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Ahriman, Ahura Mazda, amesha spenta, Anquetil-Duperron, A(braham)-H(yacinthe), Avesta, Bundahishn, fravashi, Gabar, Gahanbar, Gayomart, haoma, hvarenah, Karter, magus, Noruz, Parsi, Rashnu, Saoshyans, Spenta Mainyu, Sraosha, Verethraghna, Vohu Manah, yazata, Yima, Zoroastrianism,
Zoroastrianism,
The ancient pre-Islamic religion of Iran that survives there in isolated areas and more prosperously in India, where the descendents of Zoroastrian Iranian (Persian) immigrants are known as Parsis, or Parsees. Founded by the Iranian prophet and reformer Zoroaster in the 6th century BC, this religion, containing both monotheistic and dualistic features, influenced the other major Western religions--Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. A brief treatment of Zoroastrianism follows. For full treatment, see MACROPAEDIA: Zoroastrianism and Parsiism.
Zoroaster's reforms cannot be appreciated without knowledge of the tradition into which he was born and educated. Society tended to be divided into three classes: chiefs and priests, warriors, and husbandmen and cattle breeders. This class structure is reflected in the religion, with particular gods or daivas ("heavenly ones") associated with each of the three classes. The ahuras ("lords"), for example, which included Mitra and Varuna, seem to have been connected only with the first class.
Zoroaster rejected the cults of all the gods except one ahura, Ahura Mazda, the "Wise Lord." It is not certain that Zoroaster was the first to proclaim Ahura Mazda. This deity appears as the great god of Darius 1 (522-486 BC), and it is not known whether Darius heard of him through Zoroaster's disciples or independently.
The origin of evil is traced in Zoroaster's system to an exercise of free will at the beginning of creation, when the twin sons of Ahura Mazda entered into an eternal rivalry. One, Spenta Mainyu (Bounteous Spirit), chose good, thus acquiring the attributes of truth, justice, and life. The other, Angra Mainyu (Destructive Spirit), chose evil and its attendant forces of destruction, injustice, and death.
According to Zoroaster the world was soon to be consumed in a mighty conflagration from which only the followers of the good would rise to share in a new creation. Until this came to pass, the souls of those who died would cross the Bridge of the Requiter from whence the good would be led to wait in heaven, the wicked in hell.
Later Zoroastrian cosmology conceives the history of the world as a vast drama divided into four periods of 3,000 years each. In Infinite Time, there existed Ormazd, who dwelt in the light, and Ahriman, who dwelt below him in the darkness. At the end of the first 3,000 years Ahriman crossed the Void that separated them and attacked Ormazd, who, perceiving that their struggle would last forever unless realized in finite terms, made a pact with Ahriman limiting the duration of their struggle. Ormazd then recited the Ahuna Vairya, the most sacred prayer of the Zoroastrians, which is believed to contain the germ of their whole religion. Ahriman, aghast, fell back into the abyss where he lay for another 3,000 years. During this time, Ormazd called creation into being, first the spiritual creation including the Beneficent Immortals, then a corresponding material creation--sky, water, earth, plants, the Primeval Ox, and Primeval Man (Gayomart). Next, to the fravashis (preexistent souls) of men Ormazd offered a choice between staying forever in their embryonic state and becoming incarnate in the physical world in order to secure his triumph over Ahriman; they chose birth and combat. Meanwhile Ahriman generated six demons and an opposing material creation.
At the end of the second period of 3,000 years Ahriman, instigated by Primeval Woman, the Whore, burst through the sky and corrupted the creation of Ormazd. He killed Gayomart, from whose body mankind and the metals were generated, and the Ox, from which arose animals and plants. In the third period, Ahriman triumphed in the material world but was unable to escape from it; trapped by Ormazd, he was doomed to generate his own destruction. The beginning of the last period witnesses the coming of religion on earth, namely the birth of Zoroaster. The end of each of its millennia is to be marked by the coming of a new saviour, successor and posthumous son of Zoroaster. The third and last saviour, Saoshyans, will bring about the final judgment, dispense the drink of immortality, and usher in the new world. Thus, Finite Time, which had come forth from Infinite Time, merges with it again after the interval of 12,000 years.
