Rostam: Tales of Love and War from the Shahnameh (Penguin Classics)
by Ferdowsi
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The selected adventures of Persia's Hercules, from Iran's great national epic No understanding of world mythology is complete without acquaintance with Rostam, Iran's most celebrated mythological hero. According to the Shahnameh (the tenth-century Book of Kings), this titan, magnificent in strength and courage, bestrode Persia for 500 years. While he often served fickle kings - undergoing many trials of combat, cunning, and endurance - he was never their servant and owed allegiance only to show more his nation's greater good. Anyone interested in folklore, world literature, or Iranian culture will find Rostam both a rousing and illuminating read. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout world history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators. show lessTags
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I can say that the stories that I read from this book tell about many subjects: love, honor, adventure, cunning, fealty, loyalty, revenge, grief to name a few. But I would consider pride to be the greatest concern of these stories from the Shahnameh. Especially, how pride leads only to tragedy.
So many characters could have escaped their dismal fate, if only they had put away their pride. Most of them being Rostam himself. Rostam who is the greatest warrior of Iran, the maker of Kings, imbued with supernatural strength and versed in the magical arts, was brought down due to his own pride and with him the rest of his household.
Let people beware pride. It is a blind rabid lion, tearing apart its own kin in its frenzy.
So many characters could have escaped their dismal fate, if only they had put away their pride. Most of them being Rostam himself. Rostam who is the greatest warrior of Iran, the maker of Kings, imbued with supernatural strength and versed in the magical arts, was brought down due to his own pride and with him the rest of his household.
Let people beware pride. It is a blind rabid lion, tearing apart its own kin in its frenzy.
I found this book just as I finished 'My Name Is Red' and there is much in that book that is explicated in this one.
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91+ Works 1,485 Members
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Classifications
- Genres
- Fiction and Literature, Poetry, Fantasy
- DDC/MDS
- 891.5511 — Literature & rhetoric Literatures of other languages East Indo-European and Celtic literatures Iranian literatures Modern Persian / Farsi literature (8th century CE to present) Persian poetry ca. 1000–1389
- LCC
- PK6456 .A12 .R82 — Language and Literature Indo-Iranian languages and literatures Indo-Iranian philology and literature Iranian philology and literature New Persian Literature Individual authors or works Firdaws i_
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- (3.38)
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- Dutch, English, German
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- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 5
- ASINs
- 2
