A SURVEY AND ANALYSIS OF THE FEREYDOUN CHARACTER; BASED ON TRIFUNCTIONAL HYPOTHESIS DUE TO COMPARISON OF THE AVESTAN AND PAHLAVI TEXTS; AND FERDOWSI’S SHAHNAMEH

Abstract

The present study aimed to review the prominent character of Fereydūn in ancient Iranian literature with an emphasis on the evidence, sentences and expression from the Avesta written in Avestan language as well as the original middle Persian works in Pahlavi language and to compare and analyze them with some of the poems in the Shahnameh that were consistent with Fereydūn character in ancient texts. In this study, according to trifunctional hypothesis, it was found that the cattle and its symbols in the myth of Fereydūnhas played an important role in the social structure of the Indo-Iranian agriculture-oriented tribes, since the herds of cattle has been closely associated with agriculture and cultivation. Among these tribes, the aspect of wāstaryōsīh θraētaona is more predominant than other aspects in the trifunctional hypothesis. While the θraētaona in another manifestation of the aspects (i.e., in the position of ARTĒSTĀR”) has reached this quality and aspect of his character to the peak by crushing down the powerful dragon (He is described as a monster serpent bodied, three headed and six eyed. But in other respects Aži Dahāka has human qualities, and is never a mere animal) and resulting the victorious end. Nevertheless, according to the repeated Yashts in the Avesta, this Yazata aimed to take savang havacha and arənavāci (simple of rainy clouds and lactating cows) back from the bondag of the dragon of the drought