Zoroaster
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Zoroaster, in a popular Parsi Zoroastrian depiction. This personified image of Zoroaster emerged in the 18th century, the result of an Indian Parsi Zoroastrian artist's imaginings; it quickly became a popular icon, and is now regarded by many Zoroastrians as being historically based. |
Zarathushtra (
Avestan:
Zaraθuštra), usually known in English as
Zoroaster (after the
Greek version, Ζωροάστρης,
Zōroastr"s) was an ancient
Iranian prophet, and the founder of
Zoroastrianism, which was the
national religion of the
Sassanian Empire of
Persia, and played an important role in the earlier
Achaemenean and
Parthian regimes. In Persian, the name takes the form
Zartosht ().
Zoroaster is generally accepted as a historical figure, but efforts to date Zoroaster vary widely. Scholarly estimates are usually roughly near 1200 BC, making him a candidate as the founder of the earliest religion based on revealed
scripture, while others place him anywhere between the 18th and the
6th centuries BC.
The name
Zaraθ-uštra is probably a
Bahuvrihi compound in the
Avestan language, of
zarəta- "old" and
uštra "
camel", translating to "having old camels, the one who owns old camels". The first part of the name has also been translated as "yellow" or "golden", from the Avestan
zaray, (
Modern Persian zærd) giving the meaning "[having] yellow camels".
A more romantic, but inaccurate, translation of the name, in the past has been "[bringer of the] golden dawn", based on the mistaken assumption that the second part of the name is a variant of the
Vedic word
Ushas meaning "dawn".
[CAIS, Zoroaster's name]This last translation seems to have derived from a desire to give a more fitting meaning to the prophet's name than "owner of feeble camels".
Estimates for the lifetime of Zoroaster vary widely, depending upon the sources used.
1400 BC–
1000 BC is cited by
Mary Boyce in her
A History of Zoroastrianism (
1989), representing the current scholarly consensus. "before
458 BC" is cited by
H.S. Nyberg in
Die Religionen des Alten Iran (
1938). The
Bundahišn or
Creation, an important text within the religion, cites the time of Zoroaster as 258 years before
Alexander's conquest of
Persia, i.e.,
588 BC. This "Traditional Date of Zoroaster" was accepted by many 19th century scholars, among them
Taghizadeh and
W. B. Henning.
Other scholars have been arguing even later dates, now widely-rejected, Darmesteter reporting
100 BC. Persian mythological dates are very early indeed, reaching into what is today known as the
Neolithic.
Linguistic
From an early time, scholars such as Bartholomea and Christensen noticed the problems with the "Traditional Date", namely the linguistic difficulties that it presents. Tradition holds that Zoroaster himself composed the eighteen poems that make up the oldest parts of the
Avesta, the
Gathas. The language of the Gathas and of the text known as
Yasna Haptanghaiti (the "Seven Chapter
Sermon"), is called Old
Avestan, and is significantly more archaic than the language of the later parts of the Avesta, Young Avestan. Gathic Avestan is still rather close to the
Vedic Sanskrit of the
Rigveda (
sound changes separating the two branches, both descending independently from
Proto-Indo-Iranian, include loss of
z in and development of a
retroflex series in Indo-Aryan and loss of aspiration and prevocalic
s in Iranian).
Since Rigvedic Sanskrit is slightly more conservative than Gathic Avestan, the Avesta is usually dated to a few centuries after the Rigveda. Based on the date of the composition of the Rigveda, commonly put to between the
15th to the
12th centuries BC, and a date of Proto-Indo-Iranian of roughly 2000 BC, the
Gāthās are dated to around
1000 BC (with 1200 BC as likely as 800 BC, compare
glottochronology for the inaccuracy of such estimates).
