Strategic Studies of Art

Strategic Studies of Art

The Manifestation of the Divinity Vayu and the Reinterpretation of the Myth of Arash the Archer on Sasanian Silver Plates from Schleiermacher’s Hermeneutic Perspective

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
ندا Ashoori 1
Arezoo Khanpour 2
1 PhD Candidate in Islamic Arts, Crafts faculty, Tabriz Islamic Art University, Tabriz, Iran.
2 Assistant Professor, Crafts faculty, Tabriz Islamic Art University, Tabriz, Iran.
10.22083/ssa.2025.555208.1098
Abstract
In Iranian mythology, the deity Vayu (the Wind) possesses extraordinary power; his presence in Sasanian art is depicted by ribbons. During the Sasanian era, art served as a tool for legitimizing rule. Among surviving art forms from this period are silver plates, which have been chosen in this study as a basis for examining the role of Vayu in Sasanian artistic expression. Only the Sasanian monarch and crown prince were portrayed in hunting scenes. Among military instruments depicted, the bow and arrow, along with the figure of the archer king, allude to the myth of Arash the Archer.

This study investigates a motif on Sasanian silver plates that connects the deity Vayu to support of the archer king. Drawing upon Schleiermacher’s hermeneutic framework, ten silver plates featuring royal figures with bows and arrows are analyzed. Employing a descriptive-analytical methodology and grounded in library research, the paper explores how religious discourse during the Sasanian period influenced formation of this motif.

Findings reveal that Vayu, absent from Zoroastrian sacred texts before the Sasanian era, became incorporated into such texts during this period. His visual embodiment emerged in ribbon-like patterns rendered on silver plates and relief sculptures.
Keywords
Vayu
Arash the Archer
Sasanian silver plates
Hermeneutics
Friedrich Daniel Ernst Schleiermacher

Subjects


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Strategic Studies of Art
Volume 3, Issue 4 - Serial Number 9
Autumn 2024
Pages 101-123