Representation of the “Initiation Ritual” in Rostam’s Seven Labors: A Mythological and Phenomenological Reading Based on Mircea Eliade’s Theories

بازنمایی "آیین تشرف" در هفت‌خان رستم: خوانشی اسطوره‌شناختی وپدیدارشناختی بر پایه نظریات میرچا الیاده

Abstract

This study, drawing on Mircea Eliade’s mythological and phenomenological theories, examines the initiation ritual in Rostam’s Seven Labors in Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh. According to Eliade’s mythological patterns, the Seven Labors of Rostam go beyond a mere sequence of heroic battles and can be seen as the representation of an archetypal mythological model. The aim of this article is to decode the structure and mythological foundations of the Seven Labors within the framework of the initiation ritual, and to explain how Rostam, by passing through difficult trials, attains the status of a sacred hero and a bearer of cosmic order and mysteries. Since Eliade considers the initiation ritual as a form of sacred and religious transition and a means of discovering a people’s religious and mythological secrets, this article analyzes the stages of the Seven Labors in light of the ontological and mythological teachings of Zoroastrianism, in order to interpret the symbols and concepts confronted by the hero. The findings reveal that Eliade’s elements and patterns of the “initiation ritual” are clearly observable in the story of the Seven Labors: patterns such as separation from the mother as a symbolic departure from the profane world, the undertaking of arduous trials and the manifestation of the sacred, and finally entering the cave of the White Demon as a return to the womb and a rebirth, completing Rostam’s process of initiation. Moreover, the results indicate that the Seven Labors serve as a symbolic system for the hero’s acquaintance with cosmogony and the forces of good and evil in the Zoroastrian tradition, and therefore go beyond a merely heroic narrative.