In pre-Islamic Middle Persian (Zoroastrian) literature, Alexander is referred to by the epithet "gujastak", meaning "accursed", and is accused of destroying temples and burning the sacred texts of Zoroastrianism. In Sunni Islamic Persia, under the influence of the "Alexander Romance" (in "Iskandarnamah"), a more positive portrayal of Alexander emerges. Firdausi's "Shahnameh" ("The Book of Kings") includes Alexander in a line of legitimate Persian shahs, a mythical figure who explored the far reaches of the world in search of the Fountain of Youth. In the "Shahnameh", Alexander's first journey is to Mecca to pray at the Kaaba. Alexander was depicted as performing a Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca) many times in subsequent Islamic art and literature. Later Persian writers associate him with philosophy, portraying him at a symposium with figures such as Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, in search of immortality.