Comparative Evaluation of Motif Invulnerability in Three Literary Works " Iliad , Shahnameh and Nibelungenlied"

مطالعات زبان و ترجمه

Article 4, Volume 48, Issue 1, April 2015, Pages 75-88   

Document Type: Research Article

DOI: 10.22067/lts.v48i1.34607

Authors

Mehrnoosh Mehrabi^* ; Habib Kamali

Department of German Language Teaching, Islamic Azad University, Tehran Science and Research Branch, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

This article compares the motif invulnerability in greek , Persian and Germanic mythology , specially in three greatest world literary epics : "Iliad , Shahnameh and Nibelungenlied " . The central figures of the epics are mythical gods and Heroes, supernatural beings and wonder animals . Mythology is about myths and myths belong to people and addresses their origin, history, ancestors, and heroes .It is also about magical qualities of heroes like invulnerability. Invulnerability is one of the major motifs in mythology . Invulnerable heroes have in spite of their strength a blind spot and a deadly weakness which can actually lead to their downfall .Although Achilles , Siegfried and Esfandiar qualify as great , mighty men of these great works and have powers of invulnerability eventually die and their death is a direct consequence of the deception. As these three epics root in Indo-germanic languages , we can assume that they may have a similar history and culture . This article attempts to find such similarities of the mythical motif " Invulnerability ".

Keywords

Motif; Invulnerability; Comparative Literature; Mythology

References