Persian Goddesses

 

Agas

A Persian demoness of illness, one of the Drugs. She personifies evil that is perceived or performed by the eye (her name means "evil eye").

 

Ahurani

Ahurani is a water goddess from ancient Persian mythology. She watches over rainfall as well as standing water. She was invoked for health, healing, prosperity, and growth. She is either the wife or the daughter of the great god of creation and goodness, Ahura Mazda. Her name means "She who belongs to Ahura".

 

Allatum

The goddess of the underworld in early Iranian mythology.

 

Ameretat

One of the Amesha Spentas, Ameretat ("not dying", "living") is the personification of immortality and the protector of plants. The fifth month is dedicated to her. Her eternal opponent is the archdemon of ageing, Zarich.

 

Anahita

The ancient Persian water goddess, fertility goddess, and patroness of women, as well as a goddess of war. Her name means "the immaculate one". She is portrayed as a virgin, dressed in a golden cloak, and wearing a diamond tiara (sometimes also carrying a water pitcher). The dove and the peacock are her sacred animals. Anahita is sometimes regarded as the consort of Mithra.

 

Armaiti

Armaiti ("beneficent devotion") is one of the Amesha Spentas. She is the personification of holy devotion, the daughter of the creator and represents righteous obedience. She is associated with the earth and in that capacity she is the goddess of fertility and the dead, who are buried in the earth. The fifth day of every month and the twelfth month are dedicated to her. Her eternal opponent is the archdemon of discontent, Nanghaithya.

 

Daena

The goddess who personifies religion in Persian mythology. Her name means "that which was revealed". Daena is considered to be the daughter of Ahura Mazda and Armaiti. She is one of the Yazatas.

 

Dena

A Persian goddess. She is the daughter of Ahura Mazda.

 

Drug

An ancient Iranian female demon, the representation of the lie. She causes much evil. She is the eternal opponent of Asha vahishta.

 

Drvaspa

The ancient Persian goddess who protects cattle, children, and friendship. The fourteenth day of the month is dedicated to her.

 

Fravashis

In ancient Persian (Zoroastrian) religion, the Fravashis (singular: Fravartin) are guardian angels or protecting spirits. They guide the souls of the deceased to heaven. Each family or clan has its own spirit, which guards and looks after only them. The Fravashis assisted Ahura Mazda in the creation of the world and, as riders armed with spears, are the defenders of heaven.

 

Haurvatat

Haurvatat ("wholeness") is one of the seven Amesha Spentas. She is the personification of perfection and is associated with life after death. She brings prosperity and health. The third month is dedicated to her. Her eternal opponent is the archdemon of hunger, Tawrich.

 

Izha

"Offering". The Indo-Iranian goddess of the sacrifice.

 

Nanghaithya

One of the Daevas, and archfiend. Nanghaithya is the personification of discontentment. Her eternal opponent is Armaiti.

 

Zam-Armatay

The Persian goddess of the earth.

 

Zarich

Zarich is one of the female members of the Daevas and the personification of ageing. Her eternal opponent is Ameretat.

شدن | م. اثنی عشری

  
چنان در چنبر خويش گرفتار آمده‏اى
كه پيشاپيش جان به اجل سپرده
تابوت خويش را به دنبال ميكشى
و خود را زنده به اسم، مرده به رسم ميدانى.
كاش مردن به اسم را آغازى ميدانستى
تا از مردنت به رسم درسى ميآموختى.
كاش هرگز نمى‏ايستادى.

m.e.

مرغ همسایه | م. اثنی عشری

 

نا درخور كسى بودى

كه فرازناكى انديشه ام را

به بزرگی تنى در معامله شدى.

 

دريغ كه

غاز ظريف خوشبختى را

چه ارزان

به فربهْ مرغِ بيمارِ همسايه فروختى.

m.e.

مرغ بوتیمار | م. اثنی عشری

 

از خودخواهى توست كه

بزرگترين دردت

كوچكترين درد ديگران است.

و از حماقت توست كه

بسان بزرگْ دردمندان چنان فرياد ميكشى

كه كس را توان فرونشاندن فريادت نيست.

تا كى در سوگ خشكيدن دريا زار خواهى زد؟

m.e.

