Document Type : The social history of women in the art and society of Iran and the ancient world(Guest editor: Dr. Esmail Sangari)

Authors

• Azade Fathipour Dehkordi ¹
• Esmaeil Sangari ²
• Mohammad Shokri-Foumeshi ³
• Masoud Kasiri ⁴

¹ Student

² Associate professor of Department of History, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, University of Isfahan. Isfahan, Iran.

³ Assistant Professor of University of Religions and Denominations

⁴ Assistant Professor of history of Iran in Islamic period.

Abstract

The present study tries to analyze one of the Manichaean silk paintings from the Turfan collection in the Asian Art Museum of Berlin representing with the motif of the Maiden of Light, the famous goddess who leads the lights to their original land, the Paradise of Light. She causes to be released the lights (salvation of lights) imprisoned in plants and trees. In this way, the study attempts to see her functions in analogy to Anahita and Ishtar. The hypothesis of this research, which is suggested here for the first time, is based on this comparison. Here, we will try to compare the similarities of these three goddesses by analyzing the human motifs in the silk painting of the Maiden of Light and the two electae and to show how much Mani, the Babylonian and Iranian, could have been inspired sc. influenced by the myths of his own land.

Keywords

• Manichaean Iconography
• the Maiden of Light
• MIK III 6251 silk painting
• Turfan

Main Subjects

• The social history of women in the art and society of Iran and the ancient world