Behrouz Afkhami; Zeynab Khosravi
Abstract
The Persian garden is one of the most prominent cultural phenomena of Iran. According to the historical documents and archeological evidence, the first Persian gardens were constructed ...
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The Persian garden is one of the most prominent cultural phenomena of Iran. According to the historical documents and archeological evidence, the first Persian gardens were constructed in the Achaemenid period. This paper seeks to answer the question that which cultural and social meanings the Persian garden represents. The theoretical framework of the research is based on heterotopia theory of Foucault. Multiple meanings and functions of the Persian garden are discussed in this paper; the first is related to the removal of human constraints and the dominance of the Iranians living culture over the geography of their land, which appears in the landscape of the garden; the second is that the political entity utilizes the garden or its symbols in creating a sense of power and legitimacy; and the third is the harmony, integrity, and order of the natural phenomena. The Persian garden’s order created peace, and possibly a sense of closeness to God. The multiple and dense functions of the Persian garden have become part of the collective unconscious of the Iranians, and the garden becomes a central place in their culture; therefore, it has been constructed continuously during the history of Iran.
