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Zoroastrianism: The Beginning of the End
Whence Begins the End?
Our book begins with Zoroastrianism because in Zoroastrianism begins the end. Named for its founder, Zoroaster (Greek translation of the Persian “Zarathustra”), this ancient religion emerged in what is today Iran, sometime between 1700 and 1000 B.C.E..1 In the mythological telling the first prophet is said to have appeared in the year 3000 B.C.E., “2,970 years after the Onslaught of Evil” and 3000 years before the apocalypse.2 Other ancient thinkers had contemplated the end of the world independently of Zoroastrianism, of course. “The capacity for humans to imagine their own annihilation is an old one,” Christopher Star explains in a fascinating study of notions of the end of the world in classical Greek and Roman philosophy. “Some of the earliest written texts we have, preserved on clay tablets from Mesopotamia and dating back to the second millennium B.C.E., tell the story of the repeated attempts by the gods to finally gain peace from all the noise generated by an ever-growing human population.”3 But these notions have had little lasting influence on humanity compared to Zoroaster’s prophecy of the Onslaught. Furthermore, they were not tied to a single creator God who established laws. In other words, Zoroaster’s is the first prophecy of the apocalypse emerging from ethical monotheism, which would become the religious faith of most humans on Earth, especially in the forms of Christianity and Islam.
In his visions, Zoroaster came to understand that the Onslaught had been initiated when one of God’s two sons, the source of evil, killed the first human being, an androgynous person named Gayomard.4 God’s second son is the source of good, and all of history, until its inevitable end, involves an epic struggle between these two sons and all their forces in creation, especially in the human soul. In Zoroastrianism, that struggle underlies the saga of life, death, and the end of the world and explains their meanings and the ultimate meaning of life. Thus, “religious history was an eschatological history, a necessary means to achieve the final victory of good over evil.”5 Zoroaster was chosen by God, created by God as His prophet, to proclaim this to the world.
Zoroaster’s birth was auspicious, as signaled by a number of miracles. For instance, as soon as the prophet was born, he chanted prayers against the forces of evil. This prompted Satan to seek to eliminate him, as Carlo Cereti explains: “Zoroaster’s youth was marred by [evil priests trying] to do away with him, but the attempts failed.” This included placing the child atop a blazing fire, “but the fire refused to burn him. Then he was laid in the path of cattle, but the largest of the bulls stood by him and did not allow any damage to be done to the child.” Subsequently, the evil priests tossed the baby prophet into a den of wolves, but the gods enabled Zoroaster to smash their fangs.6 Thus by the grace of God did Zoroaster survive and reach adulthood to become the world’s first prophet and to meet with God, Ahura Mazda.
The single most important event in Zoroaster’s life is his meeting with Ohrmazd [Ahura Mazda], when God reveals to him the religion . . . in its wholeness and the prophet accepts it in order to spread it among humankind. This took place when Zoroaster reached the age of thirty. . . . The god was in human form, but as tall as three men, each a spear length. . . . Once back from his meeting with Ohrmazd, Zoroaster proclaimed the truth of the religion, incurring the wrath of the [evil priests].7
The wrath of evil priests and the forces that drove them would not deter the prophet, however, who since birth had been protected by Ahura Mazda to fulfill his divine mission. Despite being persecuted and imprisoned for his teachings, Zoroaster managed to get kings to accept the new religion. This man would thereby change the world, a mystic and a prophetic visionary who spoke with God on multiple occasions and wrote down much of what he heard and saw during his transcendental sojourns in ancient scriptures called the Gathas.8
Seventeen hymns comprise the Gathas, “presumably the earliest part of the” larger Zoroastrian textual corpus known as the Avesta,9 which is also the name of the language in which he wrote them. Avestan, the root of modern Kurdish, is a historically close relative of Sanskrit.10
Perhaps Zoroaster’s most compelling vision was of the one True and Wise God, Ahura Mazda, “surrounded by six radiant figures.”11 Another was of the end of the world and the final judgment of the souls of the living and the dead. Zoroaster has thus been called “the world’s first prophet,” one “to whom we owe the ideas of a single god, the cosmic struggle between good and evil, and the Apocalypse.”12
Although today Zoroastrianism is a relatively minor religion (practiced by roughly 125,000 people),13 it was once the religion of mighty kings and held a place of prominence in Persian empires, especially the Achaemenid dynasty (550-330 B.C.E.), which had been founded by King Cyrus the Great. The religion declined considerably, however, when Muslims conquered Persia in the seventh century C.E., prompting most of the Zoroastrian faithful to flee Iran and settle in India, in a community known as the Parsis. However, by then the religion’s ideas had spread far and wide, especially along the Silk Road,14 and its influence had become indelible on Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and even Buddhism.
The World’s First Prophet
Who was this Persian prophet named Zoroaster? That is a difficult question to answer, as historians cannot pinpoint the century in which he existed. Most likely Zoroaster lived sometime between 1500 and 1200 B.C.E. With more certainty it can be said that he and his people were pastoralists, occasionally settled nomads whose subsistence relied largely on herding, as reflected in the prophet’s very name, which means “he who can manage camels.”15 The place of Zoroaster’s birth is also unclear, as the great prophet might have hailed from what is today Afghanistan rather than Iran. But exist he did, and his teachings would be as influential as any offered by Moses, Buddha, Confucius, Jesus, Muhammed, or Marx.
Having likely been trained from a young age to serve as a learned priest of his people’s faith tradition, Zoroaster was steeped in the polytheistic religion of ancient Persia. His visions are believed to have come to him while he was conducting a purification ritual for one of their divinities. The Avesta celebrates him as not only the first priest but also the first warrior and the first farmer.16 Zoroaster’s original belief system, before his prophetic reforms, bore many similarities to Hinduism as it is expressed in the oldest of all religious scriptures, the Vedas, the earliest of which were composed in Sanskrit before 1700 B.C.E. For example, “One of the greatest of the Iranian gods, Mithra, is the Vedic Mitra. Other Indo-Iranian gods are Zoroastrian devils, like Indra,”17 Sarasvati, the river goddess, Agni, the god of fire (called Atar in the Avestan language), and so on.
Zoroaster lived during a time of great social upheaval, as is often the case, in religious history with influential prophets. When a people’s culture, well-being, and identity are threatened by social, political, or natural forces, when chaos threatens order, when despair grips the masses, the time is ripe for prophets to rise and advocate their ways and the reformation of the world and its renewal. In a classic and widely debated 1956 article, Anthony Wallace coins the term “revitalization movement” for any major “deliberate, organized, conscious effort by members of a society to construct a more satisfying culture.”18 If we can accept Norman Cohn’s assessment of Zoroaster, the founder of the world’s first apocalyptic, ethical-monotheistic religion certainly fits the bill as a revitalization prophet:
He is the earliest known example of a particular kind of prophet – the kind commonly called millenarian. . . . Prophets who promise a total transformation of existence, a total perfecting of the world, often draw their original inspiration from the spectacle not just of suffering, but of one particular form of suffering: that engendered by an ancient way of life, with its familiar certainties and safeguards.19
Among the prophet’s people, the gods were called daevas and were worshipped popularly with hymns and sacrifices. The aromatic and hallucinogenic haoma plant, ground up, was an offering of choice.20 But Zoroaster proclaimed that there was only one Supreme God, Ahura Mazda (Ahura = Lord; Mazda = Wise). Ahura Mazda was the eternal creator and source of all that exists. The prophet’s calling was to awaken humanity to this fundamental truth and inspire all to worship and obey Ahura Mazda alone and to do right (asha, also meaning “truth”). Right and wrong, good and evil (druj),21 are awesome forces in the universe and in our souls, and Zoroaster implores us to opt for and to ethically battle on behalf of asha in this cosmic struggle that implicates us all. To do so in thought, word, and deed is to be saved; to fail and allow oneself to be seduced by druj is to be condemned, for we will all ultimately be judged in this vein at the end of time, on the heels of the apocalypse.
