Introduction
The term monster is derived from the latin word monstra which “gets its name from the action of monstrare, ‘show’ which indicates something by a sign”1. We see this in the instance of King Zahhak who is portrayed as a monster that is fearful and heinously warned by his people of his terror because he intends to eradicate mankind and cause chaos during his reign. At the time of The Shahnameh, the design featuring the monster, Zahhak and his serpent metonymy was widespread, particularly in the kingdoms which were adorned with frequent depictions of snakes and dragons. The recurrent imagery of serpents is also explored as a significance to Zahhak as it consolidates his absolute power over the whole world as a tyrant. In addition to this, we can derive the core elements of what kind of monster Zahhak is and the motif of serpents which represent themes of immortality, demonic influence and destruction. By connecting the passage, the artefacts and scholarly articles, we observe the metamorphosis of Zahhak into a monster and hence, claim that human-monster hybrids born of the seduction by dark, demonic powers commit ultimate destruction.