The literature of Zoroastrianism falls into two distinct parts: the Avesta, the original scriptural work, composed in a form of the ancient Iranian language called Avestan; and the much later texts written in Pahlavi, a dialect of Middle Persian, or in Persian.
After Zoroaster's death, his religion slowly spread southward, through what is now Afghanistan, and westward into the territory of the Medes and Persians. As it did so, it did not remain immune from contamination with the ancient religion, whose gods and goddesses were again worshiped. This development, which seems to have taken place in Achaemenid times (559-330 BC), is reflected in the later part of the Avesta. For about four centuries after Alexander's conquest (330 BC), it seems, Iran was more or less hellenized and the indigenous religion neglected; a revival did not come about until toward the end of the Arsacid, or Parthian, Empire (247 BC-AD 224).
With the advent of a new and decidedly national Persian dynasty, the Sasanian, in AD 224, Zoroastrianism became the official religion. Its hierarchy possessed considerable political power, and other religions (Christianity, Manichaeism, and Buddhism) were persecuted. The Avesta was compiled, edited, and provided with a translation and commentary in the vernacular, Pahlavi. The dualistic, or Mazdean, doctrine, which had gradually replaced the monotheistic system of the Gathas during the Achaemenid period, became finally accepted as orthodox.
Under Muslim rule the bulk of the population was persuaded or forced to embrace Islam, but Zoroastrianism was tolerated to a certain extent and succeeded in holding its own fairly well for about three centuries. Between the 8th and 10th centuries religious persecution and forced conversion to Islam led some of the remaining Zoroastrians to leave Iran and settle in India, most of them eventually in the region of Bombay. By the 19th century, these Zoroastrians, called Parsees, were distinguished for their wealth, education, and beneficence. In the 19th century, the Parsees renewed contact with the only remaining Zoroastrians in Iran, the Gabars. These two groups and their emigrants to other countries are today the only surviving practitioners of the religion of Zoroaster. Zoroastrian worship is most distinctively characterized by tendance of the temple fire.
Ahriman,
Avestan ANGRA MAINYU ("Destructive Spirit"), the evil spirit in the dualistic doctrine of Zoroastrianism. His essential nature is expressed in his principal epithet--Druj, "the Lie." The Lie expresses itself as greed, wrath, and envy. To aid him in attacking the light, the good creation of Ahura Mazda, the Wise Lord, Ahriman created a horde of demons embodying envy and similar qualities. Despite the chaos and suffering effected in the world by his onslaught, believers expect Ahriman to be defeated in the end of time by Ahura Mazda. Confined to their own realm, his demons will devour each other, and his own existence will be quenched.
The modern Zoroastrians of India, the Parsis, tend to diminish the importance of Ahriman by explaining him away as an allegory of man's evil tendencies, thus restoring omnipotence to Ahura Mazda.
Ahura Mazda
(Avestan: "Wise Lord"), also spelled ORMIZD, or ORMAZD, supreme god in ancient Iranian religion, especially in the religious system of the Iranian prophet Zoroaster (7th century-6th century BC). He was worshiped by the Persian king Darius I (reigned 522 BC-486 BC) and his successors as the greatest of all gods and protector of the just king.
According to Zoroaster, Ahura Mazda created the universe and the cosmic order that he maintains. He created the twin spirits Spenta Mainyu and Angra Mainyu (Ahriman)--the former beneficent, choosing truth, light, and life, the latter destructive, choosing the lie, darkness, and death. The struggle of the spirits against each other makes up the history of the world.
In the developed religion reflected in the Avesta, Ahura Mazda is identified with the beneficent spirit and directly opposed to the destructive one. He is all-wise, bounteous, undeceiving, and the creator of everything good. The beneficent and evil spirits are conceived as mutually limiting, coeternal beings, the one above and the other beneath, with the world in between as their battleground. In late sources (3rd century AD onward) Zurvan ("Time") is made father of the twins Ormazd and Ahriman (Angra Mainyu) who, in orthodox Mazdaism, reign alternately over the world until Ormazd's ultimate victory.
