Myth Madness

This episode (72) continues my retelling of the Garshaspnama epic poem. After returning home from India, Garshasp visits his overlord, the tyrant Zahhak, to present the numerous riches he acquired on his journey East. He then travels west to the land of Rum, a mythological version of the Roman and Byzantine Empires, where he hopes to marry a beautiful princess. Finally, Garshasp comes to the rescue of his father Athrat and faces the enemy army of Kabul.

In this section of the Garshaspnama, Garshasp and his Iranian troops embark on a naval voyage of “India”. This India is an exotic magical place. A place of strange people, marvellous sights, and miracles as imagined by the medieval Persians.

This episode (70) continues with the next part of the Garshaspnama. Previously, Garshasp faced a dragon which blocked passage to India. With the dragon slain, and the path to India clear, it is only natural that Garshasp’s next adventures will be in India as he battles against warlords and embarks on conquest.

This episode (69) introduces my retelling of the Garshaspnama, a Persian epic poem completed around 1066 AD. This work was likely inspired by the earlier Shahnameh but focuses on a completely different story. The Garshaspnama covers the exploits of a hero named Garshasp who is almost completely absent from the Shahnameh but who is very important in the even more ancient Zoroastrian Avesta. In this part, Garshasp faces a monstrous dragon and I discuss his Avestan counterpart.

The last two episodes featured Jamshid, a legendary king of the world in Persian mythology. According to the Shahnameh, for many years Jamshid enjoyed the favour of the Creator and invented many aspects of civilization for the first people. However, hubris brought Jamshid’s downfall and he was eventually deposed by the monstrous tyrant Zahhak. After his overthrow, Jamshid disappeared for 100 years but was eventually found and executed by Zahhak. The Shahnameh does not say what Jamshid did for those 100 years. For that we have to look to another epic poem called the Garshaspnama...