عقاب |  آلفرد لرد تنیسون | م. اثنی عشری

  

قلۀ سرسخت کهساران به ناخن می‌‌خلد

در کنار آفتاب، آنجا که کس ره نا بَرد

لاجوردی آسمان، چون حلقه ای گِردش تَنَد.

 

پهنۀ آژنگ دریا زیر پایش می‌خزد

از فراز بارۀ سنگی نگه در‌افکند

ناگهان چون آذرخش از اوج بر دامن زند.

 

 

The Eagle

 

He clasps the crag with crooked hands

Close to the sun, in lonely lands

Ringed with the azure world, he stands.

 

The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls.

He watches from his mountain walls

And like a thunderbolt he falls.

 

 

 

Alfred, Lord Tennyson

 

 

Short Comments on Some Poems

*. This is not an analysis of the mentioned poems.

 

"Dulce et Decorum Est"

Speaker: A soldier.

Setting: world War I.

Wilfred Owen, the poet, died fighting for England in World War I, a weak before the armistice. He was closely familiar with the cruel side of war and he didn't like the government's attempts in inviting the young people to war in the name of love for one's country. In this poem he describes the true face of death that happens in every war to show its ugly face and the obnoxious lie behind it.

 

 

"The Man He Killed"

Speaker: A soldier.

Setting: world War I.

This poem is by Thomas Harley. In this poem the poet wants to show that war is a terrible event in which ordinary people kill each other without knowing each other whereas if they meet each other outside war they may like and help one another.

 

 

"Is My Team Ploughing"

Speaker: Dead man and his living friends.

This poem is by A.E.Housman. This poem is a dialogue between a dead man and his friend. The dead man is worried about his property, his hobbies, and his girlfriend. After his conversation, he realizes that his death has not changed anything and the world is going on he also finds out that his closest friend and even his love have not remained faithful to him and they are leading their own lives.

 

"Mirror"

Speaker: A mirror

This poem is written by "Sylvia Plath". It has two stanzas that show two different stages of a woman's life. In the 1^st stage, she is innocent and naïve. She is compared to a mirror that is "exact", with "no preconceptions", no cruelty, and full of truthfulness. Here, she is only an observer. She doesn't know much about the world and its dark side but at the end of this stanza she learns about the "faces" (= the nature of other people) and "darkness" (= the ugly side of life).

 

In the 2^nd stanza the mirror is compared to a lake because the world of the woman is not quiet and peaceful but her world is full of waves and confusion. Here, she is searching for her reality. However, "she turns to those liars" who praise her untruthfully. Therefore, she is deceived and comes back" with tears". But this time she is not a young innocent, naïve girl but she is an old experienced woman.

 

"Sonnet 138"

Speaker:  A Lover.

This is a sonnet by Shakespeare. The speaker of this love poem is an old man who is happy that his beloved thinks him a young inexperienced man and lies to him. According to him, this situation is satisfactory because although the girl lies about her love for him, the fact that she considers him young is a lie that is considered an advantage for the old man. He accepts a lying beloved because he takes sensual profit from her.

 

"Richard Cory"

Speaker: A worker

This is a narrative poem by Edwin A. Robinson. The speaker of the poem is a poor worker. It is the story of a man named Richard Cory. His name which is a combination of "Rich" and "Coral" together with words like "Sole" and "Crown" suggest that he is very very rich. In the eyes of the workers, he seems to be at the apex of happiness but at the end of the poem, after he commits suicide, it becomes clear that he was at the bottom of disaster. The poem ends with a bitter irony that suggests we should not judge a man by his clothes.

 

"The Road Not Taken"

This lyric poem is by Robert Frost. The setting is a jungle in autumn ("a yellow wood"). The speaker is a person who is at a crossroad. He should choose between two paths, both of them similar, except that the 1^st one is more trodden than the other. And he chooses the 2^nd road. We must interpret his choice of a road as a symbol for any choice in life between alternatives that appear almost equally attractive but will result through the years in a large difference in the kind of experience one knows.

 

"To Autumn"

This poem is by Keats. It is a lyric poem. The speaker is the poet himself. The setting is autumn. The poet is describing the beauty of autumn by using different images. In the 1^st stanza, that points to different fruits, gustatory (taste) imagery; in the 2^nd stanza, that points to different scenes, visual imagery; and in the 3^rd stanza, that points to different sounds, olfactory imagery are dominant.

