Serpent King Zahhak, a Reality or a Myth? Theorysfields of Literature and Archeology Volume 2 - Issue 1

Hassan Kamali Dowlat Abadi, Mohammad Sadegh Davari* and Hammed Hoseini Rezaei

• Department of Archaeology, Faculty of Humanities, Neyshabur University, Iran

Received: March 12, 2020   Published: May 19, 2020

Corresponding author: Mohammad Sadegh Davari, Master of Archeology, Department of Archaeology, Faculty of Humanities, Neyshabur University, Iran

 

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Abstract

With the discovery and unearthing of signet rings, seals and imprints of these seals remaining from the second and third millennia before Christ, in the eastern regions of Iran, Central Asia and Afghanistan, that carry images and designs similar to the serpent king, and given the fact that these seals are of high documentary credibility for different governments, and even for ordinary people, at present, there is a need for the review and attention of the realistic ideas with respect to the physical life of the serpent king (and the dynasty of Serpent Kings) and presentation of a new image of the Book of Kings. In a new point of view, that is the result of the combination of literature, sociology, archeology, politics, and psychology, a differentiated image of this character has emerged. The results of the research suggest the existence of such a person in real life with two snakes on his shoulders, in view of the throne similar to a snake, interest in charming snakes as pets, and existence of a snake design on the king’s clothing, inculcating in the simple minds of the people of the antiquited that the king is a being of a different entity. Little by little due to his inhumane acts, his opposition with human wisdom, and suppressing heresies that mostly consisted of the young people of the society, his real life changed into mythology, in the form of taking out the young people’s brains and feeding them to these snakes.

Keywords: Zahhak; Iconography; Animalization; Prehistoric; Seals; Material Life

Abstract| Introduction| Research Background| Discussion and Analysis| Result| References|