God, Good, Evil, and the Meaning of Life and Death
Zoroastrianism calls upon humanity to reject false gods and to worship and obey Ahura Mazda exclusively, so Zoroastrians refer to themselves as “worshippers of Mazda, the Wise God.”22 Evil is all around us, within us, within nature, within society, but we must faithfully endeavor to side with God and with asha to ensure that druj is ultimately defeated and that asha prevails. Good is driven by a pervasive divinity known as Spenta Mainyu, while evil is driven by an opposite and equally pervasive divinity known as Angra Mainyu, both of whom emanate from Ahura Mazda, the Supreme. According to the Avesta,
Now two primal spirits, who revealed themselves in a vision as Twins, are the Better and the Bad in thought and word and action. And between these two the wise one chose aright, and the foolish not so. And when these twain spirits came together at the beginning, they established the Life and Not-Life, and that at the last the Worst Existence shall be to the followers of the life, but the Best Thought to him that follows Right.23
Often in religious history, monotheistic insistence—or, in the case of the Buddha, nontheistic insistence—among the founders and elders inevitably cedes to the people’s fundamental need for more than one god. The great German sociologist Max Weber perhaps says it best in stating that “all religions and religious ethics have had to reintroduce cults of saints, heroes or functional gods in order to accommodate themselves to the needs of the masses.” This, furthermore, amounts to “the real religion of the masses in everyday life.”24 The ancient Persian masses, like most people who have ever walked the face of the earth, simply needed more than one god, despite the Gatha’s monotheistic insistence. Enter Mithra.
At the time of Zoroaster’s prophecy, one of the most popular of the daevas was Mithra (Mitra). The giver of cattle in a culture that venerated them, as in Hinduism, Mithra is a formidable deity born with a knife and a torch in his hands, whose power would be enhanced and eternalized when he “rode, and later killed, the life-giving bull, whose blood fertilizes all vegetation.”25 Popular devotion would eventually elevate Mithra to the role of Supreme Judge, who on Judgment Day indicates the eternal fate of all, depending on the aggregate moral balance of our thoughts, words, and deeds. In this regard, Mithra is quite similar to Jesus Christ, and it is possible that Christ’s fashioning, in Christianity, as judge and redeemer drew considerable inspiration from the Zoroastrian cult of Mithra, a widespread cult that was a serious competitor to early Christianity, especially during the Roman Empire.26 In ancient Iranian religion, even after the spread of Zoroaster’s teachings, Persians generally believed that Mithra was created by God as an “equal to himself in respect to his worship.”27 There is a clear echo here in the Christian belief that God and Jesus Christ are one and the same, as expressed in the Gospel of John (10:30): “My Father and I, we are one.”
Ahura Mazda’s oneness is further complicated in Zoroastrian theology by a series of modalities through which this supposedly unitarian God can be known, the amesha spenta. Six in all, the amesha spenta (“holy immortals,” the “radiant figures” in Zoroaster’s aforementioned vision) are the attributes of God that can be known and experienced by humans, though Ahura Mazda’s true essence transcends them and is, to us, imperceptible. Powerful traces of such an understanding of the Supreme—One whose attributes are knowable but whose essence is not—can be found in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, further underscoring the profound influence of Zoroastrianism on religious history. Concerning Ahura Mazda, three of these attributes are masculine (knowledge, love, service) and three are feminine (piety, perfection, immortality), and they are each the caretaker of various aspects of nature (e.g., the sky, the earth, water, animals, plants, the sun), thereby infusing them with asha. Hence, nature is generally considered to be pure and sacred in Zoroastrianism; however, creatures that are
harmful to human beings – insects such as ants, beetles, locusts, reptiles such as scorpions, lizards, and snakes, beasts of prey such as wolves – are . . . instruments of Angra Mainyu, brought into being to serve as his allies in his struggle to impair the ordered world. It is the duty of a Zoroastrian to destroy such creatures.28
Furthermore, Zoroaster identified anything in nature that “harmed cattle or blighted crops” as being demonic, as are “those tendencies in human beings – such as wrath, envy, and sloth – that lured them to offend against the principle of order.”29 The earth itself, meanwhile, is pure, and fire is even purer, though they are respectively defiled by rotting corpses and smoke, the infiltration of the forces of druj. Reflecting these central beliefs, Zoroastrians constructed “towers of silence” (dakhma) atop cliffs and cast the dead thereupon, to be dried out by the sun and devoured by raptors. Periodically, the bones of the dead are swept into a circular pit in the middle of the dakhma.
Among the evil daevas, it is Nasu, or Druj Nasu, who is most closely associated with death, the dead, and dreadful fear during funerary climbs up the dakhma. Conceived of as “a female bearer of physical decay. . . who takes the form of a fly with protruding knees,”30 Nasu is among the most feared beings in Zoroastrianism and the basis for believers’ revulsion toward human corpses and the formidable threat of impurification that they pose. And although there are no zombies in Zoroastrianism, Nasu’s supernatural repertoire includes penetrating human bodies, both dead and alive. This carries unmistakable zombic overtones, especially insofar as she lurks about the dead and seeks to contaminate the living, as reflected by Mahnaz Moazami.
The most evil manifestation of the demons is Nasu-/Nasus, which attacks the body when it comes into contact with dead matter, especially human and animal dead bodies, with bleeding, notably menstruation, and the trimming of hair and nails. The affliction of corpses by Nasu-/Nasus provided the basis for Zoroastrian abhorrence for everything that is dead. As soon as a dying person loses consciousness, Nasu rushes upon the body, generates pollution from decaying bodies, and contaminates all that come in contact with it.31
Those who carry a corpse to the dakhma are especially vulnerable to penetration by Nasu through every orifice, and elaborate purification rituals are performed on pall bearers so they will be cleansed of her dreadful contaminants.
Whereas the dakhma is a place of dread, Zoroastrian temples (dar-I Mihr, meaning the “gate of Mithra” or “house of Mithra”) are warm places of divine spirit. Furthermore, they all house fire, kept perpetually ablaze by priests wearing masks. The oldest example is in the religion’s most important temple in Yazd, Iran, whose fire has been burning constantly now for over 1,500 years. When Ahura Mazda created the world, “fire came last, and it took two forms – as visible fire and as an unseen force pervading all the animate ‘creations,’” and Zoroaster prescribed that the faithful are to pray and meditate before fire. There are, furthermore, three degrees of sacred fires in Zoroastrianism, and their consecration involves “an immensely long, elaborate, and costly undertaking.”32
In preparation for the overarching cosmic struggle between good and evil—asha and druj—that He set in motion, which is our reality and our world, Ahura Mazda created other allies besides Spenta Mainyu and the amesha spenta. Over and above creatures like dogs, whose gazes have spiritually purifying powers; owls, who are esteemed “as the bird beloved of asha”;33 and cows, revered by Zoroastrians in ways similar to those of Hindus; are the fravashi. The fravashi have been compared to Valkyries and are female “winged warriors,” the spirits of the ancestors who watch over and protect the living and provide us with water. So powerful an ally and purveyor of asha are they, that even “Ahura Mazda himself pays tribute to them.”34
Dimensions of Zoroastrianism
Let us now invoke a few of Ninian Smart’s dimensions of religion to organize and amplify our introduction to this remarkable faith tradition. When considering the nature, history, and scope of Zoroastrianism, with its emphasis on ethics, worship of one God, and prayer, Smart’s categories Narrative/Myth, Doctrinal/Philosophical, Ethical, and Ritual will structure the next section of this chapter, before we proceed to carefully consider Zoroastrian eschatology, In his writing on Zoroastrianism, Smart underscores the ethical: “This dimension was integral to the fabric of Zoroastrian thinking, which focused on the struggle between good and evil.”35
Narrative/Myth
At the risk of tempting redundancy, our attention here to Zoroastrian myth inexorably returns us to a discussion of Mithra.
The prophet Zoroaster was raised in a culture that was steeped in mythology, of stories about the many daevas his people worshipped, though his turn toward monotheism and his subsequent theological influence somewhat deflated the importance of this mythology among his followers.36 This was because the great prophet rejected their many gods and warned that they should devote themselves entirely to Ahura Mazda, worshipping Him alone, and focus on doing good rather than serving deceitful spiritual beings who are, for the most part, satanic traps. Thus, Zoroaster denounced literally thousands of ancient Indo-Persian myths about the daevas. However, as is usually the case in religious history, the masses have preserved tales and divinities that monotheistic prophets intended to cast away. Such was the case with Zoroastrianism, as it would also be in Christianity and Islam.