 

"To His Coy Mistress" 

This is a love poem by Andrew Marvell. The speaker is a man who is inviting his shy girlfriend to have sex with him. He is Epicurean and believes that life is short and we have to take as much pleasure as possible before Death and Time kill us. In the 1^st stanza, the poet tells what he could do if they didn't ever die. In the 2^nd stanza, he tells what will happen to them really and how they will die. In the last stanza, he concludes that they should therefore make love now because life is short and time is little and they can not stop time.

 

"Meeting At Night"

It is by Robert Browning. The setting is a house at beach in a moonlit night. The speaker of the poem is a young man who is going to meet his beloved secretly.

 

خانه
 نوشتۀ گویندلین بروکس1

 حرف‌های خودمانیِ توی این ایوان؛ گل زرآوندِ درون گلدان پرنقش‌ونگار، در گوشۀ آفتابگیر حیاط؛ و قلمۀ جان‌سخت سرخس شمالی و باشکوهِ عمه اِپی2، کنار درب پشتی –  همه و همه چیزهایی بود که آنها هرگز دلشان نمی‌خواست از دست بدهند. مامان، مارتا3 و هلن4 به آرامی روی صندلی راحتی‌شان تاب می‌خوردند و نظاره‌گرِ انعکاس نور آفتابِ دمِ غروب بر روی چمن‌ها، میله‌های چشم‌نوازِ نردۀ آهنی و درخت سپیدار بودند.

احتمال آن می‌رفت که همه اینها از دست برود و به زودی نگاه مالکانۀ دیگران نظاره‌گر این پرتوها و حوضچه های نور و آن درخت و نرده های زیبا شود.
آن روز ظهر وقت نهار، قرار بود بابا به ادارۀ وامِ مالکین برود. اگر نمی‌توانست مهلت دیگری بگیرد، آنوقت مجبور به ترک خانه‌ای می‌شدند که بیش از چهارده سال در آن زندگی کرده بودند. ادارۀ وام مالکین خیلی سخت می‌گرفت و امید چندانی نبود. همه نشسته بودند و داشتند به عاقبتشان فکر می‌کردند.
مامان گفت: «می رویم یک جای دیگر، توی یک آپارتمان قشنگ. یک جایی توی خیابان ساوت پارک5 یا خیابان میشیگان6 یا محلۀ واشنگتن‌پارک‌کورت7». (که در اصل شکل کتابیِ این جملۀ غیررسمی میباشد:«میریم یه جای دیگه. تو یه آپارتمون قشنگ. یه جایی تو خیابون ساوت‌پارک یا خیابونمیشیگان یا محلۀ واشنگتن‌پارک‌کورت.»)** هم دخترها و هم مامان خوب می‌دانستند که اجارۀ آن آپارتمان‌ها حتی برای کسانی هم که دو برابرِ بابا حقوق می‌گرفتند سنگین بود. اما کسی در این مورد حرفی نزد.

هلن گفت: «آن آپارتمان‌ها خیلی قشنگتر از این خانۀ قدیمی‌اند. من که دوستانم را تا زمانی که توی این خانه هستیم به اینجا نمی‌آورم. بعضی‌‌‌هایشان هم که اصلاً این طرف‌ها نمی‌آیند، مگر اینکه با تاکسی فقط از اینجا رد شوند». (که در اصل شکل کتابیِ این جملۀ غیررسمی میباشد: « اون آپارتمونا خیلی قشنگتر از این خونۀ قدیمی‌اند. من که دوستام رو تا زمانی که توی این خونه هستیم، اینجا نمیآرم. بعضی هاشون هم که اصلاً این طرفا نمیآن، مگه اینکه با تاکسی فقط از اینجا رد شن.»)**

اگر هلن این حرف ها را روز قبل یا هر روز دیگری می زد، مارتا حتماً با او درگیر می‌شد، اما آن روز چیزی نگفت و تنها به سینه‌سرخ کوچکی که لابلای درخت سپیدارِ او به این سو و آن سو می‌پرید خیره شده بود و سعی می کرد جلوی اشک هایش را بگیرد.

