* The Archer.

Arash_e_Kamaangir (Arash the Archer)

Within the history of humans, we have interesting definitions of a hero. Some heroes kill the enemy in a hand to hand combat, some single handedly kill 10s and 100s. Some sacrifice themselves in order to kill enemies, some sacrifice themselves to save righteousness. This is one of my all times favorite stories. The one who sacrifice himself not to kill anyone, not even the enemies.

Unfortunately the spoken words only are in Persian, it was way too hard for me to translate it.

At the end of the war between Iran and Turan, Turanians had advanced to the near Damaavand mountain area. Turanians wanted to destroy the Iranians spirit, so they ordered an Iranian to shoot an arrow towards Turan. Wherever the arrow lands, would be the new border between the two countries. An Iranian hero, Arash by name, volunteered to shoot the arrow. The location: the peak of the Damaavand (Iran's highest mountain, 30 kilometers northeast of Tehraan, Iran's capital; height 5671 meter). On the bright morning of Teergaan, Arash stripped naked, faced north, strained his bow as never before, let the arrow fly and put his life in it. The arrow flew for one and a half days and fell at noon 2250 kilometers away on the bank of the Oxus River which is now Central Asia. And the river remained the boundary between Iran and Turan for centuries. By sacrificing himself, he ended the war and stopped the killing. Arash's body was never found. There are still stories from travelers who were lost in the mountain, who they heard Arash's voice that helped them find their way to safety.