Dahaka

Dahaka, also transliterated as Dahak or Dāhāk, is a name that appears in Persian mythology and later popular culture. In classical Persian sources the name is often treated as a variant of Zahhak, the dragon-shouldered tyrant of the Shahnameh. Zahhak is depicted as a demon-king who consorts with the evil spirit Angra Mainyu (Ahriman) and is punished for his tyranny; in the legend, two serpents grow from his shoulders and feed on human brains. He is eventually overthrown by the hero Fereydun and imprisoned beneath the mountains, a symbol of oppression and folly in the world. The form Dahaka is thus found in some translations and retellings of the myth, used to refer to the same demon or as a generalized monstrous figure.

In modern popular culture, Dahaka is best known as a major antagonist in the Prince of Persia video game series, particularly Prince of Persia: Warrior Within (2004). In that game, the Dahaka is a time-guardian demon charged with preventing paradoxes in the Prince's timeline. It pursues the Prince across different eras, serving as a living reminder of fate and the consequences of altering time. The portrayal emphasizes a fearsome, reptilian, otherworldly hunter and draws on mythic associations with tyranny and doom.

The name remains associative rather than a single canonical figure, and Dahaka may be encountered in various works of fantasy beyond those cited.