مامان در حالی که دست هایش را تکان می داد گفت: «به هر حال من که از بس هر روز آتش روشن کردم خسته شده‌ام. از اول زمستان تا آخر زمستان باید اجاق را روشن نگه دارم».

مارتا گفت: «ولی من و هری8 که این اواخر خیلی کمکت می‌کردیم. تازه، خودمان هم صدبار اجاق را روشن کرده‌ایم. بعضی وقت‌ها با همان آتشِ کم هم هوا گرم میشد»..........

1. Gwendolyn Brooks
2. Aunt Eppie
3. Maud Martha
4. Helen
5. South Park Street
6. Michigan Street
7. Washington Park Court
8. Harry

(آخرين حرف) |  م. اثنی عشری

 

شبى خاموش و سرد و سوت بود آن شب.

شبى سرشار از راز و رموز و سر و افسانه.

شبى در سرزمينى پر ز ويرانه.

نه طوفانى، نه بارانى، نه برهم خوردن موجى به ديوارى.

نه مرغى ناشكيبا كز ميان آهنگ بردارد.

نه فريادى كه انسانى ز خشم زندگى از دل برآرد.

 

سكوتى سرد و رويايى تمام ساحل شب را به هم می ‏دوخت.

و اندر كلبه مان شمعى سر و پا بى فغان مى سوخت.

پدر در رختخواب كهنه اش لرزيد و زير لب صدايى كرد.

گمانم ذكر حق مى كرد.

كمى جنبيد و در ظرف مسين از كوزه آبى ريخت...

 

نه مادر بود جايى گرد جاى انداز.

نه بيتا در كنار چرخ نخ ريسى.

نه من همچون زمان كودكى از جاى برجستم.

 

صداى ريزش آب اندرون كلبه مى تازيد

و مى شد لرزش دست پدر را در ميانش ديد.

 

و من سنگينتر از سنگينى چشمان خواب آلود،

كنار كهنه قاب خانه پوسيده مادر،

درون چشمهايم اشك، افكارم پريشان،

موج خون سرخ در رگ هايم آشفته،

ميان خواب و بيدارى نگاهم را

به شولاى سياه و تيره شب بسته بودم سخت.

 

نگاهم لحظه اى از پنجره سوى پدر گرديد.

پدر انگار صدها كس درون خانه مان ميديد.

و با چشمان مشتاقش كسى را در ميان كلبه مى كاويد.

 

بدون اعتنايى رو به بيرون سرا كردم.

بجز نورى كه پيدا بود فانوسى است

ديگر هيچ چيزى را نمى شد ديد.

 

پس از اندك درنگى ديده ام رو سوى در گرديد.

در از جا كنده گشته

زوزه بادى ميان كلبه مان پيچيد.

پدر دستان پيرش را به سويم كرد

و چيزى زير لب مى گفت.

پدر من را صدا مى كرد و من

در خلسه اى مبهوت و مات و گيج مى گشتم.

نگاهم خيره در چشمان او افتاد.

گمانم راز پنهانی به من  مى گفت.

بدون اعتنايى هيچ او را من نگه كردم.

و او از یأس بى پايان،

دو دست خويش روى سينه اش بنهاد

و ديگر هيچ.

 

پدر هم مرد.

پدر يك راز پنهان مرد.

پدر يك راز پنهان ماند.

 

 

و من پشمينه پوشى مانده و تنها،

درون كلبه اى خاموش و سرد و سوت،

به روى يك حصير خشك،

كنارم كوزه آبى سرد،

و تنها شعله شمعى روبروى خويش،

درونم صد هزاران راز خواهد مرد.

Common Names for God

 

Adonai	the Holy Ghost
Allah	the Holy Spirit
the Almighty	the Holy Trinity
Alpha and Omega	Jah
the Ancient of Days	Jehovah
the Creator	the King of Kings
the Deity	the Lord
the Divine	the Lord of Lords
Elohim	the Maker
the Eternal	Our Father
the Father	the Prime Mover
the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost	Shaddai
the First Cause	the Supreme Being
God Almighty	the Trinity
the Godhead	Yahweh

 

© Oxford University Press 1995, 2002