Yima was the great hero of the early Iranians.

His titles, besides "the king" (khshaeta), are "the brilliant," "the happy," "the greatly wealthy," "the leader of the peoples," "the renowned in Aryanem vaejo." He is most probably identical with the Yama of the Vedas, who was originally the first man, the progenitor of mankind and the ruler of the blessed in Paradise, but who was afterwards transformed into "the god of death, the inexorable judge of men's doings, and the punisher of the wicked." Next in importance to Yima among the heroes is Thraetona--the modern Persian Feridun.

He was born in Varena--which is perhaps Atropatene, or Azerbijan--and was the son of a distinguished father, Athwyo.

His chief exploit was the destruction of Ajis-dahaka (Zohak), who is sometimes represented as a cruel tyrant, the bitter enemy of the Iranian race, sometimes as a monstrous dragon, with three mouths, three tails, six eyes, and a thousand scaly rings, who threatened to ruin the whole of the good creation.

The traditional scene of the destruction was the mountain of Demavend, the highest peak of the Elburz range south of the Caspian.