TEHRAN -- References to Alexander the Great by classic Iranian poets Abolqasem Ferdowsi and Nizami Ganjavi have been surveyed in a new book by Greek writer Mariana Theodoridou.

The book, entitled “Alexander the Great in the Works of the Great Iranian Poets Ferdowsi and Nizami Ganjavi”, was introduced during a special ceremony at the Parnassus Literary Society in Athens on February 15.

Greek Deputy Foreign Minister Theodoros Kassimis, Iranian Ambassador to Athens Mehdi Mohtashami, and a number of Greek academics attended the ceremony. Kassimis described Theodoridou’s work as comprehensive, saying, “The book will provide a good opportunity for Greeks to become familiar with great Iranian poets’ viewpoints on Alexander.”

The book is based on Ferdowsi’s “Shahnameh” and Nizami Ganjavi’s “Eskandarnameh” or “The Sikandarnameh” (“Book of Alexander the Great”).

“Iran’s long history has witnessed many stars that shone so bright that only one of them could culturally enrich the history of a country, but Ferdowsi is even more unique. He played a key role in Iran’s cultural destiny as well as in the eternity of the Persian language,” Iranian cultural attaché in Athens Mohammadreza Darbandi said at the ceremony.

“I’m happy that the book was published. I became familiar with the Persian language when I was working at the Greek Embassy in Tehran, and I enlisted many Iranian scholars for the research into Alexander the Great in the poetry of Iranian poets,” said Theodoridou.

The 780-page book also includes a number of Persian miniatures.