At the very beginning of creation, Ahura Mazda, the one eternal God and single source of all, created one of everything in existence, including one human being, Gayomard (“mortal life”), or Gaya (lit. “life”), an asexual man who was intended to be immortal and perfect. A giant being who roamed the earth accompanied by the original ox, God’s first human lived for three thousand years in primordial human perfection. Then Gayomard “was attacked and killed by the Evil Spirit Ahriman.” Ahriman created death and intended to “destroy the Wise Lord’s culminating creation,” including Gaya, who would live for only thirty more years after Ahriman’s creation of death.37 Upon his death, Gaya’s sperm fell out of his body to the earth, out of which were born the second man and the first mortal woman in the world, “a primordial brother and sister,” who procreated and hence set human history in motion.38 Also out of Gaya’s death and semen, “purified by the light of the moon,” were created “the vegetal and animal worlds.”39 This new and now complete creation was divided into six regions, and human diversity eventually emerged by virtue of variations in climate, topography, etc. Thus, despite our differences, all humans are members of a single family, blood relatives one and all.
Initially, God made an entirely spiritual world to preempt the influence of evil, only to create and populate our material world—the world in which you are reading this book—3,000 years later.40 Though Ahura Mazda made one of each plant and each sentient being in nature, the Creator also made two demigods to respectively rule over good and evil and pitched them into the world to engage in a battle whose outcome God had already written. This overrides and underscores all existence until the end of time. In relation, one interesting myth has it that Ahriman, the Devil, set out to alter the course of the sun and to disrupt the arrival of Judgment Day,41 though Zoroastrian mythology and scripture provide assurances that in the end good will prevail and the Devil will be thwarted.
Many important Zoroastrian myths concern Mithra, whose cult spread widely throughout the ancient Mediterranean world and much of premodern Europe, and whose traces are found in ruins from Algeria to England. Spelled variously, “Mithra” is first mentioned as a god in the oldest of all religious scripture, the Rig Veda, which was written in Sanskrit likely sometime between 1800 and 1500 B.C.E., the foundational text in Hinduism. In this text, the name Mithra is “a noun as well as a name,” while here “the word could mean variously ‘contract,’ ‘promise,’ ‘oath,’ ‘alliance,’ or more abstractly, a moral obligation.” By the time Mithra gained prominence in Persia, the word also came to mean “‘seal,’ ‘love,’ or ‘kindness,’ as well as acting as a synonym for the sun.” Thus, Mithra would be considered a sun god on the eve of the prophecies of Zoroaster, one commonly understood to be “invincible.”42 This trait became especially pronounced during the Roman Empire. When gods and religions travel, they adapt, and, given the remarkable expansion of the veneration of Mithra throughout India, Persia, the Mediterranean world, and much of Europe, the diversifications of Mithraic mythologies are too vast to even summarize here. In fact, it is likely that these diversifications are so numerous that it is untenable to speak about a single god by that name. Let us instead focus on Mithra in Zoroastrianism proper.
In ancient Persia, Mithra was associated with justice and with war, and he was often the recipient of animal sacrifices. While some scholars have opined that Zoroaster found cause in such rituals and associations to reject the cult of Mithra, Mary Boyce argues that there is nothing in the Gathas to suggest that he did. Though the name Mithra does not appear in the Gathas, as already noted, prophetic recitations of hymns in India and Persia were largely personal affairs that did not “imply the rejection of other divinities in the pantheon.” In fact, in his religion “Mithra’s worship was so closely associated with that of Ahura Mazda” that it might not have occurred to Zoroaster to denounce it.43 The Avesta speaks of Mithra as
He who first, of the heavenly gods, reaches over the Hara [Alburz Mountains], before the undying, swift-horsed sun; who, foremost in a golden array, takes hold the beautiful summits, and from then looks over the abode of the Aryans [Iranian peoples] with a beneficent eye.44
Mithra thereby brings the sun to rise every morning, behind him, as he crosses the mountains in a luminous chariot “drawn by white horses” and “armed with a silver spear, a bow and arrows of gold, daggers, axes, and [a] mace, which symbolizes his role as guardian of the cosmic order and the god who legitimizes kingship.”45
In addition to these roles, Mithra has long been believed to be a god who watches over humanity protectively and records all our deeds, with which we will be forced to reckon on Judgment Day. This reckoning will be overseen by Mithra, along with the Saoshyant (Saoshyan) (the Savior), in his role as judge as we walk across the Chinvat Bridge. The bridge spans over hell, the destination of the wicked, but because of his role as protector, Mithra wields his mace over it to prevent demons from seizing any of the righteous making their way across.46 Smart underscores how influential this mythology has been on other religions, namely Judaism, Christianity and Islam: “The imagination of other traditions was haunted by the Chinvat Bridge, and the resurrection of the glorified bodies, and the coming of a Savior, and the thought of life as a struggle between good and evil.”47
These key aspects of Mithraic mythology in Zoroastrianism would absorb additives over time, transforming him into a variegated and multifaceted divinity. The cults and myths of this god spread throughout the ancient world, becoming especially popular among soldiers in the Roman Empire. One of the most common myths is that of Mithra having emerged at birth out of stone and slain a cosmic bull. Such features, however, have nothing to do with Zoroastrianism,49 a religion in which Mithra has nonetheless maintained a place of pantheonic prestige, second only to God Himself, Ahura Mazda. It should be noted here that all religions change over time, some quite radically, and such is the case with Zoroastrianism. And although Mithra has ancient origins in the religion, his cult has fluctuated in popularity over time and has taken on elements throughout the Middle East, Mediterranean, and Europe that are unrelated to the teachings of Zoroaster.
Notwithstanding these variations and changes in his hagiography, what is key about Mithra to all Zoroastrians is the role that he plays on Judgment Day, but he is not alone here. John Hinnells outlines the crucial features of the Zoroastrian Savior as contained in the Avesta and a later body of scripture called the Bundahishn (Primal Creation), which was compiled in the eighth and ninth centuries C.E. in the Pahlavi language, or Middle Persian. The name of the Savior, Saoshyant, means “‘one who will bring benefit,’” and in Zoroaster’s teaching that benefit is identified as sava, or salvation. The term in the Gathas “is used in the plural, apparently to denote the future benefactors of the Good Religion. So, for example, in one Gatha Zoroaster asks Ahura Mazda when the time of piety, justice, peace and generally prosperity is to come,” and in response God refers to the Savior as “the appointed suppressors of passion.”50 Thus, Zoroaster did prophesize that a Savior would emerge at the end of time, but the notion in the Gathas is somewhat vague. This is clarified, however, in the later Pahlavi literature, which provides the important details described above about the timing and the virgin birth of the Savior, “the last of the three brothers born towards the end of the world, as benefactor par excellence.”51
More importantly still, in Zoroastrian eschatology the Saoshyant (Savior) takes on the task of the “restoration of the world,” one that, in the Avesta, entails that “ageing … dying … decaying … rotting” and all suffering will be eliminated and evil extinguished forever. In this role, the Saoshyant is referred to as “the ‘fiend smiter,’” and with a number of helpers he is to succeed as “the destroyers of demons,”52 including Ahriman, the chief of them all. And, of course, this restoration involves the resurrection of the dead and the judgment of all souls. For in the Avesta it is written that:
In the Earth shall Ahriman hide
In the earth, the demons hide.
