O white demon bound in chain O dome of the world, O Mount Damavand
The summit of Damavand is not only the loftiest peak in Iran and the Middle East, but also holds a deeply symbolic and mythical position in Iranian culture and identity. Among the many legends surrounding it, the story in the Shahnameh regarding the imprisonment of Zahhak by Fereydun within the heart of Damavand, is one of the most renowned and enduring epics of Ferdowsi’s masterpiece. This tale intertwines mythology, nature, and national culture in a profound way.
According to the Shahnameh, Zahhak (the Serpent King) was a tyrannical ruler who, after being deceived by Ahriman (the embodiment of evil), grew two serpents on his shoulders. These serpents demanded to feed daily on the brains of young Iranians, forcing Zahhak to order the deaths of countless innocents to sustain himself. Eventually, with the uprising led by Kaveh Ahangar and the revolt of the people, the young hero Fereydun rose against Zahhak, defeated him, and imprisoned him forever within Mount Damavand.
It is said that Fereydun’s mother, fleeing Zahhak’s cruelty, sought refuge in a village called Var in the Larijan region of Damavand, where Fereydun was born. He grew up there, reached manhood, and joined to the local people and defeated the tyrant Zahhak, casting him into a deep pit inside Damavand where he remains confined for eternity.
Thus, Damavand transforms from a natural mountain into a mythological prison, a place where the embodiment of evil and oppression was eternally bound. This very connection has made Mount Damavand a sacred and symbolic site in the Iranian collective memory.
In Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh, Zahhak is a complex figure, both human and demonic. He was the son of Merdas, a just and righteous king, but after falling to Ahriman’s temptation, he murdered his father and seized the throne.
Local beliefs surrounding Damavand add a mystical dimension to its legend. In the villages at the mountain’s foothills, local people believe that the sulfuric fumes rising from its vents are the very breaths of the imprisoned Zahhak. Some even claim that on calm summer nights, faint wails can be heard from within the mountain as if Zahhak still struggles against his eternal chains.
This ancient tale is more than a heroic legend and it carries deep philosophical and social meanings: that tyranny never endures and that justice will ultimately prevail.
Following Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh, Mount Damavand has held a special place throughout Persian literary history. Poets, writers, and thinkers have repeatedly invoked its name, sometimes as a symbol of resistance, at other times as a metaphor for grandeur or the unshakable spirit of Iran’s natural landscape.
The mountain’s harsh climate and formidable geography have made it a fitting symbol of remoteness and inescapability and an ideal mythical prison for evil forces.
The National Day of Damavand is celebrated annually on the evening of the 13th of Tir (early July) at the foothills of the mountain in Rineh, Larijan, organized by the Damavand Lovers Association. The temperature on its upper slopes can drop to –60°C in winter and hover around –1°C in summer. Mount Damavand rises to an elevation of 5,610 meters, and it is a stratovolcano that remains semi-active, with its current volcanic activity limited to the sublimation of sulfur gases. The last major eruption is estimated to have occurred around 38,500 years ago. The mountain has also been recorded under the names Bikni and Jabal al-Lajvard.
The 11th-century Persian traveler Nasir Khusraw Qubadiani wrote in his travelogue (Safarnama):
“Between Rey and Amol lies Mount Damavand, dome-shaped, called Lavasan.”In Middle Persian (Pahlavi), Lavasan means “the ridge of a mountain where the sun rises.”
The name Damavand itself is derived from dam (meaning vapor or breath) and avand (meaning holder or container), thus signifying “the holder of smoke, mist, and volcanic steam.”
In Iranian culture, Mount Damavand stands as a symbol of endurance and strength, a national emblem that has inspired countless poems and literary works. Over the past century, the image of Damavand has appeared repeatedly on Iranian banknotes, underscoring its enduring place as a proud symbol of the nation’s identity.