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Zoroaster was a Persian prophet who taught that rival gods—one good, one evil—struggled for control of the world. He called on his followers to support the good and promised them eternal life after the fiery end of the world. Today about two hundred thousand Zoroastrians remain in Iran, India, and North America. Zoroastrian dualism survives in concepts of hell and the devil as formulated in the Christian and Muslim religions.
Zoroastrianism is the ancient religion of the Iranian people. The prophet of this religion is Zarathushtra (Greek form Zoroaster), who lived approximately 1000 BCE in eastern Persia. The religion of the Iranians was closely related to that of the Indians who had immigrated to the Indus region. The Indo-Iranian religion was polytheistic and included two groups of deities, the Ahuras and the Daivas. Zoroaster reformed the old Indo-Iranian religion and made one group of these deities the beneficent ones (Ahuras), and another maleficent (Daivas). Among the Ahuras, one named Ahura Mazda (Wise Lord) was made supreme and the creator of the world and all that is good. Ahura Mazda was aided by a group of deities who act as his aspects or his archangels. While they were not a fixed number during the time of the prophet, they include Khshathra (Dominion); Haurvatat (Health); Spenta Armaiti (Devotion); Ameretat (Immortality); Vohu Manah (Good Thought); Asha (Truth/Order); and Spenta Mainyu (Holy Spirit).
Ahura Mazda is opposed by a host of fallen deities, the Daivas, who remained supreme in the Indic religion. For of each of Ahura Mazda archangels a deadly and maleficent demon was created to bring death and destruction to the world. These Daivas are headed by Angra Mainyu (Ahriman), which can be translated as Evil Spirit. It is the Daivas who attempt to destabilize the universal order (arta) and are in constant battle with the Ahuras. According to Zoroaster’s own words, people have the freedom of will to choose with a clear mind between the two sides, but if one chooses to be on the side of the Daivas and Angra Mainyu, he or she will suffer at the time of renovation (end of time) and will be placed in the Zoroastrian hell, which is dark and full of stench. But if one chooses on the side of Ahura Mazda, he or she will be prosperous and at the end of time will remain in the house of songs and best existence, that is, heaven. This is the first time in history that we find these concepts set forth, which later influenced Abrahamic religions when the Achaemenid Persian Empire ruled over Asia and the eastern Mediterranean.
The prophecies of Zoroaster are contained in seventeen hymns known as the Gathas of Zoroaster, which are part of a greater collection of hymns written down in the Sasanian period in the sixth century CE, known as the Avesta. The Avesta is multilayered and parts of it can be dated to different periods of Persian history. When Zoroaster passed away, his community composed a series of seven hymns known as Yasna Haptanhaiti, which is a further blessing of the Ahuras and solidifi cation of Zoroastrian beliefs. By the time of the Achaemenid Persian Empire, the old Ahuras and some of the Indo-Iranian deities who were not the focus of Zoroaster’s devotion made their appearance in the Zoroastrian religion. A number of deities such as Anahita, Mithra, Verethragna, Sraosha, and Tishtarya are worshiped and mentioned in the part of the Avesta known as the Yashts. These Yashts are hymns to various deities who are invoked for specific purposes and have various functions and associations. For example, Anahita is associated with water and fertility, Mithra with oaths and later the sun, and Verethragna with offensive victory. The section of the Avesta that mainly deals with law of purity and pollution as well as early myths of the Iranian people is known as Widewdad (antidemonic law).
The priests who memorized these sacred words and were responsible for the compilation of all the hymns are known as the Magi. They appear to have been a Median tribe (according to Herodotus) who were specialists in religion and served from the time of the Achaemenid period onward. One of the ceremonies of the Magi was the Haoma ceremony, in which the Magus mixed plant juice with milk and drank it in order to gain power and have visions. Fire is the other sacred element, which the Magi respected and before which they sang hymns. Hence, the place where the sacred fire burned and the place where the Magi worshiped was known as the fire-temple.
By the Sasanian Persian Empire in the third century CE, the hymns that were memorized were collected and those that were deemed unfi t were forsaken. The Sasanian state became allied with the Zoroastrian Magi and a Zoroastrian Empire was born. The Avesta was codifi ed and written down in a specific script. With the Arab Muslim conquest of Persia in the seventh century CE, the number of Zoroastrians began to dwindle. The Zoroastrians became a minority in the Muslim Empire and while some remained in Persia, many left for India. Today about two hundred thousand Zoroastrians remain in the world, mainly in Iran, India, and North America. Because of the low birth rate and the fact that Zoroastrianism is not a proselytizing religion, the number of followers of this religion is dwindling.
Bibliography:
- Boyce, M. (1984). Textual sources for the study of Zoroastrianism. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
- Kellens, J. (2000). Essays on Zarathustra and Zoroastrianism (P. O. Skjaervo, Trans. & Ed.). Costa Mesa, CA: Mazda Publishers.
- Malandra, W. W. (1983). An introduction to ancient Iranian religion: Readings from the Avesta and the Achaemenid Inscriptions. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
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