Ancient Iran's Religion
Thus Spoke Zarathustra?
Dear Classical Wisdom Reader,
Maybe it’s the wrong thing to say…
But I’ve never been that big on Nietzsche.
While he’s undoubtedly a powerful writer and a provocative figure, I think I found early in my forays into philosophy that he’s just not for me!
Nevertheless, his legacy casts a long shadow.
These days, Nietzsche’s book Thus Spoke Zarathustra is probably the main way people in the west are exposed to Zoroastrianism, the religion of ancient Iran, and its prophet figure Zarathustra.
(And, indirectly, the Classical music piece famously used in 2001: A Space Odyssey, which takes Nietzsche’s work as its namesake).
Yet Nietzsche’s interpretation of Zoroastrianism is precisely that, a vehicle for his own ideas about philosophy.
So, despite the exposure, paradoxically the real religion has become obscured.
Today’s article looks at the history of Zoroastrianism, its beliefs, and the ways it formed both the ancient and modern worlds.
It’s a fascinating and eye-opening look at a much misunderstood religion.
So read on to discover how it shaped ancient Greek philosophy, and how it offered a pathway between polytheism and monotheism.
Feel free to have the music playing while you read…
All the best,
Sean Kelly
Managing Editor
Classical Wisdom
Zoroastrianism: Religion of Ancient Iran
Written by Lydia Serrant
Zoroastrianism is one of the world’s oldest religions. Otherwise known as Mazadayasna by those who follow it, the roots of Zoroastrianism date back as far as the Second Millennium BC and served as the state religion of Persia and other Iranian Empires for more than a millennium.
The Origins of Zoroastrianism
The religion is named after its founder, Zoroaster (or Zarathushtra) who lived sometime in ancient Iran (the exact date is currently contested). Born under a Polytheistic religion, Zoroaster received a vision of Vohu Manah (roughly understood as the God of Good) who took him on a journey to the Amesha Spenta, a cohort of divine entities and the Lord of Being and Wisdom known as Ahura Mazda – the highest Deity in Zoroastrianism.
And thus, Zoroastrianism was born. Zoroaster condemned the worship of multiple gods, politically opened the wedge between Iranian and Indian Aryans in Ancient Iran, and historically introduced the world to one of the first monotheistic faiths.
The Birth of Good and Evil
From Zoroastrianism, the concept of a singular God made its way into the Big Three Religions – Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. And whilst the Zoroastrianism did its best to spread the concept of a singular God of Good and Wisdom throughout early civilization, another concept spread along with it – Evil.
Whilst they are not worshipped by the major religions, Evil and spirits that represent Evil were certainly considered as deities in Zoroastrianism and are still to this day in the Big Three religions in the form of Demons, Jinns, and Dybukks.
As in major religions of today, Zoroastrianism is primarily concerned with the battle between Good and Evil, whereby spirits and forces from both sides do their best to influence humanity and manifest in the material world via the actions of mortal beings. Evil and the accompanying concept of Temptation, play a vital role in Death and the formation of the Afterlife.
The battle between Good and Evil brings to light that most Monotheistic faiths are religions of Duality. The influence of dualistic monotheism is evident in the development of Heaven and Hell where reside the Gods of Light and Darkness, who meddle in the lives of men until all is destroyed in the days of Final Judgement.
The Afterlife and the Evolution of Paradise
There is some evidence to suggest that these themes made their way into Judaism and later religions that stem from Judaic teachings, upon the liberation of the Jews by Persian Emperor Cyrus the Great. Shortly after and during this time, deities such as the Beelzebub emerged, a figure that later became Satan of Christianity and Sheytan of Islam.
After the Persian conquest of the Greek territories, even Greek philosophy began to adopt some features of Zoroastrian thought. Until the Persian influence, the Greeks believed that humans were merely puppets of the gods and the course of one’s life was spun by the Gods of Fate. After Persian Zoroastrianism reached their shores, the Greeks began to speak of the power of the individual, and how the choices we make in life had an impact on the quality of our death.
Winged Guides
Gods of Good and Evil often rely on agents to interact with humanity to do their bidding. When asked to think of an agent of the Gods, images of feathered Angels or Demons with Bat-like wings often come to mind. But where did these images come from? What is the link between flight and divinity?
Peri, (or Pari) are beautiful winged women of Persian mythology. They could be likened to Angels of Christianity, except for their origin.
Initially barred from entering heaven until proper penance was paid, the Peri represent spirits that drift between worlds. Whist initially being described as spirits of mischief, once introduced to Islam and incorporated into Turkish and Armenian mythology, Peri became benevolent sprits that stood in opposition to Jinns, Divs, and other spirits of Darkness.
From thereon, Peri became the guide of humanity. Religious texts speak of Peri in both psychological and physical terms, describing instances of humans being abducted by Peri to attend Divine social events, or Peri appearing in dreams to deliver messages of importance.