Up the dead again shall rise,
And within their lifeless bodies
Incorporate life shall be restored.53
It is further stated that “Sosyant, at the command of the creator, will give all men their reward and recompense suiting their actions.”54
Doctrinal/Philosophical
Zoroastrian doctrine centers upon the notion that there is one God and one God only, Ahura Mazda, the original creator of all and the will of the fate of all. In addition to the world in which we find ourselves and everything around us, Ahura Mazda (Ohrmazd) created the forces of good and evil, which are ruled over by demigods named, respectively, Spenta Mainyu and Angra Mainyu. The latter is also known as the Devil, Ahriman.55 Depending upon the balance of our alignment with these forces—upon the measure of the good or evil of our thoughts, words, and deeds—ultimately we will all be judged and either cast into hell or welcomed into heaven. The Saoshyant, one of three posthumous sons of Zoroaster,56 will be decisively instrumental in this process, assisted “in their respective regions of the earth” by fifteen male and fifteen female servants.57 “One will appear at the end of each of the three last millennia of the world, miraculously conceived by a maiden who has swum in a lake where Zoroaster’s seed has been preserved,”58 guarded by “no less than 99,999 fravashi over the ages.”59 Meanwhile,
After 57 years Saoshyans, aided by 30 great persons of the departed who have remained linked with bodily existence, will break the demonic power and resurrect the bodies of the dead. Saoshyans and six helpers will then lead the work in the seven zones of the world, communicating with each other miraculously. When all souls have been cleansed, including those of the damned, Saoshyans will prepare for them white haoma—the ritual drink of the Zoroastrians—which will bestow eternal perfection on their bodies.60
Let us consider three fundamental laws that are ascribed to Zoroaster:
That the law of Ahura Mazda is true and that anyone who denies such will be “excluded from the light”
That there will exist at the end of the world as we know it a “Land of the Light,” and anyone who denies such will be excluded therefrom
That ultimately there will be a “restoration of the infinite time of God and of Light.”61
Much more will be said on the ethical dimension of Zoroastrianism, but here its doctrine of free will is to be noted: that all are free to choose good or evil in life and to participate accordingly in the cosmic dualistic struggle between these two forces. One’s acts, deeds, and thoughts are all recorded and will determine one’s entry into the “Land of the Light” or one’s banishment into hell, pitched off the razor-thin bridge into a dark, putrid, narrow pit full of demons, torments, poisons, intense heat (but not fire), terrible food, and horrible weather.62 Ultimately, however, the earth will be renewed and perfected, and even those souls who were initially banished to hell after their deaths will ultimately be welcomed into paradise on the purified, heavenly earth for post-apocalyptic eternity. In some interpretations, their torment will have lasted only four days. This relates to the Zoroastrian doctrine of the soul and of a generalized/divinized/angelic principle of the Conscience—an inner self called Daena—as the forces of good and evil vie for our soul, and on Judgment Day, Daena will greet the soul “personified as a lovely maiden or a hideous hag.”63
Ethical
As should be clear by now, Zoroastrianism is “an eminently ethical religion, both in its idea of God and of what God requires” of humanity, as George Foot Moore explains. Centrally, God requires us to renounce “false gods” and to “serve the Wise Lord alone, and contend on his side for the defeat of evil and the triumph of all good in nature and society and in the character of the individual.”64 As put by A. V. Williams Jackson, “The incessant warfare and constant struggle of these primordial principles is evinced at every turn in human life. This cardinal doctrine is one of the hinges on which the entire system of Zoroastrian ethics turns.”65 Zoroastrian ethics may thus be called dualistic, insofar as two diametrically opposed forces, good and evil, vie for control over all of creation and, most importantly, over our souls. We have free will, furthermore, meaning that we may choose to follow, or be swept up by, either force in everything that we say, do, and think.
Thankfully, we are not alone in navigating good and evil as we go through life. Not only are there good spiritual beings to help us, but there is also a divine element in one’s soul (urvan) like a guardian angel, but rather than hovering over us, it exists within us. As Joshua Mark explains,
At birth, the soul (known as the urvan) enters the body at the direction of the fravashi so that it can experience the physical world and take part in the struggle between good and evil. Throughout one’s life, the fravashi would encourage the soul on the on the right path of following the light and resisting the lies of darkness and evil.66
For many Zoroastrians, this idea is reflected in their religion’s master symbol, the faravahar, though it is more often taken to be an image that represents Ahura Mazda. Yet even if the symbol is essentially intended to represent the fravashi instead, they are an element of God, a divine spark, that exists in our souls to inspire and guide us on the path to righteousness, truth, light, and blissful eternal life.
In some respects, Zoroastrianism is thus the most fundamentally ethical of all religions and, significantly, the root of ethical monotheism itself, without which the world likely would never have witnessed the development of the ethical centrism of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. These are all major religions that pivot upon the belief in one God who communicates laws to humanity, with the expectation that believers will live ethical lives, in accordance with said laws, toward gaining eternal life. Additionally, Moore has rightly referred to Zoroastrian ethics as hinging upon the “doctrinal triad” of thoughts, words, and deeds. Everything that we think, do, and say are forces in the cosmic struggle between good and evil. Ultimately, we will be judged for eternity on how we employed our free will to navigate this struggle, one for which we are created and in which we are called to engage. That is the meaning of life, along with worshipping Ahura Mazda, who created us and set this entire saga in motion. This is clearly stated in the Avesta: “One who practices this triune doctrine of the holy faith is the Ashavan, or righteous . . . as opposed to the Anashavan . . . the follower of falsehood.”67
The dualistic foundation of this teaching is thus clear: Truth and goodness are one, while falsehood and evil are one, and we must choose between the two. The former path leads to light and bliss, whereas the latter leads to darkness and suffering. Thus are we called to seek to be good, pure, charitable, honest, upright, and compassionate, as opposed to bad, impure, selfish, dishonest, hostile, and uncompassionate. The ancient Greek writer Herodotus recorded that Zoroastrian parents “taught their sons three things, ‘to ride horseback, to use the bow, and to speak the truth,’” underscoring the great value that the religion places on honesty as one of the cornerstones of goodness.68 This is the root of ethical monotheism everywhere and the ultimate reason most people in world history have differentiated between right and wrong, just as they do today. Reflecting this, one of the most eminent scholars of Zoroastrianism, Mary Boyce, states that “Zoroastrianism is the oldest of the revealed world-religions, and it has probably had more influence on mankind than any other single faith.”69
Ritual
As with any religion, in Zoroastrianism there are both communal and individual rituals that the faithful perform, some in private, others in congregational gatherings that are usually orchestrated by priests (and today, priestesses). Others, especially offerings for the souls of the dead, are largely family based.70 The central rituals are as ancient as the religion itself, especially leaving offerings to the Divine and reciting prayers. Two of the most important communal Zoroastrian rituals are the Yasna (“worship” or “sacrifice”) and the Afrinigan (“blessings”). The former, which “for two thousand years . . . has been the main feature of Zoroastrian identity,”71 constitutes the religion’s “High Liturgy,” while the latter is performed to invoke the blessing of a range of benign and guardian spirits.72
Insofar as it “situates the participants in a cosmic struggle, the battle between good and evil,”73 as Ron Williams and James Boyd explain, the Yasna is deeply rooted in and inspired by Zoroastrian eschatology and a daily reminder thereof to all who partake. Zoroastrian temples all house fire, kept perpetually ablaze by priests. In Zoroastrian scripture we read “When Ahura Mazda, who resides in the endless light, created fire, he joined the radiance of this endless light with fire himself.”74 Thus for Zoroastrians, to gaze upon fire is to be in the presence of God; indeed, “the fire exemplifies the son of God, and epiphany of the Lord of Wisdom.”75
The Yasna ritual is conducted by a “priest [who] maintains contact with the barsom, a bundle of metal wires symbolizing connection between the mundane and spiritual worlds.”76 A second priest assists in the ritual’s orchestration, which is
essentially a priestly act of worship celebrated on behalf of the whole community. The liturgy is celebrated to please the great Lord of Wisdom, Ahura Mazda, and all spirit beings of his good creation. They are invited to be present at the liturgical celebration and are asked to receive the offerings and bestow their blessings.77
Passages from the Gathas are recited by the priests (who commit them to memory), and the words from this great scripture are themselves believed to bestow additional blessings on the ritual space and the participants.78 All partake of sacred bread and holy water.