Historical
The historical approach compares social customs described in the Gāthās to what is known of the time and region through other historical studies. Since the
Gathas are very cryptic, and open to much interpretation, such a method can also only yield very rough estimates. The
Gathas point to a society of
nomadic pastoralists, contrasting sharply with a view of a Zoroaster living in the court of an
Achaemenid satrap such as Vištaspa. Also, the absence of any mention of Achaemenids or even any West Iranian tribes such as
Medes and
Persians, or even
Parthians, in the Gathas makes it unlikely that historical Zoroaster ever lived in the court of a 6th century satrap. It is possible that Zoroaster lived sometime between the
13th to the
11th centuries BC, prior to the settlement of Iranian tribes in the central and west of the
Iranian Plateau, but it is just as likely for him to have lived in a rural society during the centuries immediately following the Iranian migration. The historical estimate is thus consistent with, but just as vague as, the linguistic one.
Gherardo Gnoli gives a date near ca. 1000 BC.
Archaeological
Archaeological evidence is usually inconclusive for questions of religion. However, a
Russian archaeologist,
Victor Sarianidi, links Zoroaster to ca.
2000 BC based upon excavations of the
BMAC (Asgarov,
1984).
Indo-Iranian religion is generally accepted to have had its roots in the late
3rd millennium BC (e.g. the
Soma cult); but Zoroaster himself already looked back on a long religious tradition. The
Yaz culture (ca. 1500-1100 BC) in the
Turkmen-
Iranian border area is considered a likely staging ground for the development of
East Iranian and early Zoroastrian practices.
Mythological
Zoroaster was famous in
classical antiquity as the founder of the religion of the
Magi. His name is cited by
Xanthus, and in the
Alcibiades of
Plato as well as by
Plutarch,
Pliny the Elder and
Diogenes Laertius. Ancient Greek estimates are dependent upon
Persian mythology, and give dates as early as the
7th millennium BC. These are the dates to which
Parsis subscribe.
[1],[2]Persian mythology, mainly the
Shahnama of
Ferdowsi, and oral tradition place Zoroaster quite early.
Manly Palmer Hall in his book,
Twelve World Teachers, arrives at a rough estimate ranging from
10000 BCE to
1000 BCE.
What we know of the life of Zoroaster is from the
Avesta, the Gāthās, the Greek texts, oral history (which is a significant method of teaching in the tradition), and what can be inferred from archaeological evidence.
The 13th section of the
Avesta, the
Spena Nask, the description of Zoroaster's life, has perished over the centuries. The biographies in the seventh book of the
D"nkard (
9th century) and the
Shāhnāma are based on earlier texts which are no longer extant.
It is fair to say that Zoroaster lived in the northeastern area of ancient Persian territory. The Greeks refer to him as a
Bactrian (present-day
Afghanistan) because this is where he preached his religion after leaving his homeland, a
Median for his father was from
Atropatene (present-day
Azarbaijan) or a
Persian because his mother was from
Ragai about 3-5,000 years ago. His wife was named
Hvōvi, and they had three daughters,
Freni,
Pourucista and
Triti, and three sons,
Isat Vastar,
Uruvat-Nara and
Hvare Ciθra. His mother was Dughdova; his father was
Pourushaspa Spitāma, son of
Haecadaspa Spitāma. His illumination from
Ahura Mazdā came at age 30. His first converts were his wife and children, and a cousin named
Maidhyoimangha.
The Greek writers recount a few points regarding the childhood of Zoroaster and his
hermitic life-style. According to tradition, and
Pliny's Natural History, Zoroaster laughed on the day of his birth, and lived in the wilderness. He seems to have enjoyed exploring the wilderness from a young age.
Plutarch compares him with
Lycurgus and
Numa Pompilius (
Numa, 4).
Dio Chrysostom relates Zoroaster's
Ahura Mazdā to
Zeus. Plutarch, drawing partly on
Theopompus, speaks of
Zoroastrianism in
Isis and Osiris.
Here, he is a mortal, empowered by trust in his God, and the protection of his allies. He faces outward opposition, and unbelief and inward doubt. These human qualities support a historical Zoroaster, despite a lack of historical detail. The Gāthās are poetic admonitions and prophecies, cast in the form of dialogues with God and the
Aməša Spəntas "Immortals" (
Pahlavi Amahraspandān). However, they seem to contain allusions to personal events, over-coming obstacles in life imposed by competing priests, and the ruling class. He had difficulty spreading his teachings, and was even treated with ill-will in his mother's hometown (an exceptional insult in his culture and time).