Even marriage was deemed possible between humans and Peri. In one legend, the Queen of Sheba is believed to be the product of such a union. However, due to the natural darkness that resides in all men, it is written that the relationship between Peri and Humanity is doomed to fail.
The images of human and bird hybrids, or birds sympathetic to humans, are not at all uncommon in ancient mythology.
A further example is Simurgh – an ancient Bird of Persian, modern Iranian and Kurdish Folklore that spread across most of the Eastern Roman Empire with the Persians.
Simurgh is often depicted as a bird with the head of a Man or Lion – however, the Bird is considered a Goddess, mother figure, and healer. Similar to the Peri, she is a messenger who travels between heaven and earth, offering divine guidance to those who are fortunate enough to catch a glimpse of her majesty.
Simurgh is known to adopt human men, and considering her role as the Great Mother, there are no reports of her giving birth to anything other than herself. Simurgh is the precursor to the Phoenix – a bird of fire that respawns from its ashes. She is the sum of all knowledge, having seen the destruction and rebirth of the world many times over.
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Other interpretations of Spirits of Paradise appear in later Islamic texts in the form of the Houri, beautiful women who accompany the dead to the Afterlife. The Houri are also reminiscent of the Valkyrie, ancient Norse spirits described as beautiful women who accompany those who died in battle to Valhalla. The Valkyrie are depicted either with wings or riding the backs of winged-horses.
Although Houri do not have wings, upon death a human spirit receives one Houri as a reward for every day of fasting or a good deed done in life. With the Houri, we see the evolution of reward giving and the promise that deeds done in life will be rewarded – or punished – in the afterlife and that good fortune is a gift from the heavens.
The Huma, a Divine Bird of Sufi and Diwan mythology and ‘Bird of Paradise’ in Ottoman Legend, bestows gifts on those deemed worthy and can foretell or bestow Kingship. This is possibly an early example of the belief in the Divine Right of Kings.
The Huma is androgynous, having both male and female attributes. Again, the underlying theme of duality resurfaces, and we are presented with a symbolic creature that embodies masculine and feminine harmonies that reproduces by itself, further representing the cycle of rebirth.
Representations of Bird and Human hybrids are symbolic of the forces of Good and Evil and other dualities in nature, that for every action there is a reaction and this process is an essential element of creation itself. This, I believe, is the message of Zoroastrianism and the religions that have followed. The wings of the Angels, Peri, and other winged creatures represent the Flight of the Soul, the Loftiness of Spirit and the Human Mind, in contrast with the physical world, materialism, and nature, as represented by human features, sympathies, and unions. The symbology speaks of a human spirit that is not born good or bad, but is shaped by the choices it makes over a lifetime (or many lifetimes, according to Buddhists).
The Huma, Phoenix, and Simurgh not only represent the cycle of life and death but also the Duality of masculine and feminine energies. Nature cannot exist without these reproductive elements. Therefore, Birds of Paradise are the link between life and death and serve as a reminder that every ending is a new beginning, and with every failure, new knowledge is born. These are archetypes as old as time.
The Zoroastrian representations of bird-like creatures have developed to appeal to the inner nature of humanity. Personal choice is central to the Zoroastrian text, as one has to earn their place in paradise, and personal responsibility for one’s actions could not exist without some basic concept of free-will. Zoroastrianism recognized that both Good and Evil are central to human nature, and now, as was then, we are vulnerable to external forces that challenge us to choose between the two.
Zoroastrianism was remarkable in the ancient world for its monotheistic basis and its good vs. evil and truth vs. falsehood belief system. It was not pure Good/Evil Dualism, which posits coequal forces of Good and Evil locked in an eternal struggle. It taught that Ahura Mazda, the good, wise and supreme creator, would ultimately defeat Angra Mainyu, the destructive, evil spirit of the cosmos. And humans would participate in the battle and the ultimate victory through moral agency, the free will determinism that stands on good and bad choices and behaviors. What is most remarkable are the similarities between Zoroastrianism and Judaism and the fact that both appear to have developed somewhat in parallel. I use the word “somewhat” because it is possible that Zoroaster and Moses were contemporaries, or at the very least they were both alive in the 2nd millennium BC. Abraham, the father of Judaism, predates both of them by 400-800 years. But Judaism was a tiny religion prior to Moses; only 70 “Jewish” forbears made the trip from Canaan to Egypt around 1800 BC. When Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt some 400 years later they numbered between 2 and 3 million.
This is a well worth read in that it begins to break down a stereotype of Iran in these troubled times. The Persians are one of the most mannered people as well as educated and have a deep and ancient history behind them. They will treat any guest with great hospitality. The more we understand about a culture the more we will find its beauty and the more we will understand ourselves in context of the world. Persian culture has much depth. Thank you for the article.