Seven Labors of Esfandiyar

E556560

The Seven Labors of Esfandiyar are a series of heroic trials in the Persian epic Shahnameh, in which the prince Esfandiyar battles supernatural foes and overcomes deadly obstacles to prove his divine favor and royal legitimacy.

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Statements (46)

Predicate Object
instanceOf episode of Shahnameh
heroic quest
mythological episode
appearsIn Book of Kings NERFINISHED
chronologicallyAfter youth of Esfandiyar
chronologicallyBefore battle of Esfandiyar and Rostam NERFINISHED
createdBy Ferdowsi NERFINISHED
depicts Esfandiyar’s invulnerability except for his eyes
featuresCharacter Esfandiyar’s charioteer
Goshtasp NERFINISHED
featuresLocation route to Turan
featuresObstacleType darkness
desert
dragon
enchanted feast
mighty warrior
witch
featuresOpponentType demons
sorcerers
wild beasts
hasCulturalContext Iranian epic tradition NERFINISHED
Persian mythology
hasLanguage Persian
hasLiteraryForm epic narrative episode
hasMainCharacter Esfandiyar NERFINISHED
hasMedium classical Persian poetry
hasMoralAspect danger of pride
reward for obedience
hasNumberOfLabors 7
hasOutcome Esfandiyar successfully completes all seven labors
hasPurpose to fulfill King Goshtasp’s command
to prove Esfandiyar’s worthiness for the throne
hasReception considered one of the major episodes of Shahnameh
hasReligionContext Zoroastrian-influenced worldview
hasTheme divine favor
heroic trials
obedience to royal command
royal legitimacy
struggle against fate
influenced later Persian heroic literature
isParallelTo Seven Labors of Rostam NERFINISHED
partOf Shahnameh NERFINISHED
relatedWork story of Esfandiyar’s death at the hands of Rostam
symbolizes divinely sanctioned kingship
ideal royal heroism
timeOfComposition around 10th–11th century CE

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Esfandiyar quest Seven Labors of Esfandiyar