It is important to note the differences between the Zoroaster of the later
Avesta and the "Zoroaster" of the Gāthās. In the later
Avesta, he is depicted wrestling with the
Da"vas or "evil immortals" (
Pahlavi D"wān), and is tempted by
Ahriman to renounce his faith. (
Yasht, 17,19), comparable to the story of the
Temptation of Christ in the
Synoptic Gospels.
The historical Zoroaster, however, eludes categorization as a legendary character. The Gāthās within the
Avesta make claim to be the
ipsissima verba (the literal word) of the prophet. The
Vendidad also gives accounts of the dialogues between Ahura Mazda and Zoroaster. They are the last-surviving account of his doctrinal discourses, presented at the court of King
Vištāspa.
Textual evidence regarding the birthplace of Zoroaster is conflicting.
Yasnas 9 & 17 cite
Airyanem Va"jah, "Homeland of the
Aryans" (
Pahlavi 'rān W"j), on the
Ditya River, as the home of Zoroaster, and the scene of his first appearance. The
Būndahišn or
Creation (20, 32 and 24, 15) says the
Dhraja River in
'rān W"j was his birth-place, and the home of his father. This same text identifies
'rān W"j with the district of
Arran on the river Aras (
Araxes), close by the north-western frontier of the
Medes. According to
Yasna 59, 18, the
zaraθuštrotema, or supreme head of the Zoroastrian priesthood, had his residence in
Ragha at a later (
Sassanian) time. The Persian
Muslim writer
Shahrastani endeavours to solve the conflict, by arguing that his father was a man of
Atropatene, while the mother was from
Rai.
According to
Yasnas 5 & 105, Zoroaster prayed for the conversion of King
Vištaspa. He then appears to have left his native district.
Yasnas 53 & 9 suggest that he ventured to Rai, and was unwelcome. Eventually, he met
Vištaspa, king of
Bactria. In the Gāthās he appears as a historical personage.
The court of
Vištaspa included two brothers,
Frašaōštra and
Jamaspa; both were, according to the later legend,
viziers of
Vištaspa. Zoroaster was closely-related to both: his wife, Hvōvi, was the daughter of Frashaōštra, and the husband of his daughter,
Pourucista, was
Jamaspa. The actual role of intermediary was played by the pious queen
Hutaōsa. Apart from this connection, the new prophet relied especially upon his own kindred (
hva"tuš). His first disciple,
Maidhyoimaōngha, was his cousin; his father was, according to the later
Avesta,
Pourušaspa, his mother
Dughdova, his great-grandfather
Ha"cataspa, and the ancestor of the whole family
Spitama, for which reason Zoroaster usually bears this sur-name. His sons and daughters are repeatedly mentioned. His death is not mentioned in the
Avesta; in the
Shahnama, he is said to have been murdered at the altar by the
Turanians in the storming of
Balkh.
Placing the date of King
Vištaspa is difficult. Antiquated sources suggest
Vištaspa was
Hystaspes, father of
Darius I.
Hutaōsa is the same name as
Atossa; who apparently was
queen consort to
Cambyses II,
Smerdis and
Darius I. The matriarchal name is the only link to the
Achaemenidian lineage.
According to the
Book of Arda Viraf, Zoroaster taught an estimated 300 years before the invasion of
Alexander the Great.
Assyrian inscriptions relegate him to a more ancient period. Eduard Meyer maintains that the Zoroastrian religion must have been predominant among the
Medes; therefore, he estimates the date of Zoroaster at 1000 BC, in agreement with Duncker (
Geschichte des Altertums, 44, 78). Zoroaster may have emanated from the old school of
Median Magi, and appeared first among the
Medes as the prophet of a new faith; but met with sacerdotal opposition, and turned eastward.
Zoroastrianism then, seems to have acquired a solid footing in eastern Iran, where it continues to survive in dwindling numbers.
