Symbolism and Mythology
Damavand is significant mountain in Persian mythology. It is the symbol of Iranian resistance against despotism and foreign rule in Persian poetry and literature. In Zoroastrian texts and mythology, the three-headed dragon Aži Dahāka was chained within Mount Damāvand, there to remain until the end of the world. In a later version of the same legend, the tyrant Zahhāk was also chained in a cave somewhere in Mount Damāvand after being defeated by Kāveh and Fereydūn. Persian poet Ferdowsi depicts this event in his masterpiece, the Shahnameh:
بیاورد ضحاک را چون نوند
به کوه دماوند کردش ببند
He brings Zahhak, himself a mountain
to the peak of Damavand and binds his neck.
The mountain is said to hold magical powers in the Shahnameh. Damāvand has also been named in the Iranian legend of Arash as the location he fired his arrow to mark the Iran border. The famous poem Damāvand by Mohammad Taqī Bahār is also one fine example of the mountain's significance in Persian literature. The first verse of this poem reads:
ای دیو سپید پای در بند
Ay dīve sepīde pāī dar band,
Oh white giant with feet in chains
ای گنبد گیتی، ای دماوند
Ay gonbade gītī, ay Damāvand
Oh dome of the world, Oh Mount Damāvand
Mount Damavand is depicted on the reverse of the Iranian 10,000 rials banknote.
Read more about this topic: Mount Damavand
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