Something of this conception is reflected in Manichaeism, in which God is sometimes called Zurvan, while Ormazd is his first emanation, Primal Man, who is vanquished by the destructive spirit of darkness but rescued by God's second emanation, the Living Spirit.
Amesha Spenta
(Avestan: "beneficent immortal"), Pahlavi AMSHASPEND, in Zoroastrianism, any of the six divine beings or archangels created by Ahura Mazda, the Wise Lord, to help govern creation. Three are male, three female. Ministers of his power against the evil spirit, Ahriman, they are depicted clustered about Ahura Mazda on golden thrones attended by angels. They are the everlasting bestowers of good. They are worshipped separately and are said to descend to service on paths of light. Each has a special month, festival, and flower and presides over an element in the world order. In later Zoroastrianism each is opposed by a specific archfiend.
Of the six, Asha Vahishta and Vohu Manah are by far the most important. Asha Vahishta (Avestan: Excellent Order, or Truth) is the lawful order of the cosmos according to which all things happen. He presides over fire, sacred to the Zoroastrians as the inner nature of reality. To the devotee he holds out the path of justice and spiritual knowledge. Vohu Manah (Avestan: Good Mind) is the spirit of divine wisdom, illumination, and love. He guided Zoroaster's soul before the throne of heaven. He welcomes the souls of the blessed in paradise. Believers are enjoined to "bring down Vohu Manah in your lives on Earth" through profound love in marriage and toward one's fellowman. He presides over domestic animals. Khshathra Vairya (Desirable Dominion), who presides over metal, is the power of Ahura Mazda's kingdom. The believer can realize this power in action guided by Excellent Order and Good Mind. Spenta Armaiti (Beneficent Devotion), the spirit of devotion and faith, guides and protects the believer. She presides over Earth. Haurvatat (Wholeness or Perfection) and Ameretat (Immortality) are often mentioned together as sisters. They preside over water and plants and may come to the believer as a reward for participation in the natures of the other amesha spentas.
Anquetil-Duperron, A(braham)-H(yacinthe)
(b. Dec. 7, 1731, Paris--d. Jan. 17, 1805, Paris), Scholar and linguist who was generally credited with supplying the first translation of the Avesta (Zoroastrian scripture) into a modern European language and with awakening interest in the study of Eastern languages and thought.
At the University of Paris, Anquetil mastered Hebrew as his first Eastern language; later, he added Persian and Arabic to his linguistic stock. At the Royal Library in Paris, he found some ancient works in Avestan, an Iranian language of the time of the 6th-century-BC religious prophet Zoroaster. The largest remaining group of Zoroastrians, the Parsis, had fled to India to escape Muslim persecution. In search of the ancient Zoroastrian texts, Anquetil traveled to India, where he acquired and translated nearly 200 such manuscripts. He also wrote numerous papers and treatises on Oriental languages, laws, and systems of government.
In 1771 his Zend-Avesta appeared. Despite its many discrepancies and inaccuracies, it remains a pioneer work. Among his other works are Législation orientale (1778), Historical and Geographical Research on India (1786), and The Dignity of Commerce and the Commercial State (1789). His India in Rapport with Europe appeared in 1798, and his last major work was Upanishada (1804; "Secrets Never To Be Revealed").
Avesta,
Also called ZEND-AVESTA, sacred book of Zoroastrianism containing its cosmogony, law, and liturgy, the teachings of the prophet Zoroaster (Zarathushtra). The extant Avesta is all that remains of a much larger body of scripture, apparently Zoroaster's transformation of a very ancient tradition. The voluminous manuscripts of the original are said to have been destroyed when Alexander the Great conquered Persia. The present Avesta was assembled from remnants and standardized under the Sasanian kings (3rd-7th century AD).
The Avesta is in five parts. Its religious core is a collection of songs or hymns, the Gathas, thought to be in the main the very words of Zoroaster. They form a middle section of the chief liturgical part of the canon, the Yasna, which contains the rite of the preparation and sacrifice of haoma. The Visp-rat is a lesser liturgical scripture, containing homages to a number of Zoroastrian spiritual leaders. The Vendidad, or Videvdat, is the main source for Zoroastrian law, both ritual and civil. It also gives an account of creation and the first man, Yima. The Yashts are 21 hymns, rich in myth, to various yazatas (angels) and ancient heroes. The Khurda Avesta (or Little Avesta) is a group of minor texts, hymns, and prayers for specific occasions.
