An Archetypical Criticism of the Symbolic Aspect of the Elements Earth and Air in Mythology and Ferdowsi's Shâhnâmeh

The present article, following an archetypical criticism, studies the symbolic aspect of the four elements-Fire, Water, Earth, Air- and their manifestations in Ferdowsi’s Shāhnāmeh. The embodiment of the essential opposition and the ultimate unification of the opposing elements is the result of the environmental subjects trying to overcome the nature. In this process, the emotional elements find their universal functions as manifested in all mythological works including Shāhnāmeh. In mythology, “Earth” is the substance for material life which at the same time is the essence of man’s physical life that leads to his worldly life and decay.” Wind”, on the other side, is a symbol for Nature’s revolt whose typical representation can be seen in the Myths of Flood and Spook.