|
GORZ
(or
gorza;
Av.
vazra-,
Mid.
Pers.
warz,
Kurd.
gurz
"club,
mace"),
also
referred
to
as
gorz-e
ga@vsa@r/sar
(ox-headed
club/mace),
a
weapon
often
mentioned
and
variously
described
in
Iranian
myths
and
epic.
The
name
gorz
and
its
descriptions
can
be
found
in
most
texts
dealing
with
mythical,
religious,
and
epic
topics.
Gorz,
besides
its
function
as
an
instrument
of
war,
is
referred
to
in
ancient
Iranian
literature
as
an
implement
used
by
both
divine
entities
and
terrestrial
figures
as
a
symbol
of
the
victory
of
justice
over
oppression
and
order
over
chaos.
Its
use
as
described
in
classical
Persian
texts,
particularly
in
Ferdowsi's
ˆa@h-na@ma,
characterizes
it
as
the
decisive
weapon
of
choice
in
fateful
battles
(e.g.,
used
by
Fere@dun
against
Zaháháa@k/A‘i
Daha@k;
by
Sa@m/Garæa@sp
to
defeat
Ka@kuy,
the
grandson
of
Salm
and
Z˜aháháa@k,
and
to
kill
the
dragon
of
Kaæafrud;
by
Ge@v,
q.v.,
in
the
expedition
to
Ma@zandara@n;
and
by
Rostam
and
Sohra@b
in
their
encounter
in
combat;
see
ˆa@h-na@ma,
ed.
Khaleghi,
I,
pp.
37,
224-25,
233,
II,
pp.
13,
171).
Image
1:
Rostam
striking
a
white
elephant
with
an
ox-headed
mace
It
is
mentioned
in
Avesta
as
the
special
weapon
of
Mithra
(Yt.
10.132)
and
K™r™sa@spa-/Garæa@sp
(Y.
9.10).
K™r™sa@spa
is
portrayed
as
having
long
hair
(gae@suæ)
and
wielding
a
club
(ga’avaro@;
see
Reichelt,
p.
2),
while
Mithra's
club
is
described
as
being
made
of
gold
and
bearing
one
hundred
knobs
and
one
hundred
edges.
It
is
also
called
the
most
solid
and
the
most
effective
weapon
in
securing
victory
and
as
swift
as
imagination
(Yt.
10.132).
The
symbolic
significance
of
club/mace
can
still
be
noticed
among
Zoroastrians
of
the
present
time,
whose
mo@bads
still
carry
ox-headed
clubs,
called
Gorz-e
Mehr
and
Gorz-e
Fere@dun,
as
a
symbol
of
their
continuous
battle
against
the
forces
of
Evil.
They
believe
that
Mehr/Mithra
swings
his
club
three
times
each
day
over
hell
in
order
to
prevent
demons
from
tormenting
the
damned
more
severely
than
they
deserve
(Hinnells,
p.
130;
Boyce,
1968,
p.
53).
The
history
and
the
descriptions
of
club/mace
date
from
the
time
when
Indo-Iranian
tribes
were
still
together.
In
Indian
mythology,
Indra
owns
a
club/mace
(vajra-)
called
the
Thunderbolt
of
Indra
and
made
of
the
bones
of
Ris‚i
Dadòi±i,
a
sacred
figure
in
the
Vedic
literature.
It
has
been
also
referred
to
by
many
other
names
and
descriptions,
including
sky-borne,
splitter,
destructive
(Dowson,
pp.
332-33).
In
Middle
Persian
club/mace
is
described
as
a
weapon
easy
to
wield
(hu-waxm;
Mir
Fakòra@÷i,
tr.,
pp.
66,
166).
