Analysis: Monster & Object
At first read, this passage quite clearly depicts the dragon as a killing monster, that has no mercy for life and nature. Analyzing the text, it does not mention any spec of greenery where the dragon’s lair is involved but says that there are rocks in which they place their sacrifice, and nothing else. In the artifacts I chose that depict the dragon, there is quite obviously no lavish nature that adorns the mountains in which they come from. For example, in Hero and Dragon, the craggy rocks are ornamented with barren trees that match the limited description from the text. This presentation of the dragon’s lair makes the reader understand the ‘toxicity’ of the monster, and how its vapours poison everything around it. After knowing it is eventually slain by a hero, it leaves readers to ponder the strength of these men. Although they strike fear in one’s heart, through this they can also be used to showcase the abilities of the warriors that defeat them, such as Sekandar in the Shahnameh.
When discussing the way Persian authors use dragons in contrast to heroes, it would be beneficial to look at the works of Sara Keuhn and more specifically her analysis of The Dragon in relation to Royal or Heroic Figures. As argued previously, Keuhn discusses the way these Iranian depictions of the monster have a deeper meaning for the warriors that are illustrated alongside them. She writes that Iranian “dragon combat was one of the wonders and heroic feats required as proof of the king’s or hero’s legitimacy” (111), meaning these scenes of combat can also be interpreted as a ‘rite of passage’ for warriors and conquerors. This is seen in all illustrated artifacts but most clearly in the passage from the Shahnameh, where Sekandar is seen as a hero for outsmarting the beast, and using its own hunger against itself.
Keuhn also goes further into this, touching on the eschatological role of the hero and how the dragon signifies terror and “the lapse into chaos and death that is to take place at the end of time”. Here it becomes clear how the dragon can become associated with a specific feeling or identification. This is seen depicted in the illustrations such as Hero and the dragon. In this artifact, the dragon is in the midst of devastation to the animals and landscape, making it so the hero looks like he is doing a service to the rest of the world by killing this beast. It very clearly shows what the illustrator had in mind when it comes to good and evil, and what should be done to those considered evil, especially in myths and legends. Within Medieval Persian culture, the dragon is a creature that is feared as well as meant to be killed by heroes and kings, making it so they are permanently linked with death and destruction.
It would be advantageous to focus in on Sekandar as a dragon-slayer as well and how his character fits into the hero narrative, which in turn greatly impacts the passage taken from the Shahnameh. The words Ferdowsi used to describe the monster exaggerate the terror it caused in part to make the reader think more highly of Sekandar and his army. In The Alexander Romance in Persia and the East, Stoneman et al. suggest that he uses poison to combat the dragon because it is one of its own tricks: “His poison sickens birds that venture there”. Furthering the thought that in both the passage and in the artifacts, the dragon is used as an image of heroism, and slaying it would be an act of great accomplishment and wisdom.
In conclusion, the depiction of the dragon in both the Shahnameh passage and chosen artifacts showcase its significance in Persian myth. It has become solidified as an image of havoc and chaos as well as a way for heroic actions to shine through the page. The dragon has survived specifically in this way for hundreds of years and will for hundreds more.