THE CROWN PRINCE AS A MYTHOPOETIC ARCHETYPE: LIMINALITY, SACRED KINGSHIP, AND HEROIC TRANSFORMATION IN WORLD LITERATURE

The image of the crown prince occupies a central position in world mythology and literary imagination, transcending its merely political and dynastic function. This article examines the crown prince as a mythopoetic archetype shaped by liminality, sacred kingship, and heroic transformation. Drawing upon the theoretical frameworks of Carl Jung, Mircea Eliade, and archetypal criticism, the study argues that the crown prince represents an intermediate ontological figure situated between ordinary humanity and sacral sovereignty. Through comparative analysis of mythological and literary traditions, the article demonstrates that the crown prince archetype consistently embodies collective expectations concerning cosmic order, legitimacy, sacrifice, and renewal. The study analyzes how the heir apparent functions within mythological structures as a liminal subject undergoing trials, symbolic death, moral testing, and spiritual transformation before attaining legitimate authority. Particular attention is devoted to Egyptian, Greek, and Indian mythological traditions, where the crown prince emerges as a symbolic mediator between divine order and historical continuity. The article further explores how heroic succession myths transform political inheritance into a metaphysical and ethical process. Ultimately, the research proposes that the crown prince is not simply a future ruler but a mythopoetic construct expressing humanity’s enduring aspiration for lawful, sacred, and morally legitimate power.皇太子形象在世界神话与文学想象中占据核心地位，其意义远超单纯的政治与王朝功能。本文将皇太子视为由阈限性（liminality）、神圣王权与英雄转型所塑造的神话诗学原型展开探讨，借鉴卡尔·荣格、米尔恰·伊利亚德的理论框架与原型批评方法，主张皇太子是介于普通民众与神圣主权之间的中介性本体论存在。通过对神话与文学传统的比较分析，本文证明，皇太子原型始终承载着人类关于宇宙秩序、统治合法性、牺牲与重生的集体期许。本研究剖析了王位继承人在神话结构中如何作为阈限主体，在获得合法权威之前经历试炼、象征性死亡、道德考验与精神转型。本文特别关注埃及、希腊与印度的神话传统，在这些传统中，皇太子作为神圣秩序与历史延续之间的象征性中介得以凸显。本文进一步探讨了英雄继承神话如何将政治继承转化为一种形而上学与伦理层面的过程。最终，本研究提出，皇太子并非仅仅是未来的统治者，而是一种神话诗学建构，表达了人类对合法、神圣且具备道德正当性的权力的持久向往。