The
majority
of
references
to
the
use
of
mace
and
its
descriptions
in
New
Persian
texts,
are
found
in
the
ˆa@h-na@ma,
where
it
is
mentioned
more
than
250
times
as
gorz,
gorza,
gorz/gorza-ye
ga@vsa@r/ga@v-sar,
gorz/gorza-ye
ga@v-±ehr/ga@vrang/ga@v-ruy/ga@v-miæ,
gorz-e
gera@n,
gorz-e
yak
zakòm
(the
latter
epithet
only
for
the
gorz
of
Sa@m/Garæa@sp;
Wolff,
Glossar,
p.
699).
In
the
ˆa@h-na@ma,
prior
to
the
reign
of
Fere@dun,
the
club/mace
is
mentioned
only
by
its
common
designation,
namely
gorz
or
gorz-e
gera@n.
It
is
only
after
the
ascension
of
Fere@dun
to
the
throne
that,
following
his
instructions,
blacksmiths
forged
a
gorz
with
the
bull-shaped
head
made
of
iron;
from
then
on
the
term
gorz-e
ga@vsa@r
etc.
is
used
(ˆa@h-na@ma,
ed.
Khaleghi,
I,
p.
71).
Gorz,
as
a
symbol
of
chivalry,
heroism,
and
dispensing
justice
is
the
heritage
of
great
heroes
in
the
Iranian
national
epic;
it
remains
in
the
hero's
family
to
be
used
later
by
his
son
and
grandson.
Garæa@sp/Sa@m's
single-blow
mace
(gorz-e
yak
zakòm)
was
inherited
by
Za@l,
and
after
him
it
became
the
choice
weapon
of
Rostam
in
his
fateful
battles
(ˆa@h-na@ma,
ed.
Khaleghi,
I,
p.
347,
II,
p.
108).
The
connection
between
gorz
and
the
bull's
head
may
have
its
roots
in
the
significance
of
the
cow
in
the
life
of
Fere@dun
and
his
family
(Meskub,
pp.
12-46).
It
may
also
be
attributed
to
the
story
of
the
Farr
(q.v.)
that
left
Jam-æe@d
and
was
received
by
Mithra,
Garæa@sp,
and
Fere@dun
(Yt.
19.34-38).
There
is
a
number
of
bull-headed
maces/clubs
among
the
extant
ancient
weapons.
Careful
examination
of
these
ancient
war
relics
easily
reveals
why
Iranians
considered
the
mace
the
most
decisive
instrument
of
war.
Included
among
them
are
two
bronze
maces
kept
at
The
Metropolitan
Museum
of
Art
in
New
York,
which
are
dated
to
the
first
millennium
B.C.E.,
and
another
one,
made
of
iron
and
bronze,
kept
in
the
Los
Angeles
Sub-province
Museum
of
Art.
Pictures
of
bull-headed
clubs
are
also
found
on
ancient
bas-reliefs
and
coins.
Bibliography:
Mary
Boyce,
"On
the
Sacred
Fires
of
the
Zoroastrians,"
BSOAS
31,
1968.
Idem,
"On
the
Mithra's
Part
in
Zoroastrianism,"
BSOAS,
1969,
p.
26.
John
Dowson,
A
Classical
Dictionary
of
Hindu
Mythology
and
Religion,
Geography,
History,
and
Literature,
New
Delhi,
1984.
Prudence
Oliver
Harper,
"The
Ox-Headed
Mace
in
Pre-Islamic
Iran,"
Papers
in
Honour
of
Professor
Mary
Boyce,
Acta
Iranica
24,
Leiden,
1985.
John
R.
Hinnells,
Persian
Mythology,
London,
1973.
ˆa@hrokò
Meskub,
"Fereydun-e
Farrokò,"
Ira@n-na@ma/Iran
Nameh
5/1,
1364
ˆ./1985,
pp.
12-46.
Pahlavi
riwa@yat,
tr.
Mahæid
Mir-Fakòra@÷i
as
Rewa@yat-e
Pahlavi:
Matn-i
be
zaba@n-e
Fa@rsi-e
mia@na,
Tehran,
1367
ˆ./1988.
Hans
Reichelt,
Avesta
Reader,
Strassburg,
1911.
(Jalil
Doostkhah)
|