A Comparative Study of Samak-E Ayyar and Two Indo-Iranian Myths: Indra and Mitra

A large number of gods have arisen from the world of mythology and have been appeared as famous heroes or great kings in epics. One of these heroes is Samak in the prose epic-heroic story of Samak-e Ayyar. This hero, like the mythological gods Indra and Mitra, is considered to have some mythical characteristics. Some of the mythological features of Samak are as follows: rescuing princesses from the clutches of evil kidnappers; an inseparable relationship with Khorshid Shah; destroying demons and fairies; constantly accompanying a woman who is the manifestation of a goddess. By an analytical-comparative approach and considering the Indo-Iranian sacred texts, Rigveda and Avesta, and the ideas of mythological scholars such as Mehrdad Bahar, the authors of the present article have tried to compare the functions of two gods, Indra and Mitra, with the functions of Samak. The results show that Samak, the prominent hero of the prose epic-heroic story of Samak-e Ayyar, is an amalgamation of two mythological cultures of India and Iran and have metamorphosed into a new form.