Zend-Avesta literally means "interpretation of the Avesta." It originally referred to the commonly used Pahlavi translation but has often been used as the title of Western translations.
Bundahishn
(Pahlavi: Original Creation), Zoroastrian scripture giving an account of the creation, history, and duration of the world, the origin of man, and the nature of the universe. Written in Pahlavi, it dates from the 9th century AD but is based on ancient material from a lost part of the original Avesta and preserves some pre-Zoroastrian elements.
Fravashi,
In Zoroastrianism, the preexisting external higher soul or essence of a person (according to some sources, also of gods and angels). Associated with Ahura Mazda, the supreme divinity, since the first creation, they participate in his nature of pure light and inexhaustible bounty. By free choice, they descend into the world to suffer and combat the forces of evil, knowing their inevitable resurrection at the final glory. Each individual's fravashi, distinct from his incarnate soul, subtly guides him in life toward the realization of his higher nature. The saved soul is united after death with its fravashi. Cosmically, the fravashis are divided into three groups--the living, the dead, and the yet unborn. They are the force upon which Ahura Mazda depends to maintain the cosmos against the demon host. Protecting the empyrean (sacred fire), they keep darkness imprisoned in the world. In the popular religion, the fravashis of the righteous dead and of ancestors are invoked for protection. In the Parsi festival Fravartigan, the last 10 days of each year, each family honours the fravashis of its dead with prayers, fire, and incense.
Gabar,
Any member of the small Zoroastrian minority in Iran. The name Gabar was formerly applied derogatorily to the Iranian Zoroastrians; the term is linguistically related to the Arabic kafir, meaning "infidel." The Zoroastrians who remained in Persia (modern Iran) after the Arab-Muslim conquest (7th century AD) had a long history as outcasts. Although they purchased some toleration by paying the jizya (poll tax), not abolished until 1882, they were treated as an inferior race, had to wear distinctive garb, and were not allowed to ride horses or bear arms. They were concentrated in Kerman and Yazd, where Zoroastrians still maintain fire temples. Many also live in Teheran. Long isolated, the Iranian Zoroastrians made contact with the Parsis, the wealthy Zoroastrians of India, in the 15th century, and exchanged messages concerning religious lore. Since the 19th century, the Parsis have taken a lively interest in improving the depressed condition of their Iranian coreligionists. They organized a society that raised funds to provide general aid and, especially, facilities for education. With the support of British ambassadors, their representatives remonstrated with the Persian government over discrimination against Zoroastrians. Beginning with the reign of Reza Shah (1921-41), the Iranian Zoroastrians enjoyed wider religious tolerance for decades until the Islamic revolution of 1978-79. They currently number a few thousand.
Gahanbar,
In Zoroastrianism, any of six festivals, occurring at irregular intervals throughout the year, which celebrate the seasons and possibly the six stages in the creation of the world (the heavens, water, the earth, the vegetable world, the animal world, and man). Each lasting five days, the Gahanbars are: Maidhyaoizaremaya (Midspring), occurring in the month of Artavahisht, 41 days after the New Year; 60 days later is Maidhyoishema (Midsummer), in the month of Tir; 75 days later, Paitishhahya (Harvest-time), in the month of Shatvairo; 30 days later, Ayathrima (possibly Time of Prosperity), in the month of Mitra; 80 days later, Maidhyairya (Midwinter), in the month of Din; and 75 days later, in the last five intercalary or Gatha days of the year, Hamaspathmaedaya (Vernal Equinox).
Parsis observe the Gahanbar festivals in two stages. Four liturgical rites are first celebrated: the Afringan, being prayers of love or praise; the Baj, prayers honouring yazatas (angels) or fravashis (guardian spirits); the Yasna, the central Zoroastrian rite, which includes the sacrifice of the sacred liquor, haoma; and the Pavi, prayers honouring God and his spirits, performed jointly by the priest and the faithful. A solemn feast then follows, in which the sacrifical offerings made in the preceding liturgies are consumed in ritual purity.
