The Demon Reveals Himself
Last Friday, June 12th, was an historic presidential election in Iran. Many of our loved ones were campaigning for reform in Iran. When the overwhelming landslide for Ahmadinejad was announced, it sparked an initial despair so overwhelming that people felt there was no hope at all for reform. I went to sleep with the dashed hopes of millions and dreamed of a demon right out of the Shanameh. Here is what Wikipedia has to say about this demon:
This painting represents an episode described in Firdawsi’s “Shahnamah” (The Book of Kings), the epic story of ancient kings and heroes of Persia composed by the renowned author during the first decades of the 11th century. The text on the fragments recto and verso describes the painting. King Khusraw summons Rustam to help him stop a demon (div) disguised as a wild ass that is ravaging of the royal herds. After three days of unsuccessful battle, the hero falls asleep in the grass. Thereupon, the Div Akvan casts aside his disguise, resumes his demonic form, rushes towards Rustam, and digs up the ground around the hero. He gives Rustam the choice of being thrown against the mountains, to be eaten by lions and onagers, or cast into the sea, where he would drown to his death. Knowing that the enemy would do the exact opposite and realizing that, if cast to the sea, he would have a chance to swim to survival, he asked to be thrown against the mountains. Rustam is cast to the sea, swims back to the shore, and returns to defeat the demon in combat.
In this image, the demon is running wild through a camp of Iran’s revolutionary guard. The photo was taken by Kamran Ashtary.
