Iran before and after the revolution: textual and visual metaphors of graffiti during the revolutionIntroductionDuring the prehistoric period, man created markings on the surfaces of caves and, since the end of civilization, on the walls of ancient structures. Although in some cases the motivations for producing such marks are shrouded in mystery, the murals and engravings certainly serve as factual evidence of human presence in various locations . The appearance and production of graffiti techniques has varied over the decades, but cave paintings from the prehistoric period, ancient engravings or contemporary graffiti today have at least one thing in common: they are all human products created with special care. purpose and meaning. Usually, the term "graffiti" is widely known and implied to define a contemporary form of writings and murals. In fact, the word refers to any writing or image scratched, engraved or painted on different surfaces at any time in history. According to Longman Dictionary, the word graffiti is defined as being rooted in the Italian “Graffiare” which means “to make marks on a surface”. ". Furthermore, with reference to Rychlicky (2008), graffiti is a plural form of "graffito", which, in turn, "denotes an image scratched on a surface". These examples probably present the most basic definitions of graffiti, although researchers today can find a wide range of characterizations of graffiti, which emphasize certain aspects of this phenomenon. Additionally, it should be noted that although the word "graffiti" has existed for centuries. , its implications in the English language as a specialized term are rather recent and appeared in middle of paper ...... 979 , the post - revolutionary period of the Iran - Iraq War , and recent events during the elections of 2009, which gave rise to the Green Movement. It will be argued that graffiti in Iran during the 1979 revolution and its aftermath created an alternative public space through which anti-regime views were highlighted and expressed. This experience was strongly influenced by certain cultural, social and religious symbols as well as political ideals. One of the main questions of the study is what textual content, visual and metaphorical techniques were used in different political periods? what were the differences and similarities between the graffiti of the 1979 revolution and the one after it? Another important question of the study is how meanings were created by certain symbols and metaphors in different periods. .