Also celebrated by priests, who usually dress in white and undergo purifications prior to conducting the ritual, the Afrinigan may be performed in honor or veneration of any designated spiritual being (yazad – lit., worthy of worship),79 and it can take place in a temple, at one’s home, or near the towers of silence. Like the Yasna, it is always accompanied by fire, before which are placed various fragrant offerings, such as “flowers, wine, and fruit,” for the yazad.80 The flowers are also important symbols, as at one point in the ritual the priest twirls three of them to represent words, thoughts, and deeds, the vectors of one’s devotions to Ahura Mazda and of one’s performance of good in spurning evil’s advances. The offerings, which always include pomegranate and sometimes eggs and meats, are placed on silver trays and covered with white cloth, while the priests recite passages from scripture. This ceremony is performed both in memory of the deceased and in the hope that the yazad will accept the offerings so that “joy, delight, auspiciousness, prosperity, and goodness may come to the house, and that disease, sickness, discomfort, pain, and pestilence leave it.”81
“Water and fire are central agents and elements in Zoroastrian ritual,” observes Michael Stausberg. Historically, “the domestic hearth fire was the ritual/religious focus of the homes, and the development of the first temples . . . can be seen as an extension of the cult of the domestic fire.”82 At first, fire temples in Zoroastrianism were open to the air, often situated atop mountains and hills, based on the belief that no structure could possibly contain the spirit of God as manifest in the sacred flame (Atash Bahrman). Eventually believers began constructing sanctuaries and gathering in them under the ritual leadership of priests (magi, mobedyār). As Jamsheed Chosky explains,
By the Sasanian period, the basic architecture of fire‐temples had been established as had the rites conducted therein. The . . . ‘four arches’ style became the quintessential form for fire precincts. That style is seen in ruins (some restored) at hundreds of locales in Iran. Each precinct’s four columns supported a domed roof, forming a court whose four sides were open to ambulatory corridors and other indoor ritual precincts and congregational halls.83
The most famous of all Zoroastrian fire temples is the main one (there are several others in the city) in Yazd, which, at least since the twelfth century C.E., may be considered the axis mundi of the religion, as reflected by the images of this temple that adorn the homes of many Zoroastrians.84 This temple thus functions much like the Kaaba in Mecca for Muslims,85 because “every Zoroastrian who is able is expected to make the pilgrimage to Yazd once in his lifetime, [and] he must await an inspiration or an auspicious time to do so.”86 Per Norbert Brockman,
The pilgrim offers special prayers, burns incense, and then lights a candle in front of the sacred fire. The pilgrims stay for the night in prayer or singing chants. A goat or lamb is prepared and then sacrificed. The meat is cooked and divided among the family, other pilgrims, and the poor.87
Charity is highly esteemed as a form of asha in Zoroastrianism, and just as pilgrimage involves providing food to the poor, so do family-based rituals for the departed souls of the righteous. As such, the religion’s “striking . . . sense of community extends to a remarkable degree to the righteous dead, to the souls ‘who have overcome for righteousness,’”88 as it also extends to the poor. This is evinced in one of the most cherished prayers in the religion, derived from the Gathas, the Ahuna Vairya: “Just as the ethical (measure), so the soteriological measure of the actions of existence is assigned to Mazda, and to Ahura the power of good thought, whom (that power) will make the pastor for the needy.”89
So common are ritual celebrations of the dead, forms of communion in which the souls of the departed righteous are invited to join the living in a feast, that “very pious Zoroastrians may be said to live for the dead” and that “piety for the dead, cheerfulness, and charity combine in a way that is wholly Zoroastrian.”90 The living also perform rituals for the departed ashavan to assist their souls as they approach the Chinvat Bridge on their initial Judgment Day. (Shortly after death, one’s soul is initially judged and will be again after the apocalypse).91 In large part this is done by propitiating the Savior to “protect them from evil influences.” Hence “since Sasanian times onwards great importance is attached to the ceremonies in his honor during the period while the soul is presumed still to remain in this world,” but whose judgment is already underway.92
Zoroastrianism is thus a highly ritualistic religion, such that we have no space here to describe some of its many other ceremonies and practices. But besides tending to and praying before fire, several others more than deserve at least a passing mention here. For instance, “The festival of Mithrakana (also known as Mithragan) is held yearly in Mithra’s honor (at the autumn equinox),”93 while “the day of Zoroaster’s death is commemorated each year in India and Iran, on Ruz Khorsed . . . with a special intention for the soul of Zoroaster.”94 Other important rituals (rites of passage) are performed for the initiations of priests and priestesses in Zoroastrianism, and these too are tied to Mithra, for the initiate “receives the Mace of Mithra, symbolizing his responsibility to fight against the forces of evil and darkness.”95 And, of course, fighting against such forces is what all Zoroastrians are called to do until the end of the world as we know it, to which our attention now turns.
The End and the Renewal of the World
Put simply, eschatology is the study of the end of time, of the ultimate fate of humanity and the world, and of all that awaits us in the afterlife. This is reflected in the Greek origin of the term: eschatos (“last”) + ology (“the study of”). A key belief in Zoroastrian eschatology is that in the very end God will triumph over Satan, good over evil, and all human souls will be judged for eternity according to their obedience to God (or lack thereof) and their thoughts and deeds and words. Reflecting on the momentous influence of these Zoroastrian ideas on later religious developments, Moore offers,
The main features of this eschatology were adopted by Jews and adapted to the premises of their own religion; through Judaism it passed to Christianity, where it was fused with elements of diverse origin. From Judaism and Christianity, and to some extent later Zoroastrianism, Mohammedism [Islam] inherited it.96
It is that profound, and Moore’s comment here underscores an essential point about human religious history: the apocalypse and the notions of one God, angels, Satan, good, evil, the end of time, and the judgment of the living and the dead are Zoroastrian in origin. As such, Smart could reasonably assert that Zoroastrianism “is probably the most important influence on the way human beings have thought of history, as having an Urzeit [primordial time], a main, middle period, and an Endzeit [end time].”97
And just what will the end be like? What happens when we die and when we are resurrected to be judged? Much of the Zoroastrian insight into these and related questions derives not from the teachings of the first prophet but from those of a subsequent mystic, Arda Viraf. He existed sometime between the third and seventh century C.E., likely during the Sasanian Empire (224–651 C.E.), a period that saw Zoroastrianism flourish and enjoy state support. Whatever the years of his life, Arda Viraf emerged as a religious visionary of considerable renown in Persia. He recorded his visions in the Pahlavi language in a text called, appropriately, Vision,98 which provides details of his mystical journey to heaven and into the depths of hell. Arda Viraf was sent by God on these tumultuous journeys “in order to verify (1) Zoroastrian belief about the invisible worlds and (2) the efficacy of the rituals of the Zoroastrian community.”99
Because he was considered holy, Arda Viraf was chosen by his people to go on this spiritual sojourn. “Having fulfilled a series of religious duties,” as M. A. Barthélemy explains, “he ingested a narcotic and lied down to sleep on a sofa that had been prepared for him in the temple.” From there, things got really interesting: “During the seven days and nights of his journey into the other world, he was watched over by the faithful disciples, who continued to perform the requisite rituals.” Accompanied by “Séroche (Sraosha), protector of the righteous… and by Ized Atar, the holy fire,” Viraf is first brought to the Chinvat Bridge, where he sees the righteous dead, “whose death lasted but three days and nights,” in the company “of a beautiful young woman, a reflection of their goodness and piety.” Once the bridge is crossed, Viraf’s spiritual guides “allow him to see the joys of paradise and the pains of hell.”100
Many key features of Zoroastrian eschatology derive from Viraf’s visions, like the soul’s remaining near its deceased body for three days to contemplate its life while awaiting judgment on the fourth day. “At the dawn of the fourth day the soul awakens to consciousness to the new life amid the breath of a balmy wind fragrant with scents and perfumes.” The sinful soul, though, awakens to “a foul, chill wind blast heavy with sickening stench.”101 These winds portend what is to come, for if one’s sins outweigh one’s good deeds, thoughts, and words, one will simply fall off the Chinvat Bridge and into hell. In the Avestan language, the word for sin is wināh, whose roots are “to expire” and “to ruin,”102 reflecting the dire sense that to sin is to expire in the struggle for good and to ruin one’s chances of reaching paradise. Such was the fate of one of the condemned souls that Viraf met in hell, who had been judged guilty and punished for adultery. Another, who was judged to have denied parenting his children, was seen with “a few children shouting and begging at his feet, and devils devouring him like savage dogs.”103 In Zoroastrian eschatology, one can atone for one’s sin during the here and now, which is “the ultimate purpose of life;”104 however, if one fails to do so they are destined to plunge off the bridge and into “darkness” (tamah) or the “House of Lie” (drujo demana), as the terms for hell are rendered in the Gathas.105 Other grave sins that cause one to expire to such a fate are slander, the unnecessary killing of draught animals, hoarding material goods without sharing them, lying, sloth, perjury, excessive/expressive mourning, fasting, harming one’s parents, parsimony, jealousy, wasting seeds intended for planting, and inhospitality.106
Over and above these sins are three that are especially “abominable” and were identified by Ahura Mazda for Arda Viraf, as explain Golnar Ghalekani and Abas Hoqemi Aqiqi,
Ahriman (Satan) created three types of evil in this world: ‘one who is blind to truth, one who is deaf to truth, and one who is hostile, wrathful and vengeful to others.’ What makes self-imposed deafness and blindness a sin is in fact the tendency to ignore the truth and ignore one’s potentials to comprehend the truth. The third sin in this tripartite division is vengeance that has been morally but not legally banned. Vengeance ends in the empowerment of Ahriman and devils and amiability between people would disempower Ahriman and his gang.107
At what might be considered the nadir of his visions during this part of his journey, Viraf “sees Ahriman at the depths of hell flogging the damned with his bitter taunts.” It sounds to the prophet like a pit that constantly echoes the screams of the tormented below. Before returning to Earth, Viraf is brought once again before God, who instructs him that “there is no path but the path of purity and heeding the laws of Zoroaster and the recitation of the Ashem Vohou are the only ways to assure one’s resurrection to eternal life.”108 The Ashem Vohou (or Achem Vohou) is thus understandably the most important and most frequently recited prayer in Zoroastrianism: “Asha is true joy most supreme. Happiness embrace those who embrace Asha. and are full of praise for Asha Vahishta.”
