TEHRAN -- The Miras-e Maktub Research Center held its 56th gathering entitled “The History of Iran’s National Epics in Khodainamehs” in Tehran on Monday.

Khodainamehs are the first ancient Iranian histories and epics.

In a lecture at the gathering, researcher Mahmud Omidsalar said that written stories about ancient Iranian athletes dating back to the Sassanid era have been found in the works of the Greeks.

“A Greek physician named Ctesias, who served in the court of the Achaemenid kings, has mentioned the names of eight kings existing in the Median era but researchers declare that seven of these kings were mythical,” Omidsalar added.

“And if we accept that these seven kings were mythical, then these characters must have first appeared in stories compiled at that time. “Khodainamehs are not similar to Shahnamehs. They were written in the form of a story with the central theme being the adventures of athletes, and they were often embellished at a later stage.”