A Study of the Portrayal of the Thousand-faced Hero in the Epic of Borzunameh based on Joseph Campbell's Theory

Joseph Campbell, the American mythologist, presents a unique pattern and structure for all myths in the world; a pattern based on which he considers a main core including three parts of separation, entrance and return for all heroic myths. In the course of human thought and civilization, myth and its elements- especially the hero myth - is manifested in the epics. The national epic of Borzunameh, one of these epics, seems to have the similar structures and patterns as that of Campbell's mythology. A pattern which, on the basis of the context and the atmosphere of the story, has been formed, in its surface structure, for Borzu's development and independence and his entrance to the militant class, and in the deep structure, for encouraging and modeling the local farmer youths to join the military men.