In recent days I have seen many friends sharing an image of a statue that once stood in Baharestan Square, under the mistaken title “The Victory of the Angel of Freedom over the Demon of Despotism.”

The interesting point is that although this title needs correcting, the result of that correction is even more beautiful and more relevant to our own time, and it coincides meaningfully with a national occasion that lies ahead.

The truth is that this statue does not depict the angel of freedom, but the Archangel Michael, who has a special place in the Abrahamic/Semitic religions because he is regarded as the most powerful of the angels and as the one who drives Satan from heaven and the divine presence and triumphs over him.

Catholics regularly invoke him in prayer for victory over Satan. In this archetypal image, too, the figure defeated beneath his knees is Satan, not the demon of despotism—although, ultimately, the demon of despotism may itself be regarded as an embodiment of Satan.

The interesting point, however, is that many believe there are significant similarities between Michael and the deity Mehr, or Mithra, because in the Mithraic myth this deity likewise blocks Ahriman’s path in the heavens and confines him to the material world. The essay whose first page I have attached in the accompanying image also considers this resemblance.

This convergence is beautiful because Shab-e Chelleh, for us Iranians, symbolises the struggle between light and darkness and the victory of Mithra over Ahriman and darkness. In fact, saying that it is the angel of freedom who has subdued the demon of despotism is not so far from the mark, because the struggle of Mithra and Ahriman, of light and darkness, has continued throughout the entire historical expanse of Iranian thought.

The fact that this beautiful historical statue has attracted attention in these days as we approach Shab-e Chelleh is an auspicious coincidence. In the end, it is our collective unconscious that, through symbols and myths, recognises its path through history and the road ahead.

Aydin Areta

@AydibAreta