Does anyone have a recommendation for English translated collections of Persian folklore and mythology?
Persian legends and their Western counterparts (2020)
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Re: Persian legends and their Western counterparts (2020)
#12If the idea of common motifs through different cultures and mythologies interests you I highly recommend this 6 part interview with Joseph Campbell, who was the author of “The Hero with 1000 Faces” and an expert in the field. Joseph Campbell and The Power of Myth with Bill Moyers.
While Joseph Campbell (who was not an actual “expert in the field” for most of what he wrote about) has a big reputation among the public because he wrote books directed towards a popular audience, and e.g. George Lucas's praise of his work for Star Wars guaranteed him renown, he is not taken very seriously by actual specialists on folklore and anthropology. IMO, citing him does more harm than good.
Re: Persian legends and their Western counterparts (2020)
#13As some of the comments in the article point out, some of the commonalities may because the legends may be referencing older Indo-European legends which both European and Persian cultures have in common. In addition, especially after 300 BC, with the conquests of Alexander the Great, Greek culture spread throughout much of the region. The Parthians were actually very much fans of Greek culture.
The book "Shahname", translated to "The Book of Kings" which is referenced in the article is not the first occurrence of these legends and mythologies. They are a collection made of much older folklore stories. While you can find Iranian girls nowadays named "Helia" or "Atena" which came from greek (a testament to Greek influence) but these legends date back to before the Greek invasion. But yes, as you mentioned, they run deep in Indo-European cultures.
Re: Persian legends and their Western counterparts (2020)
#14If the idea of common motifs through different cultures and mythologies interests you I highly recommend this 6 part interview with Joseph Campbell, who was the author of “The Hero with 1000 Faces” and an expert in the field. Joseph Campbell and The Power of Myth with Bill Moyers.
While Joseph Campbell (who was not an actual “expert in the field” for most of what he wrote about) has a big reputation among the public because he wrote books directed towards a popular audience, and e.g. George Lucas's praise of his work for Star Wars guaranteed him renown, he is not taken very seriously by actual specialists on folklore and anthropology. IMO, citing him does more harm than good.
What authors or works would you recommend instead?
Re: Persian legends and their Western counterparts (2020)
#15It’s not surprising that the tales are similar. It’s not like Persia was disconnected from the Greeks, Egyptians or even the Romans.
I imagine a good tale went in all directions. The epic of Gilgamesh been an obvious candidate.
Re: Persian legends and their Western counterparts (2020)
#16Earlier quoted context omitted.
And it's probably emotional/biological.. even star wars had a son/father struggle. Who coined the metaphorical 'killing father' concept ?
Oedipus is an early one. What, 350-400BCE? Somewhere around there? [spoilers?] Oedipus is prophesied to kill his father and marry his mother, so runs off trying to avoid this horrible fate, but makes the rookie mistake of killing some rando old enough to be his dad (surprise! He was!) and then marrying a lady old enough to be his mom (surprise! She was!) Though that's more of a literal "killing father" than a metapho…
It's funny how I didn't appreciate the depth of oedipus. Younger I read it like a thriller.. with a big plot twist. Not as an existential metaphor about inner desires, love bonds and family ties.
Re: Persian legends and their Western counterparts (2020)
#17It’s not surprising that the tales are similar. It’s not like Persia was disconnected from the Greeks, Egyptians or even the Romans. I imagine a good tale went in all directions. The epic of Gilgamesh been an obvious candidate.
Comparative mythology is a field of study. Is is well known there are common Indo-European roots for many myths that are similar across a number of cultures and religions, including Norse one.
Re: Persian legends and their Western counterparts (2020)
#18It’s not surprising that the tales are similar. It’s not like Persia was disconnected from the Greeks, Egyptians or even the Romans. I imagine a good tale went in all directions. The epic of Gilgamesh been an obvious candidate.
Comparative mythology is a field of study. Is is well known there are common Indo-European roots for many myths that are similar across a number of cultures and religions, including Norse one.
see, for instance: Etude de mythologie comparee indo-europenne from Georges Dumezil
Re: Persian legends and their Western counterparts (2020)
#19It’s not surprising that the tales are similar. It’s not like Persia was disconnected from the Greeks, Egyptians or even the Romans. I imagine a good tale went in all directions. The epic of Gilgamesh been an obvious candidate.
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Re: Persian legends and their Western counterparts (2020)
#20Earlier quoted context omitted.
While Joseph Campbell (who was not an actual “expert in the field” for most of what he wrote about) has a big reputation among the public because he wrote books directed towards a popular audience, and e.g. George Lucas's praise of his work for Star Wars guaranteed him renown, he is not taken very seriously by actual specialists on folklore and anthropology. IMO, citing him does more harm than good.
What authors or works would you recommend instead?
The difficulty with folklore is that it’s so intensely regional and period-specific, and that no real “canon” exists for most regions and times, especially when you’re reaching back into pre-christianity folklore.
This is the mistake that Campbell made. He thought you could unify folklore with some psychological frameworks. But you can’t, unless you’re employing gratuitous selection bias, which he did.
So it depends what you’re interested in! I’ve personally found it most fun to find some culture I’m incidentally connected to, with a long literary history, and try to find the earliest transcriptions and translations of stories that I can.
If you’re interested in some region and time in particular, somebody here can probably help get you started.