Viraf’s visions of heaven suggest a paradise of boundless pleasure and eternal light, the abode of Ahura Mazda. He is seated on a throne in its highest reaches, a celestial sphere called Garotman, surrounded by the amesha spentas, saints, and prophets. This is the fourth sphere of heaven, which is illuminated by the Infinite Light, while the three lower spheres, one of good thoughts, one of good words, and one of good deeds, are illuminated by stars, the moon, and the sun respectively.109 Viraf never sees Ahura Mazda, but he does hear His voice and the voices of “choirs of Saints and Angels [who] take the form of a crown or of an eagle, dangling on an infinite ladder and giving voice to delicious harmonies.”110 The righteous that he sees, those saved, are shrouded in robes of divinely shimmering gold.
There is, too, a purgatory in Zoroastrianism, “a third place suited to the special cases in which the good deeds and the bad counterbalanced,” a place called Hamistikan (Hamestegan), “‘the ever stationary’ or ‘equilibrium.’’” There is no suffering here, nor is there bliss, and the souls in Hamistikan must simply await the end of time, the apocalypse, and the final judgment foretold by Zoroaster.111 Then they will be fine, received into eternal paradise.
Arda Viraf’s prophetic journey provided Zoroastrianism with a fuller picture of the fate that awaits us all and a recertification from God of the original teachings of Zoroaster. This is not our ultimate destiny, however, because, as had been previously revealed to Zoroaster, in the end Satan, druj, and all their agents of evil remain to be eliminated. As Cohn explains, “When the beginning of the cosmic struggle was revealed to Zoroaster, so was its outcome. At the end of ‘limited time’ … the world is to undergo a sort of ordeal, through which it will be purged of all evil.”112 The living and the dead of all times and ages will be gathered and escorted to face the record of their deeds, thoughts, and words, as a destructive battle ensues, an Armageddon for all the ages, with eternity in the balance. But Zoroaster foretold the outcome, so the followers of his teachings have always known that Ahura Mazda and all things asha would ultimately triumph.
This will not happen overnight, but over the course of a thousand years. The process of the end begins with the birth of the first of the three Saviors, which occurs after a virgin bathes in a lake where Zoroaster’s semen has been preserved and guarded by spiritual beings over time for this purpose. (The other two Saviors will follow in similar ways.) Upon the birth of the first Savior, “the sun will stand still for ten days and nights and vegetation will blossom for three years,” as Cereti explains.113 A millennium ensues, during which “a huge demonic wolf will appear, only to be destroyed by the followers of the Good Religion” upon the Savior’s offering of a sacrifice. Following this will be an unimaginably long winter so severe that life on Earth temporarily ends, but once the weather improves, life returns and there is no more illness. Things get dreadful once again, though, when “all serpents will unite into a gigantic dragon,” requiring the Savior to perform a ritual and lead the followers of the Good Religion to rise to fight and defeat this ultimate agent of druj, thereby also defeating human death by old age. The faithful next become vegetarians for fifty-three years, then consume only water, and then only spirit, as the sun shines over the earth indefinitely without setting. With the Savior, the righteous followers of the True Religion finally defeat Ahriman once and for all, and the Saoshyant performs a final ritual that brings forth the resurrection of the dead, Final Judgment, and Ahura Mazda’s restoration of the earth.114
Zoroastrian eschatology calls these cataclysmic events frashokereti (“making wonderful” or the “rehabilitation”).115 It is the first known articulation of the apocalypse in religious history, making frashokereti the cornerstone for future apocalyptic beliefs and movements, whether in Judaism, Christianity, or Islam. Etymologically speaking, the Zoroastrian notion is truly apocalyptic. In the original Greek, apokatastasis means “to restore,” and Zoroaster foretold a restoration of the earth and of all humanity following the absolute and definitive clash between good and evil at the end of time. During this great battle, mountains will melt into a river that will feel to the righteous as warm milk, but to the wicked as searing lava of molten iron. The river will flow into hell and exterminate Angra Mainyu and all of his evil forces and minions once and for all, while liberating the souls of the condemned, purifying and delivering them to unification with Ahura Mazda and all the righteous in heaven.
Conclusion
It may have surprised some readers that a book on the zombie apocalypse begins with a chapter on the ancient Persian religion of Zoroastrianism, but we hope the reason for this is now clear. Though it is impossible to say how differently religious history might have unfolded had it not been for the visions and mystical journeys of Zoroaster and Arda Ziraf, most scholars agree that their teachings, especially the former’s, have been of fundamental and foundational importance to the development of the idea of the apocalypse across ages and religions, an idea that has perhaps held more power over human consciousness than any other. There are also Zoroastrian roots to the ideas of one God, angels, Satan, heaven, hell, a Savior, and judgment, all of which are central to the idea of apocalypse. It is on the latter that this book focuses on, in addition to zombies, but first we will follow the trail of the apocalyptic idea as it leads through Judaism, Christianity, and Islam and highlight some of its spectacular dangers and magnificent triumphs, its remarkable tragedies and daunting wonders.
Notes
Some scholars believe that Zoroaster actually lived in what is today “northern Kazakhstan” or “western Afghanistan. But all are agreed that the people from whom Zoroaster came eventually settled in eastern Iran.” Norman Cohn, Cosmos, Chaos, and the World to Come: The Ancient Roots of Apocalyptic Faith, New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1993, 77. ↵
Carlo G. Cereti, “Myths, Legends, Eschatologies,” in Michael Stausberg, Yuhan Sohrab-Dinshaw Vevaina, and Anna Tessmann (eds.), The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Zoroastrianism, Chichester, UK: Wiley Blackwell, 2015, 259. ↵
Christopher Star, Apocalypse and Golden Age: The End of the World in Greek and Roman Thought, Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2021, 13. ↵
Cereti, “Myths, Legends, Eschatologies, 259. ↵
Ibid., 261. ↵
Ibid., 266. ↵
Ibid., 266–267. ↵
It should be noted, meanwhile, that many scholars today believe that these texts are actually “sacrificial poetry rather than the sermons of a prophet.” Michael Stausberg, “Zoroastrian Rituals,” Encyclopedia Iranica, 2000, http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/zoroastrian-rituals, last accessed June 24, 2020. ↵
Michael Stausberg, “Hell in Zoroastrian History,” Numen 56, 2009, 220. ↵
Originally, Avesta “probably meant something like ‘Authoritative Utterance’.” Ibid., 79. ↵
Ibid., 78. Ahura Mazda (also spelled Ohrmazd or often simply called Mazda) was perhaps a Persianized adaptation of the Vedic god Varuna. Marijan Molé, Culte, mythe et cosmologie dans l’Iran ancient: Le problème zoroastrien et la tradition madzéenne, Paris: Presses Universitaires de France, 1963, 4. ↵
Paul Kriwaczek, In Search of Zarathustra: Across Iran and Central Asia to Find the World’s First Prophet, New York: Vintage, 2004 (2002). Citation from subtitle and back cover. ↵
Roshan Rivetna, “The Zarathushti World: A 2012 Demographic Picture,” FEZANA Journal, Fall 2013, http://fezana.org/downloads/ZoroastrianWorldPopTable_FEZANA_Journal_Fall_2013.pdf, last accessed July 7, 2020. ↵
On religious encounters and meanderings along the Silk Road, see Richard Foltz, Religions on the Silk Road: Premodern Patterns of Globalization, New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 1999. ↵
Or “he who has active camels.” Cohn, Cosmos, Chaos, and the World to Come, 77. ↵