The teachings of Zoroaster are presented in seventeen
liturgical, texts, or "
hymns", the
yasna which is divided into groups called
Gāthās.
If basic precepts of
Zoroastrianism are to be distilled into a single maxim, the maxim is
Humata, Hukhta, Huvarshta (Good Thoughts, Good Words, Good Deeds).
A cosmic struggle between
Aša "The Truth" (
Pahlavi Ahlāyīh) and
Druj "The Lie" (
Pahlavi Druz) is presented as the foundation of our existence. This is often related to a struggle between
good and
evil in a Western
paradigm. This may also be conceptualized as a
battle between Darkness and Light. The two opposing forces in this battle are
Ahura Mazdā (Ohrmazd) (
God) and
Ahriman (
The Devil). In the
yasnas, Zoroaster refers to these forces as
"the Better and the Bad."Zoroaster describes
Ahura Mazdā in a series of
rhetorical questions, "Who established the course of the
sun and
stars? ... who feeds and
waters the
plants? ... what builder created light and darkness? Through whom does exist
dawn,
noon and
night?" (Yasna 44, 4-6). #
Vohu Manu,
Pahlavi Wahman, "Good Mind": the principle of the good#
Ašəm, afterwards
Ašəm Vahištəm,
Pahlavi Ardwahišt: "Right": truth and the embodiment of all that is true, good and right, upright law and rule (ideas practically identical for Zoroaster)#
Xšaθra- Vairya-,
Pahlavi Šahrewar: "Best Rule", the power and kingdom of
Ahura Mazdā and guardian of metals#
Spɚnta- Ārmatay-,
Pahlavi Spandarmad, "Holy Thought": the female immortal of the earth#
Haurvatat: "Perfection"#
Amərətatāt,
Pahlavi Amurdād: "Immortality", the guardian of food and plants.Other prominent immortals are Geush Urvan, defender of animals, and
Sraōša,
Pahlavi Srōš'' "Obedience".
Zoroaster was known as a sage, magician and miracle-worker in post-Classical Western culture, though almost nothing was known of his ideas until the late
eighteenth century. By this time his name was associated with lost ancient wisdom and was appropriated by
Freemasons and other groups who claimed access to such knowledge. He appears in Mozart's opera
Die Zauberflöte under the variant name "Sarastro", who represents
moral order in opposition to the "Queen of the Night".
Enlightenment writers such as
Voltaire promoted research into Zoroastrianism in the belief that it was a form of rational
Deism, preferable to
Christianity. With the translation of the
Avesta by
Abraham Anquetil-Duperron, Western scholarship of Zoroastrianism began.
Zoroaster was ranked #93 on
Michael H. Hart's
list of the most influential figures in history.
Thus Spoke Zarathustra
German philosopher
Friedrich Nietzsche used the name of Zarathustra in his
1885 seminal book
Also sprach Zarathustra (Thus Spoke Zarathustra). Nietzsche fictionalizes and dramatizes Zarathustra toward his own literary and philosophical aims, presenting him as a returning visionary who repudiates the designation of good and evil and thus marks the observation of the death of
God. Nietzsche asserted that he had chosen to put his ideas into the mouth of Zarathustra because the historical prophet had been the first to proclaim the
manicheic opposition between "good" and "evil", by rejecting the
Da"va (representing natural forces) in favor of a moral order represented by the
Ahuras. It was this act that Nietzsche proposed to invert.
Beyond Good and Evil, however, does not mean "beyond good and bad", as he warned in this work.
Richard Strauss's
Opus 30, inspired by Nietzsche's book, is also called
Also sprach Zarathustra. Its opening theme (corresponding to the book's prologue) was memorably used to score the opening sequence of
Stanley Kubrick's
movie 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Bahá'ís believe that Zoroaster was a "
Manifestation of God," or one in a line of prophets who have revealed the Word of God progressively for a gradually maturing humanity. In this way, Zoroaster shares an exalted station with
Abraham,
Moses,
Buddha,
Krishna,
Jesus,
Muhammad,
the Báb, and the founder of the
Bahá'í Faith,
Bahá'u'lláh. However, the
Central Figures of the Bahá'í Faith caution believers that, as is the case with many Manifestations, few if any teachings of Zoroaster that have survived to the modern age can be authenticated, and any contradictions between the teachings of the Manifestations are ascribed to later corruptions or the differing needs of the age and culture.
Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Faith, wrote that
Bahá'u'lláh fulfilled the Zoroastrian prophecy of the return of the Sháh-Bahrám: "To Him [Bahá'u'lláh] Zoroaster must have alluded when, according to tradition, He foretold that a period of three thousand years of conflict and contention must needs precede the advent of the World-Savior Sháh-Bahrám, Who would triumph over Ahriman and usher in an era of blessedness and peace."
`Abdu'l-Bahá, one of the Bahá'í Faith's Central Figures, said that Zoroaster lived roughly 1,000 years before Jesus.
President of
Tajikistan Emomali Rahmonov successfully encouraged
UNESCO to declare
2002-
2003 the third millennium since Zoroaster's birth, and in his book,
The Tajiks in the Mirror of History, he claimed that Zoroaster was a
Tajik from
Bactria. Rahmonov, a Muslim who has performed the
hajj still stated in his work:
"Many principles of the Zarathushtrian religion have left a deep imprint on the [Tajik] people's mind. The habit has been preserved prohibiting the killing of animals when they are pregnant and the cutting of trees in blossom. Water, earth and fire have to be protected from any impurity. The fumes of some fragrant herbs are still used to keep away sickness and the force of evil.
These and many other examples give evidence that in every Tajik house we may find trace of Zarathushtra's teachings.
Let us hope in the new millennium, the Tajik people will continue to live under the spiritual guidance of Zarathushtra, the prophet of truth and light."
This nod to Tajikistan, an overwhelmingly Muslim nation, from UNESCO then gave rise to an extraordinary show of support by Zoroastrian organizations worldwide, resulting in hundreds of large and small commemorative events to celebrate the declared anniversary-- from Dushanbe to Tehran, to Mumbai, to New York, to Vancouver. UNESCO's secretary-general delivered several speeches and texts cementing UNESCO's support for this worldwide collaboration.
* Boyce, Mary.
Textual Sources for the Study of Zoroastrianism, University of Chicago Press, 1984.
* Gnoli, Gherado.
Zoroaster in History, Biennial Yarshater Lecture Series 2, Bibliotheca Persica 2000.
* Gnoli, Gherardo. "Agathias and the Date of Zoroaster,"
Eran ud Aneran, Festrschrift Marshak, 2003 (
transoxiana.com).
* Humbach, Helmut.
The Gathas of Zarathushtra, Heidelberg, 1991.
* Kriwaczek, Paul.
In Search of Zarathustra : Across Iran and Central Asia to Find the World's First Prophet, Vintage (2004), ISBN 1400031427
* Shapur Shahbazi, Ali Reza. "The Traditional Date of Zoroaster Explained",
BSOAS, Vol 40, No. 1. London. (
archive link).
*Rüdiger Schmitt,
Zoroaster, the name,
Encyclopaedia Iranica (
online edition,
mirror)
*Mark Willey, 'Influence of Zoroastrianism on Judaism and Christianity' in
Iranian Religions: Zoroastrianism (
mirror)
*
List of founders of major religions*
Airyanem Vaejah - Place where Zoroaster lived according to Avesta
*
Parsis
*
Zoroaster entries in the
Encyclopædia Iranica*
Ashozartosht And His Toughts*
Gatha Translation in Persian(Shahzadi) *
Gatha Translation in Persian (Vahidi)*
Gatha Translation in English(Azargoshasbi)*
Gatha Translation in Persian (Azargoshabi)*
Zoroastrian Religion*
Zarathushtra and His Religion (iranologie.com)
*
Zoroastrian gardens*
Harry Thurston Peck's entry on Zoroaster, in the Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities (1898)*
Zoroaster--Zarathustra, The Persian Prophet*
Zarathushtra's Gathas (avesta.org)
*
Zoroastrianism and the free choice
