Who is ahura mazda

User Contributions:. Comment about this article, ask questions, or add new information about this topic: Name:. E-mail: Show my email publicly. Human Verification:. Public Comment: characters. Send comment. Again, this does not prove that Xerxes was a Zoroastrian, but it certainly does not contradict it. A final argument is a quote by the fourth-century Greek philosopher known as pseudo- Plato , who describes the teacher of young Persian noblemen:.

He teaches the science of the Magians , owing to Zarathustra, son of Ahuramazda. It is in fact the worship of the gods. Plato, Alcibiades A. Since it is certain that the Magians were involved in the state religion of the Achaemenid empire, we may argue that Zoroastrianism was Persia's official religion.

On the other hand, we should not rely too heavily on an author who states that Zarathustra was the son of Ahuramazda. Summing up the evidence, we see that the arguments against the Achaemenids being Zoroastrians are not completely convincing; on the other hand, the use of "Ahuramazda" as the name of a creator god, Darius' vehement dislike of The Lie, his suggestion that he protected the weak and Xerxes' use of the word daiva all suggest that these kings were influenced by Avestan doctrine.

However, as proof this is not conclusive. This is however too sceptical. Duchesne-Guillemin emerito oblata , Leiden, pages Truly, there are two primal Spirits, twins renowned to be in conflict.

In thought and word, in act they are two: the better and the bad. In the fifth century BCE or a some decades earlier, this line was reinterpreted: the twins were Angra Mainyu and Ahuramazda. This had important theological consequences.

Evil was now not only a personified power - as we have seen above, that was nothing new - but it was an eternal cosmological power. It was not created. Ahuramazda had been the creator of everything; now he was just the creator of the good things.

Zoroaster was one of the first monotheists; his Ahura Mazda was the one true god, bringer of both light and darkness. Ahura Mazda had various personified aspects, and darkness and evil was personified as Angra Mainyu. As Zoroastrianism evolved, Angra Mainyu was elevated to a near-equal of Ahura Mazda, and Zoroastrianism became the most purely dualistic religion that I know of. Ever since I the time I first heard of Zoroastrianism when I was 13, I have thought that seeing the universe as the battleground of two evenly matched gods of good and evil explained a lot more about the way things are than does monotheism.

Perhaps the Greek view of numerous squabbling gods is even better, but not so economical. I think that Evil must remain a part of our vocabulary. Topic select a topic Bibliography : J. Darmesteter, Ormazd et Ahriman , Paris, , pp. Jackson, Zoroastrian Studies , New York, , pp. Moulton, Early Zoroastrianism , London, , repr. Hallock, Persepolis Fortification Tablets , Chicago, , p. Monnot, Penseurs musulmans et religions iraniennes , Paris, , pp.

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