Comparative Analysis of 'Buragh' & 'Centaur' in Iran & Greece

Abstract

This article deals with the crucial role of mythology, ideology, reign, hegemony, ethnicity, language, visual signs as well as other events and components upon ancient, narrative and visual archetypes of Iran and its boundaries. The series of cultural and political exchanges occurring due to the rise of governments and the companionship of intellectuals and artists, changed the foundation of visual signs and veiled the religious teachings within them. As a result, such structure brought about a shift of concept and also a delicate variation in the appearance of the equid of the Messenger of Islam (Buragh) in the tale of 'Miraj' (Ascension). With its animal body and beautiful human visage, the counterpart myth of the Grecian 'Centaur' has summed up in its character the power of the rulers of the Islamic regions, symbolic relations of numerology, the male unconscious and female gender and others with a sacred tale attributed to Muslims (the prophet's ascension). Therefore, the combination is the product of cross-cultural conformation and political worldview within the discrete Iranian Kingdom which, so as to promote religious ideal, overtly and covertly combines the story of 'Miraj' with the role of 'Buragh' and infuses it into the Islamic culture. The above statements are the results of a comparative study made through desk study of library resources and slice model in order to reach another aspect of the speculative and pictorial essence of art in Iran. The study endeavors to find responses to two questions:1: how BURAGH and CENTAUR are physically and spiritually related? 2: What are the genders, concepts and effective factors affecting femininity or masculinity of the prophet's horse.

Keywords

• comparison
• miraj
• myth
• buragh
• centaur