1001 Mythical Creatures
of Iranian Culture and Beyond
From J.K. Rowling’s Mythological Beasts and Where to Find Them to popular renditions of Greek mythology in bestselling novels like Circe by Madeleine MIller, magical stories permeate our imaginations.
Luckily, Iranian culture has a deep well of narratives to draw upon. Until now, a lot of these fables have stayed stuck in local lore. Inspired by The Brothers Grimm’s roving search for fairy tales, the 1001 Mythical Creatures of Iranian Culture and Beyond effort collects, illustrates, and catalogues stories that have been passed down for thousands of years.
The process:
Anyone can submit a story or a creature and its possible region of origin to the @iranian_myths Instagram channel.
A group of volunteers reviews the stories and for 1 entire year illustrated, wrote, and published those submissions.
People across Iran and around the globe are invited to engage with the content and flag other regions where that story exists, creating a map view of these fascinating tales.
1001 Mythical Creatures aims to build community around these delightful, sometimes frightening, and always revelatory cultural stories.
The stories behind the Mythical Creatures are extracted from but not limited to the following 3 sources:
Iranian Epics
ShahNama
BorzuNama
Iranian Ancient Religious Texts
Zoroastrian - Avesta
Zoroastrian - Bundaheshn
Manicheist - Arjhang
Local Lores & folk tales
Oral sources:
This project receives tales from all around Iran (and beyond) on a daily basis. The stories are then illustrated and published on Instagram to gauge authenticity. If there are several confirmations from the mentioned regions, they will be added to the directory. An interactive map of these stories is coming soon.
Impact
Impressions to Date: 30,000,000+
Hours Spent: ~2000
Active Since: September 2021
Last updated: July 2022
Publisher
Eranshahr
Digital
Instagram - @iranian_myths
Print
Coming soon
Team Members
Mehrnoosh Khalili - Researcher, Writer
Farima Keshavarz - Illustrator
Erfan Aghvami - Illustrator
Zeynab Hashemi - Researcher, Writer
Sara Mohebbi - Translator
Yalda Rasekhi - Illustrator
Mojdeh Daneshvar - Illustrator
Shakiba Bahrami - Community Manager, Writer
Fatemeh Ahmadinezhad - Researcher
Mohammad Rasoulipour - Steward, Illustrator
Mikhala Lantz-Simmons - Copyeditor