''The Legend of Mardoush'' ( fa, افسانه ماردوش), is a long animated

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

trilogy A trilogy is a set of three works of art that are connected and can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, and video games, and are less common in other art forms. Three-part wor ...

based on the mythical stories of Shahnameh. The metaphor ''mardoush'', literally meaning snake-shoulder, refers to

Zahhak Zahhāk or Zahāk () ( fa, ضحّاک), also known as Zahhak the Snake Shoulder ( fa, ضحاک ماردوش, Zahhāk-e Mārdoush), is an evil figure in Persian mythology, evident in ancient Persian folklore as Azhi Dahāka ( fa, اژی دهاک ...

, as two snakes grew on his shoulders after they were kissed by

Ahriman Angra Mainyu (; Avestan: 𐬀𐬢𐬭𐬀⸱𐬨𐬀𐬌𐬥𐬌𐬌𐬎 ''Aŋra Mainiiu'') is the Avestan-language name of Zoroastrianism's hypostasis of the "destructive/evil spirit" and the main adversary in Zoroastrianism either of the ...

. The production of this movie started in 2002 and finished in 2005 and it is one of the longest

clay animation Clay animation or claymation, sometimes plasticine animation, is one of many forms of stop-motion animation. Each animated piece, either character or background, is "deformable"—made of a malleable substance, usually plasticine clay. Tra ...

projects done in Iran.
(Persian)

Episodes

Cup of Divination

The first episode starts with a short review of history from the beginning, up to when Jamshid becomes the king. As he sees strange problems are emerging in his kingdom, he consults Shahrasb, an old, wise, and well-known priest among the Katouzians living in the

Alborz The Alborz ( fa, البرز) range, also spelled as Alburz, Elburz or Elborz, is a mountain range in northern Iran that stretches from the border of Azerbaijan along the western and entire southern coast of the Caspian Sea and finally runs nort ...

mountains. Shahrasb reveals that

was the cause of those problems and suggests him to capture the cup of divination, currently possessed by Ahriman, so that Ahriman cannot use it anymore. The episode is mainly about Jamshid and his 6 fellows looking for the cup. The episode ends when Jamshid successfully returns with the cup and founds

Nowruz Nowruz ( fa, نوروز, ; ), zh, 诺鲁孜节, ug, نەۋروز, ka, ნოვრუზ, ku, Newroz, he, נורוז, kk, Наурыз, ky, Нооруз, mn, Наурыз, ur, نوروز, tg, Наврӯз, tr, Nevruz, tk, Nowruz, ...

Azhi Dehak

In the second episode, Jamshid, little by little, becomes merciless and proud of himself. Against the warning of his friends, he frees the deevs imprisoned by his father in

mountains to use their force in building castles. Concurrently, the movie shows how

kills his father and becomes the "mardoush". The two characters finally confront, Jamshid loses the battle and escapes. Zahhak captures the whole Iran, and kills many people. The episode ends when he dreams

Fereydun Fereydun ( ae, 𐬚𐬭𐬀𐬉𐬙𐬀𐬊𐬥𐬀, Θraētaona, pal, 𐭯𐭫𐭩𐭲𐭥𐭭, ; New Persian: , ''Fereydūn/Farīdūn'') is an Iranian mythical king and hero from the Pishdadian dynasty. He is known as an emblem of victory, just ...

as the person who is going to take him down. Finding the meaning of his dream, he orders to kill all newborn boys.

The Fight of Fereydun

The third episode starts with the birth of Fereydun. He is secretly brought up in a grove, until Zahhak finds out his location but fails to catch him.

Faranak Farānak ( fa, فَرانَک) is a female character in the Persian epic ''Shahnameh''. She is married to Abtin and the mother of Fereydun. Etymology Farânak is derived from the word ''Parvâneh'', which means "butterfly" in Persian. Like many ...

(Fereydun's mother) then brings the young boy to Alborz mountains and asks Shahrasb to take care of Fereydun and teach him. Fereydun finally becomes a strong and clever man. With a huge army, he joins Kaveh and revolts against Zahhak, defeats and arrests him in the Alborz Mountains.

References

2000s fantasy films Iranian animated films Persian mythology in popular culture Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting original programming Persian-language television shows {{Iran-tv-stub