Gayomart,
Avestan GAYO MARETAN ("Mortal Life"), in later Zoroastrian creation literature, the first man, and the progenitor of mankind. Gayomart's spirit, with that of the primeval ox, lived for 3,000 years during the period in which creation was only spiritual. His mere existence immobilized Ahriman, the evil spirit who wanted to invade creation. Then Ahura Mazda created Gayomart incarnate--white and brilliant, shining like the sun--and put in him and the primeval ox, alone of all created things, a seed whose origin was in fire.
Ahura Mazda gave Gayomart the boon of sleep for respite from the onslaught of Ahriman. But after 30 years of attacks, Ahriman destroyed Gayomart. His body became the Earth's metals and minerals. Gold was his seed, and from it sprung the human race.
Haoma,
In Zoroastrianism, sacred plant and the drink made from it. The preparation of the drink from the plant by pounding and the drinking of it are central features of Zoroastrian ritual. Haoma is also personified as a divinity. It bestows essential vital qualities--health, fertility, and husbands for maidens, even immortality. The source of the earthly haoma plant is a shining white tree that grows on a paradisiacal mountain. Sprigs of this white haoma were brought to earth by divine birds.
Haoma is the Avestan form of the Sanskrit soma. The near identity of the two in ritual significance is considered by scholars to point to a salient feature of an Indo-Iranian religion antedating Zoroastrianism.
hvarenah,
In Zoroastrianism, the attribute of kingly glory. Introduced to the Persian religion from Iran as part of Mithraism, hvarenah is thought of as a shining halo that descends on a leader and makes him sacred. The king thus proclaims himself divine and can rule with absolute power in the name of God. The concept of hvarenah was especially popular with the Roman emperors, many of whom were Mithraic initiates.
Karter,
Also spelled KARTIR, or KARDER (fl. 3rd century AD, Iran), influential high priest of Zoroastrianism, whose aim was to purge Iran of all other religions, especially the eclectic Manichaeism founded by the 3rd-century Persian prophet Mani. What little is known of Karter comes from inscriptions on cliff faces, mostly dating from the reign of Shapur I (241-272). On more than 700 cliffs, he proclaimed the fundamental doctrines of the religion of Zoroaster.
Beginning his career under King Ardashir I (ruled 224-241), Karter restored the purity of the Mazdean religion (Zoroastrianism). Under Shapur I, he held the title of ehrpat ("master of learning"). Later, under another king, Hormizd, he was elevated to the rank of magaput, or chief, of the Magi of Hormizd, a title previously unknown to the Magi, the priestly caste of ancient Persia.
When Bahram I (ruled 273-276) assumed the throne, Karter was at last afforded an opportunity to get rid of his archrival Mani, who had been protected by Shapur. Bahram put Mani in prison, where he finally died. Karter managed to reestablish orthodox Zoroastrianism and proceeded to persecute all other religions, especially the Zandiks (Zoroastrian heretics, perhaps Zurvanites), who insisted on interpreting the Avesta in the light of their own thinking. After the death of Karter, a degree of religious tolerance gradually reasserted itself, and the many titles created for Karter or taken by him were recovered by other priests.
Magus,
Plural MAGI, member of an ancient Persian clan specializing in cultic activities. The name is the Latinized form of magoi (e.g., in Herodotus 1:101), the ancient Greek transliteration of the Iranian original. From it the word magic is derived.
It is disputed whether the magi were from the beginning followers of Zoroaster and his first propagandists. They do not appear as such in the trilingual inscription of Bisitun, in which Darius the Great describes his speedy and final triumph over the magi who had revolted against his rule (522 BC). Rather it appears that they constituted a priesthood serving several religions. The magi were a priestly caste during the Seleucid, Parthian, and Sasanian periods; later parts of the Avesta, such as the ritualistic sections of the Videvdat (Vendidad), probably derive from them. From the 1st century AD onward, the word in its Syriac form (magusai) was applied to magicians and soothsayers, chiefly from Babylonia, with a reputation for the most varied forms of wisdom. As long as the Persian Empire lasted there was always a distinction between the Persian magi, who were credited with profound and extraordinary religious knowledge, and the Babylonian magi, who were often considered to be outright imposters.