do you recommend starting to shop for a sensitivity reader/editor? I know the answer is probably ‘nuance’ but idk if you have a certain take I’d be interested in hearing it since it seems like you’ve worked with a few

It highly depends on your project and what you intend to do with it. I only know how to go about acquiring sensitivity readers I paid out of pocket because I always intended to self-publish. If you plan to get an agent and query to publishers, I don't know where in there you would get sensitivity readers, if at all.

Sometimes free trades with strangers does more harm than good as people don't always take it very seriously. But it wouldn't hurt to trade feedback with a friend or writing group on a handful of chapters just to get a vibe check.

If you're going to bring someone in and pay them to give calculated criticism, you'd ideally have the entire manuscript "done." Then you order the readers by relevancy to the plot. That is, who's expertise is applicable to the most words.

So first my editor went through because sometimes entire chapters had to be rewritten. It would be a waste to have someone sensitivity read a portion which doesn't make it to the final draft anyway. The editor analyzes every word, sentence, paragraph, chapter, and manuscript carefully so it's nearly in its final form before paid readers get to it.

After the edit, I gave it to my Zoroastrian reader. Since the religion is so integral to the plot, I needed to be sure it was handled correctly. Anyone depicting real historical events or an old, lesser known culture/religion is obligated to do the best they can in depicting it sensitively and accurately, even if the story is fantasy.

Next came my Arthurian reader who gauged not only the execution of Arthurian content, but whether the Zoroastrian stuff was communicated effectively enough for someone entirely ignorant to understand.

Last came the people who were paid to read the full manuscript, but whose expertise only applied to a smaller portion of the content, such as my Jewish reader.

You will get feedback you disagree with. Leave a note for yourself and see if the next reader says the same thing or if only one person disagreed with your writing. There will be times readers don't like an entire character. You'll have to decide whether it's better to cut that character out entirely and write into the gap they left behind or ignore the advice. KEEP ORGANIZED!!!

What I do is create a new file for each of these readers while I have my "master manuscript” separate where all the changes will be applied. This way no comments on the reader's files will be "resolved" or deleted. You can always refer back to them just in case you want to reverse a change or reference what their exact advice was so you can apply it to future writing.

You can start "shopping" for these people now. Network. I got my Zoroastrian reader because I'm mutuals with a Zoroastrian blogger here on tumblr, but they couldn't do it, so they connected me with someone on Instagram who not only practices Zoroastrianism, but is a queer editor too. They fit the bill exactly to sensitivity read a story about queer Zoroastrian Ragnelle. I found my editor, who wrote his own Gawain book, from a Facebook writing group (hell). Another reader came from Discord. A second tumblr mutual took my cover commission (and read the whole book for good measure). A third tumblr mutual is formatting the inside for me. But in between all these people were, literally, dozens of duds. People who suggested more racial tension, or confused Ragnelle's brother Gromer with her Persian love interest, or said the Persian mythology was "distracting from the romance" yet seemed to take no issue with the Green Knight mythology, or tagged the instances of gender non-conformity as "unrealistic." So stay strong, keep searching, and get a contract drafted to protect yourself from thieves before you send your manuscript.

I hope that explains things! Not every writing journey will be the same, but that's how I did it. Good luck on your projects and on gathering your team! Take care. :^)

[v0ideddr3ams]

Okay after some serious analyzing of snippets, epic the musical fans who are also fans of The Final Stand musical

Do you think The Final Stand is TOO MUCH like epic and needs to sound a little bit more like it's own thing?

I saw some... VERY strong criticism on tiktok and I wanna hear something about it before I give a bit more feedback on the server

[pixiesdirt]

Two questions for Iranian/Persian tumblr users who may know Persian mythology/folklore/culture.

1. So I have been building this fantasy world for a couple years now, called Vundabar, which as the name may imply has been inspired by mainly European folklore/mythology/culture, to an extent granted because it is still an alien world in the middle of nowhere, but I was inspired by parts of the world that I wished to implement aspects of into my lil ole planet, for a world without diversity, is rather boring don't you think? I even recently created a location based on Mexico, where my family is from, but my question is if it would be alright to draw inspiration from Persian mythology/folklore/culture as influence for a location called; "The Milky Desert" where the sand is entirely made of glass, an ancient library rests underground, and small towns are scattered around. Of course I fully intend on learning a whole lot more, I know very little which takes me to my second question.

2. Would anyone care to educate me on such subjects?

Now you may be wondering why am I making this post, well my fantasy world is used for my dungeon and dragons campaigns which I run and stream on twitch/spotify! So I don't wish to appropriate I merely desire to represent. ty.

[rukiexramen]

The Fate Warden

[tatert07s]

some concept art of this helmet. both worn by the div itself, and by ‘Jack’….:>

[aquakat-draws]

Traditional art dump

These are both "simurgh", a massive mythical bird in persian mythology. All about it could be found in "shahname", a book written by a very important Iranian writer "ferdowsi".

[allmythologies]

a-z myths: sadwes (persian mythology)

sadwes is the ancient persian goddess of rain, hail, thunder, lightning and storms.

[thecrackshipawards]

The fairy who knocks on your door x The walrus who knocks on your door from that baddywronglegs poll vs Manticore from Persian mythology x Sphinx from Greek mythology

[ashitakaxsan]

Arash,you deserve So much:)

A Vital Servant in the Fate Grand Order series.Arash will give everything to help his Master and set human history on the proper path. Heroes exist to save Innocent people.

A hero of ancient persian origin,who became mainstay in the mythology of persia,today's Iran.As a warrior for King Manuchehr, who is dubbed the final king of ancient West Asia, he ended the war between the Persians and Turks that lasted 60 years,with his Great Self Sacrifice. How's that?

At he end of a long war between two countries, the enemy army of Turan sieged King Manuchehr’s army and this leads to the kings of both countries deciding to sign a peace treaty and establish their national borders. That entailed making someone climb Mount Damavand and shoot an arrow to the East from there, and the place where this arrow fell would mark the location of the national border.The only volunteer at the time was the Persian army’s best archer, Arash. During the first month of the summer, on a sunny morning of Tirgan (Persian for “summer solstice”), Arash gathered all of his strength,he streched s his bow more than ever before and shot an arrow. Most legends say the arrow kept flying the entire morning and landed at noon on the coast of the Oxus River in central Asia, 2500 km away from the shooting point.That river remained as the two countries’ border line until the 10th Century, when the Mongol armies pushed the Persian territory to the south.

He achieved this Great feat,at the cost of his Life.