Sacred Marriage

In mythological texts, Kayumars is introduced as the first man, prophet and the first king. In Farsi and Arabic texts remaining from the first centuries after Islam, often he is introduced as the first King. It seems that this side of Kayumars’ character could be the remnants of the narratives and informal and non- governmental Khodaynamehs prior to Islam which was most common in the Eastern Iran and to which one has no access. Also in Zoroastrian books left behind from the last centuries of the Sassanid reign and the first centuries after Islam which was written in Pahlavi language, Kayumars appears as the first man created by Ahuramazda and upon his acceptance of the Mazdaei religion, he brings salvation to the mankind. However it must be taken into account that all these narratives are the outcome of the thought processes of the official writers and priests in the Sassanid era. The heroic narratives in the eastern Iran which recognizes Kayumars as the first king in the Pishdadi dynasty are not far from the priests’ narratives in the western Iran in terms of time. Now the question arises that whether these narratives in the earlier times were as such? Was Kayumars regarded as the first creature, created by the Ahuramazda in those first days? This article attempts to put forward a theory in which Kayumars is part of the mythological archetype of the sacred marriage between the “God of heavens” and the “Goddess of the Earth” that caused the growth of plants or birth of humans from the Earth’s core and it is believed that Kayumars in this ancient myth, is the name of the seed from the God of the heavens.