Mary Boyce, “On Mithra’s Part in Zoroastrianism,” Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 32, 1, 1969, 12, n18. ↵
George Foot Moore, “Zoroastrianism,” Harvard Theological Review 5, 2, 1912, 182. ↵
Anthony F. C. Wallace, “Revitalization Movements,” American Anthropologist 58, 1956, 265. ↵
Cohn, Cosmos, Chaos, and the World to Come, 95–96. ↵
Haoma is a cognate of the Sanskrit soma, a plant that is also an offering of choice in Hinduism. In the ancient Persian religion in which Zarathustra was trained, it was also personified as a deity, Hōm Yazad. On this, see David Stophlet Flattery and Martin Schwartz, Haoma and Harmeline: The Botanical Identity of the Indo-Iranian Sacred Hallucinogen “Soma” and its Legacy in Religion, Language, and Middle Eastern Folklore, Berkeley: University of California Press, 1989. ↵
Druj literally means “falseness” or “the Lie.” Cohn, Cosmos, Chaos, and the World to Come, 82. ↵
Ibid., 180. ↵
Yasna 30, 4, 4. The Yasna is the chief liturgical text of the Avesta. It is also the name of the principal worship ceremony in Zoroastrianism, whence this text and those surrounding it are received. ↵
Max Weber, The Sociology of Religion, trans. Talcott Parsons, Boston: Beacon, 1963 (1922), 103–104. ↵
Anonymous, “Mithra: Iranian God,” Encyclopedia Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Mithra, last accessed July 2, 2020. ↵
On the cult of Mithra, see Franz Valerie Marie Cumont, The Mysteries of Mithra, trans. Thomas J. McCormack, New York: Dover, 1956 (1903). ↵
William W. Malandra (trans. and ed.), An Introduction to Ancient Iranian Religion: Readings from the Avesta and the Achaemenid Inscriptions, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1983, 55. ↵
Cohn, Cosmos, Chaos, and the End of the World, 89. ↵
Ibid., 91. ↵
Jenny Rose, “Gender,” in Michael Stausberg, Yuhan Sohrab-Dinshaw Vevaina, and Anna Tessmann (eds.), The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Zoroastrianism. Chichester, UK: Wiley Blackwell, 2015, 280. ↵
Mahnaz Moazami, “Nasu,” Encyclopedia Iranica, 2016, https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/nasu-demon, last accessed May 8, 2023. ↵
Mary Boyce, “On the Sacred Fire of the Zoroastrians,” Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 31, 1, 1968, 52. ↵
Cohn, Cosmos, Chaos, and the End of the World, 92. ↵
Ibid., 90–91. ↵
Ninian Smart, The World’s Religions, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1989, 225. ↵
David Leeming, “Zoroastrian Mythology,” The Oxford Companion to World Mythology, 2005, https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780195156690.001.0001/acref-9780195156690-e-1747;jsessionid=01E96D661489FD9B136E52EB34D34145 , last accessed May 26, 2020. ↵
Carlo Cereti, “Gayomard,” Encyclopedia Iranica, 2015, n.p., http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/gayomard, last accessed June 22, 2002. ↵
Bruce Lawrence, “Human Unity and Diversity in Zoroastrian Mythology,” History of Religions 50, 1, 2010, 7–8. ↵
Cereti, “Myths, Legends, Eschatologies,” 261. ↵
Leeming, “Zoroastrian Mythology.” ↵
Antonio Panaino, “The End of Time and the ‘Laws of Zoroaster’: A Zoroastrian Doctrine in the Manichean Reception,” Il Limine: Studi e Ricerche, 2017, 65. ↵
Philippa Adrych, Robert Bracey, Dominic Dalglish, Stefanie Lenk, and Rachel Wood, “Introduction,” in Philippa Adrych, Robert Bracey, Dominic Dalglish, Stefanie Lenk, Rachel Wood, and Jas Elner (eds.), Images of Mithra, Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2017, 1–3. ↵
Boyce, “On Mithra’s Part in Zoroastrianism,” 18–19. ↵
Yasht 10:13. As cited in Joshua J. Mark, “Mithra,” Ancient History Encyclopedia, February 11, 2020, https://www.ancient.eu/Mithra, last accessed May 29, 2020. ↵
Mark, “Mithra.” ↵
Boyce, “On Mithra’s Part in Zoroastrianism,” 23–24. ↵
Smart, The World’s Religions, 226. ↵
Zoroastrian ideas, symbols, and beliefs reached China along the Silk Road in the sixth century. For a fascinating analysis of the meanings and representations in the sarcophagus featured in this image, see Bing Huang, “Deciphering the Si Jun Sarcophagus Using Sodigan Religious Beliefs, Tales, and Hymns.” Religions 12, 12, 2021. ↵
Mark, “Mithra.” ↵
John. R. Hinnells, Zoroastrian and Parsi Studies, London: Routledge, 2000, 49. ↵
Ibid., 51. ↵
Ibid., 52. ↵
In ibid., 53. ↵
In ibid., 54. ↵
Abraham Valentine and Williams Jackson, “The Zoroastrian Doctrine of Free Will,” Paper presented to the American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia, April 22, 1920, https://www.cais-soas.com/CAIS/Religions/iranian/Zarathushtrian/freedom_will.htm, last accessed May 25, 2020. ↵
Anonymous, “Saoshyans,” Encyclopedia Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Saoshyans, last accessed July 6, 2020. ↵
A. V. Williams Jackson, “The ‘Fifty-Seven’ Years in the Zoroastrian Doctrine of the Resurrection,” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland 1, 1928, 1–6. ↵
Anonymous, “Saoshyans.” ↵
Smart, The World’s Religions, 224. ↵
Anonymous, “Saoshyans.” ↵
Panaino, “The End of Time and the ‘Laws of Zoroaster’,” 61–62. ↵
Philippe Gignoux, “Hell in Zoroastrianism,” Encyclopedia Iranica, 2003, last accessed July 13, 2020. Interestingly, hell in Zoroastrianism, though featuring “atmospheric calamities” that include “burning heat,” is not a place of blazing fire as found in other religions. This is perhaps because of the sacredness of fire in Zoroastrianism; it is simply too pure to be part of hell. ↵
Jackson, “The Zoroastrian Doctrine of Free Will.” ↵
Moore, “Zoroastrianism,” 180. ↵
A. V. Williams Jackson, “The Moral and Ethical Teachings of the Ancient Zoroastrian Religion,” International Journal of Ethics 7, 1, 1896, 55–56. ↵
Joshua J. Mark, “Faravahar,” Ancient History Encyclopedia, February 12, 2020, https://www.ancient.eu/Faravahar, last accessed July 10, 2020. ↵
Jackson, “The Moral and Ethical Teachings of the Ancient Zoroastrian Religion,” 57. ↵
Ibid., 57–58. ↵
Mary Boyce, Zoroastrians: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices, London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1979, 1. ↵
Mary Boyce, “The Pious Foundations of the Zoroastrians,” Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 31, 2, 270. ↵
Alberto Cantera, “The ‘Sacrifice’ (Yazna) to Mazda: Its Antiquity and Variety,” in Allan Williams, Sarah Stewart, and Almut Hintze (eds.), The Zoroastrian Flame: Exploring Religion, History, and Identity, London: I. B. Tauris, 2016, 61. ↵
F. M. Kotwal and J. W. Boyd, ĀFRĪN, Encyclopedia Iranica 1/6, 1984, 580-581. ↵
Ron G. Williams and James W. Boyd, Art and Ritual Knowledge: Aeshetic Theory and Zoroastrian Ritual. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1993, 55. ↵
In Ibid., 37-38. ↵
Ibid., 37. ↵
Ibid. ↵
Ibid., 160. ↵
Ibid. ↵
Ibid., 179. ↵
Ibid., 167. ↵
Ibid., 174. ↵
Stausberg, “Zoroastrian Rituals,” n.p. ↵
Jamsheed K. Chosky, “Religious Sites and Physical Structures,” in Michael Stausberg, Yuhan Sohrab-Dinshaw Vevaina, and Anna Tessmann (eds.), The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Zoroastrianism. Chichester, UK: Wiley Blackwell, 2015, 397. ↵
Ibid, 400. Axis mundi (Latin: axis of the world) is a term coined by Mircea Eliade for the geographic, ethical, and spiritual focus and orientation of a religion, like the Kaaba in Islam. Mircea Eliade, The Sacred and the Profane: The Nature of Religion, trans. William R. Trask., New York: Harvest, 1959. ↵
The word Kaaba means “cube” in Arabic, and the black Kaaba in Mecca is especially revered in Islam for the stone that was placed in it by the prophet Muhammad (pbuh), which was sent to Earth by God to indicate to Adam where to mount the first temple for worship. Kaabas were widespread and served as temples in the ancient Middle East, and one in Iran is attributed to Zarathustra and seemingly housed fire. On this particular kaaba, see Martin Sprengling, “Zur Parsik-Inschrift an der ‘Kaaba des Zoroaster’,” Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft 91, 4, 1937, 652–672. ↵
Norbert C. Brockman, “Zoroastrian Fire Temples,” in Norbert C. Brockman (ed.), Encyclopedia of Sacred Places, Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2011, 628. ↵
Ibid., 629. ↵
