A Comparative Study of the Myth of “Zoroaster” in the Poetry of Persian and Arab Poets

Modern and ancient Persian and Arab poets, due to the different literary atmosphere of their works and their different personal tastes, have adopted different approaches to the myth of ancient Iran, Zoroastrianism. Thus, their references to this myth and the consequences of such references can be addressed through a comparative study. The myth of Zoroaster is not often present in the poetry of ancient Persian or Arab poets who usually use mythological concepts for purposes such as showing off their knowledge of sciences, expressing religious experiences, exaggeration in praise of someone, expressing their thoughts, or as a figure of speech, and thus have limited the semantic potentials of this myth. However, some contemporary Arab poets, inspired by the German poet and philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, use this myth to achieve an element for political and social struggles and awaken their nations. In this way, the people rise up against the oppression and corruption of the society. Contemporary Arab poets have created a wide range of meanings through this myth, linking modern experiences with the ancient experiences of millions of people. On the contrary, what is left of this myth in the memory of Persian-speaking poets is different; Zoroaster sometimes equals the Prophet Ibrahim and sometimes is depicted as a fraud or fire worshiper. The purpose of this article is to study the myth of Zoroaster in the poetry of Persian and Arab poets, in light of the American school of comparative literature to show what the symbolic thought of Persian and Arab poets about this myth was and for what purpose each of these poets used this myth in their poetry.