The peoples of Persia, going back into the antiquities of the Achaemenid dynasties and beyond, all the way up through the Islamic conquest of the country today known as Iran, have developed a beautiful tapestry of mythological stories, legendary heroes and heroines, bizarre monsters, Zoroastrian spirits and demons, and a host of other beings that inhabit the pages of the AVESTA (the holy book of Zoroastriansm) and epic poems such as Ferdowsi's "SHAHNAMEH, or "Book of Kings." They span thousands of years and almost as many sources, yet they continue to inspire and challenge the imagination today. This infographic takes a look at but a handful of the many figures that populate Persian-Iranian mythology, from the great hero ROSTAM, to the RUK, a giant and deadly bird which found its way into tales of Sinbad the Sailor, within the famous "Book of One Thousand and One Nights."
