s An Archetypal Study of the Hero’s Monomyth in Persian Folk Literature (With a Focus on Six Long Folk Narratives)
Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1
PhD Candidate in Persian Language and Literature, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman
2
Associate Professor, Department of Persian Language and Literature, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman
10.48311/cfl.2026.117196.82826
Abstract
Mythologists have long regarded the archetype of the Hero as the central axis of mythological studies. The hero is not a simple archetype but a “grand myth” that, despite its varying forms across literary genres, retains many shared features rooted in what Joseph Campbell called the Monomyth. Folk literature, drawing extensively on mythic elements, provides fertile ground for examining the transformation of this archetype from myth to vernacular narratives. This research, adopting a mythological -archetypal approach, explores the Hero Monomyth in six major Persian folk romances -Abū-Muslim- nāmeh, Dārāb- nāmeh, Sandbād- nāmeh, Samak-e ‘Ayyār, Eskandar- nāmeh and Fīrūz-shāh- nāmeh.Objectives and Research Question:
The study aims to identify the most recurrent motifs concerning the hero’s life and to explain their origins and narrative functions. The central research questions are:
1. What are the most frequent motifs related to the hero monomyth?
2. What are the reasons and purposes behind their creation?
3. How has the hero’s figure transformed from myth to folk literature?
4. What is the principal function of this archetypal figure in folk narratives?
The study aims to identify the most recurrent motifs concerning the hero’s life and to explain their origins and narrative functions. The central research questions are:
1. What are the most frequent motifs related to the hero monomyth?
2. What are the reasons and purposes behind their creation?
3. How has the hero’s figure transformed from myth to folk literature?
4. What is the principal function of this archetypal figure in folk narratives?
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