Ganesh, Daksha, Isis and Gōbadshāh; A Glance at the mythical human-animal characters in Indian and Egyptian mythology and discovering the identity of Gobadshah
Ali Amini
1
(
)
mohsen mahmoudi
2
(
Shiraz University
)
Keywords: Aghrērath, Gōbadshāh, Ganesha, Daksha, Isis,
Abstract :
In Iran mythology and its neighboring ancient lands, namely India and Egypt, we encounter characters with half-human/half-animal bodies whose nature is thought-provoking. In this article, two Indian characters, Ganesha with an elephant head, Daksha with a goat or ram head, and the Egyptian goddess Isis with a cow head (all three have a human body), are introduced and studied. Then, we will discuss about Gōbadshāh with a human upper body and a bull lower body, who is one of the immortals in Iranian mythology. Why and how the combination of Ganesha, Daksha, and Isis was created, has been explained in mythology, but the reason and how Gōbadshāh created in Iranian mythology has remained vague or has not reached us. In such circumstances, paying attention to the process of creating the human-animal bodies for Ganesha, Daksha, and Isis can pave the way through analogy to discover how Gōbadshāh came into being. This comparative study shows us that Gobadshah is revival of Aghrerat who, after being cut in two by his brother Afrasiab for freeing Iranian captives, was probably grafted onto the lower body of a cow and he also attained immortality.
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