Boyce, “The Pious Foundations of the Zoroastrians,” 270. ↵
There are many translations of this important prayer. This one is from Amir Ahmadi, “The Syntax and Sense of the ‘Ahura Vairiia’,” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society 22, 3/4, 2012, 538. ↵
Boyce, “The Pious Foundations of the Zoroastrians,” 270. ↵
Ibid., 271. ↵
Jal Dastur Cursetji Pavry, The Zoroastrian Doctrine of the Future Life: From Death to the Individual Judgment, New York: Columbia University Press, 1929, 15–16. ↵
Mark, “Mithra.” ↵
Boyce, “On Mithra’s Part in Zoroastrianism,” 25. ↵
Mark, “Mithra.” ↵
Moore, “Zoroastrianism,” 180–181. ↵
Ninian Smart, Dimensions of the Sacred: An Anatomy of the World’s Beliefs, Berkeley: University of California Press, 1996, 64. ↵
The text is often simply referred to as The Book of Arda Viraf. ↵
Ph. Gignoux, “ARDĀ WĪRĀZ,” Encyclopedia Iranica II, Fasc. 4, 356–357, 1986, http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/arda-wiraz-wiraz, last accessed May 23, 2020. ↵
M. A. Barthélemy, “Introduction,” in M. A. Barthelemy (trans.), Arta Vîrâf-Nâmâk, ou Livre de Arda Vîrâf, Paris: Leroux, 1887, iii–liv, vii–xii. ↵
A. V. Williams Jackson, “The Ancient Persian Doctrine of a Future Life,” The Biblical World 8, 2, 1896, 153. ↵
Golnar Ghalekani and Abas Hoqemi Aqiqi, “Sins Whose Punishment Is Postponed to the Hereafter in Some Zoroastrian Texts,” Washington International Law Journal 28, 2, 2019, 521. ↵
Ibid., 529. ↵
Ibid., 523. ↵
Stausberg, “Hell in Zoroastrian History,” 221. ↵
Ghalekani and Aqiqi, “Sins Whose Punishment Is Postponed to the Hereafter in Some Zoroastrian Texts,” 527–534. ↵
Ibid., 534. ↵
Barthélemy, “Introduction,” xiii–xiv. ↵
Ibid., xlix. ↵
Ibid., li. ↵
Williams, “The Ancient Persian Doctrine of a Future Life,” 153. ↵
Cohn, “Cosmos, Chaos, and the End of Time, 97. ↵
Cereti, “Myths, Legends, Eschatologies,” 270. ↵
Ibid., 271. ↵
Gherardo Gnoli, “Frashōkereti,” in Lindsay Jones (ed.), Encyclopedia of Religion, Detroit, MI: Macmillan, 2005, 3189. ↵
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Glossary
The most important and oft-chanted/recited prayer in Zoroastrianism: “Asha is true joy most supreme. Happiness embrace those who embrace Asha and are full of praise for Asha Vahishta.” ↵
A ritual performed in honor/veneration of any designated spiritual being, whether in temples, homes, or funerary spaces. ↵
Satan. The devil and chief adversary of God and the righteous faithful. Identified with Angra Mainyu and the progenitor of all evil in existence. ↵
lit. “The Wise Lord”; the one and only creator of the universe. The Supreme God in Zoroastrianism. ↵
lit. “The Holy Immortals.” The six modalities or qualities through which God is manifest to human beings and in the world. Seen as “radiant figures” surrounding God in one of Zoroaster’s visions. ↵
A “wicked” human being who neglects the Truth and the Good and instead follows the path of Darkness and Deceit. ↵
Divinity that emanates from God and who is identified as the devil (Ahriman) and thus as the source of all evil in existence. ↵
Persian prophet and visionary who lived sometime between the third and seventh centuries C.E. Recorded his influential visions of the apocalypse in a book called Vision, often referred to simply as the Book of Arda Viraf. ↵
lit. “Truth” or “Righteousness.” The cosmic force of goodness and the key ethical principle by which the Zoroastrian faithful seek to live. ↵
A “righteous” human being who follows the Truth and the Good and walks the path of the Light and the Divine. ↵
The Sacred Flame found in all Zoroastrian temples. ↵
lit. “Authoritative Utterance.” The most important scriptures in Zoroastrianism, written in the language by the same name, which contain the Gathas that were penned by Zoroaster. The compilation developed for over one thousand years but was completed by the seventh century C.E. ↵
The bridge that all the living and the resurrected dead must attempt to cross on Judgment Day, following the apocalypse. The righteous cross easily into paradise, while the sinful find the bridge to be as thin as a razor blade and fall off it and into hell. ↵
lit. “Towers of Silence.” Constructed atop mountains and hills, open-air, arena-like spaces. Each one has a pit into which the human dead are placed, to be devoured by carrion and dried to bones by the sun, thereby preventing rotting corpses from defiling the pure earth. ↵
lit. “gate” or “house” of Mithra; the name used for Zoroastrian temples. ↵
The cosmic force of Evil, Dishonesty, and Sinfulness, which the faithful are to shun and combat in life, thereby contributing to its ultimate defeat at the end of time. ↵
A form of religion that features belief in a single creator God who establishes, through revelations to humanity, laws and guidelines as to how to live a righteous life and avoid the pitfalls of sin. ↵
Chief symbol of the Zoroastrian religion, often seen on temples. Widely thought to depict God, Ahura Mazda. ↵
lit. “Making Wonderful” or “The Restoration.” The apocalypse and the subsequent restoration of the world and eternal gathering of the righteous into heaven, which entails the elimination of evil, Satan, sin, and pain. ↵
Powerful Valkyrie-like divinities, female “winged warriors” and the spirits of the ancestors who watch over and protect the living and provide us with water. ↵
The highest sphere of heaven and the abode of Ahura Mazda. ↵
Seventeen hymns attributed to the founder of Zoroastrianism, Zarathustra, and the oldest and most important component of the Avesta, the Zoroastrian Bible. ↵
lit. “Mortal life,” the original and singular giant asexual man from whom we all derive. ↵
lit. “The Ever Stationary” or “Equilibrium.” Purgatory. Place of neither suffering nor bliss, where those neither righteous enough to merit direct entry into heaven nor sinful enough to be cast into hell await the apocalypse and Judgment Day, before transferring to heaven. ↵
Hallucinogenic plant used frequently, in ground form, as an offering to Ahura Mazda and other, lesser, divinities. Related to Soma in Hinduism. ↵
The Holy Fire; also, a cognate name for a divinity of fire identified as Mithra. This fire accompanied Arda Ziraf on his mystical journey to heaven and hell. ↵
One of the most important divinities in Persian and Mediterranean history. Associated with the sun, justice, and war, and the giver of cattle, Mithra is second in importance in Zoroastrianism only to Ahura Mazda. ↵
Demonic, fly-like female supernatural being who invades human corpses and defiles those of pall bearers. Among the most feared beings in Zoroastrianism and a source of revulsion to death, burial, and the resting places of the dead. ↵
Name of the Zoroastrian community that migrated from Persia to India following the Muslim conquest of their homeland in the seventh century C.E. ↵
Zoroastrian savior(s), “fiend smiter,” who intervene or intervenes on Judgement Day on behalf of those deserving of salvation. The chief Saoshyan is a descendant of Zoroaster himself, the third of his three posthumous sons to be born on the eve of the end of time. ↵
“Angel of Conscience” who is “Protector of the Righteous” and who accompanied the prophet Arda Ziraf on his mystical journey to heaven and hell. Previously attested to by Zoroaster in the Gathas. ↵
High-ranking divinity, demi-God, created by Ahura Mazda to channel and rule over all goodness and righteousness in creation. Akin to the Holy Spirit in Christianity, an aspect of God. ↵
Oldest of all written religious scriptures in the world, the foundational texts of Hinduism, containing much material about divinities (deavas; devas) that are also important in Zoroastrianism. ↵
lit. “to expire” or “to ruin.” Essentially the word for “sin” in Zoroastrianism. ↵
lit. “worship” or “sacrifice.” Important Zoroastrian ritual (and the title of a book in the Avesta), conducted daily in temples and in homes, to remind the faithful of the cosmic struggle between good and evil in which they participate. ↵
lit. “worthy of worship”; term applied to any good spiritual being or divinity. ↵
Persian prophet and founder of the Zoroastrian religion; lived sometime between 1700 and 1000 B.C.E.; presumed author of the Gathas. ↵