Analysis of the Prophecies of the End of the World in Zoroastrianism Based on the View of Mircea Eliade

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Assistant Professor, Department of Persian Language and Literature, Ḥakīm Sabzivārī University, Sabzivār, Iran

2 Postdoctoral Fellowship in Mythology, Department of Persian Language and Literature, Ḥakīm Sabzivārī University, Sabzivār, Iran

3 PhD Student in Epic Literature, Ḥakīm Sabzivārī University, Sabzivār, Iran,

Abstract

The prophecies of the end of the world in Zoroastrianism are mostly reflected in Zand-i Wahman Yasn, the prophecy of Jāmāsp in the memorial of Jāmāsp and the rise of Shābahrām Varjāvand;In these works, which are examples of the mythical prophecies of the end of the world, one of the main components is the emergence and widespread and positive change that happen at the end of the world. In the present study, using library sources and descriptive-analytical method, we will analyze the aforementioned texts based on the mythological views of the religious phenomenologist Mircea Eliade. According to Eliade, although these prophecies outwardly depict the future of the world, inwardly, because of their mythological theme, they indicate the desire for the eternal return of mankind to the pre-existing moment, and therefore contain all patterns of mythical return. And in the context of a mythical narration, they provide the ground for the audience to pass from linear time to sacred time.

Keywords


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