Zarathushtra Spitama,[c] more commonly known asZoroaster[d] orZarathustra,[e] was anIranian religious reformer who challenged the tenets of the contemporaryAncient Iranian religion, becoming the spiritual founder ofZoroastrianism.[f] In the oldest Zoroastrian scriptures, theGathas, which he is traditionally believed to have authored, he is described as a preacher[g] and a poet-prophet.[h][10] Some have claimed, with much scholarly controversy, to find his influence inHeraclitus,Plato,Pythagoras, and, perhaps less controversially, in theAbrahamic religions, includingJudaism,Christianity, andIslam, particularly through concepts ofcosmic dualism and personal morality.[11][12]
He spoke an Old Iranian language, namedAvestan by scholars after thecorpus of Zoroastrian religious texts written in that language.[13][14] Based on this, it is tentative to place his homeland somewhere in the eastern regions of theGreater Iran (in modern-dayAfghanistan.[15][16][17] His life is traditionally dated to sometime around the 7th and 6th centuries BC; though most scholars, using linguistic and socio-cultural evidence, suggest a dating to somewhere in the 2nd millennium BC.[18][19][2]
Zoroastrianism eventually became Iran's most prominent religion from around the 6th century BC, enjoying official sanction during the time of theSassanid Empire, until the 7th century AD, when the religion began to decline following theArab-Muslim conquest of Iran.[20] Zoroaster is credited with authorship of the Gathas as well as theYasna Haptanghaiti, a series of hymns composed inOld Avestan that cover core Zoroastrian beliefs. Little is known about Zoroaster; most of his life is known only from these scant texts.[11] By modern standards of historiography, no evidence can place him into a fixed period and thehistoricization surrounding him may be a part of a trend from before the 10th century AD that historicizes legends and myths.[21]
His name likely means "he who managescamels," though its etymology has multiple interpretations, and the Greek form "Zoroaster" stems from later transliterations. According to Zoroastrian tradition, Zoroaster was trained as apriest from a young age and, around age 30, experienced adivine revelation which introduced him toAhura Mazda, the Wise Lord, and the dualism of truth (asha) versus deception (druj). He is said to have gained royalpatronage underKing Vishtaspa, spread his teachings, and founded a community, marrying three times and having six children. Zoroastrian texts portray his philosophy as emphasizingfree will, ethical responsibility, and aligning withasha through good thoughts, words, and deeds.
Zoroaster's name in his native language,Avestan, was probablyZaraθuštra. His translated name, "Zoroaster", derives from a later (5th century BC)Greek transcription,Zōroastrēs (Ζωροάστρης),[22] as used inXanthus'sLydiaca (Fragment 32) and inPlato'sFirst Alcibiades (122a1). This form appears subsequently in the LatinZōroastrēs, and, in later Greek orthographies, asΖωροάστρις,Zōroastris. The Greek form of the name appears to be based on a phonetic transliteration or semantic substitution of Avestanzaraθ- with the Greekζωρός,zōros (literally 'undiluted') and theBMAC substrate-uštra withἄστρον,astron,'star'.
In Avestan,Zaraθuštra is generally accepted to derive from an Old Iranian*Zaratuštra-. The element half of the name (-uštra-) is thought to be theIndo-Iranian root for 'camel', with the entire name meaning 'he who can manage camels'.[23][i] Reconstructions from later Iranian languages—particularly from theMiddle Persian (300 BC)Zardusht,[further explanation needed] which is the form that the name took in the 9th- to 12th-century Zoroastrian texts—suggest that*Zaratuštra- might be azero-grade form of*Zarantuštra-.[23] Subject then to whetherZaraθuštra derives from*Zarantuštra- or from*Zaratuštra-, several interpretations have been proposed.[j]
IfZarantuštra is the original form, it may mean 'with old/aging camels',[23] related toAvesticzarant-[22] (cf.Pashtozōṛ andOssetianzærond, 'old'; Middle Persianzāl, 'old'):[26]
'with angry/furious camels': from Avestan*zarant-, 'angry, furious'.[27]
'who is driving camels' or 'who is fostering/cherishing camels': related to Avestanzarš-, 'to drag'.[28]
Mayrhofer (1977) proposed an etymology of 'who is desiring camels' or 'longing for camels' and related toVedic Sanskrithar-, 'to like', and perhaps (though ambiguous) also to Avestanzara-.[27]
The interpretation of the-θ- (/θ/) in the Avestanzaraθuštra was for a time itself subjected to heated debate because the-θ- is an irregular development: as a rule,*zarat- (a first element that ends in adental consonant) should have Avestanzarat- orzarat̰- as a development from it. Why this is not so forzaraθuštra has not yet been determined. Notwithstanding the phonetic irregularity, that Avestanzaraθuštra with its-θ- was linguistically an actual form is shown by later attestations reflecting the same basis.[23]
In Middle Persian, the name is𐭦𐭫𐭲𐭥𐭱𐭲,Zardu(x)št,[30] inParthianZarhušt,[31] in Manichaean Middle PersianZrdrwšt,[30] inEarly New PersianZardušt,[30] and in modern (NewPersian), the name isزرتشت,Zartosht.
The name is attested inClassical Armenian sources asZradašt (often with the variantZradešt).[23] The most important of these testimonies were provided by the Armenian authorsEznik of Kolb,Elishe, andMovses Khorenatsi.[23] The spellingZradašt was formed through an older form which started with*zur-, a fact which the German IranologistFriedrich Carl Andreas (1846–1930) used as evidence for a Middle Persian spoken form*Zur(a)dušt.[23] Based on this assumption, Andreas even went so far to form conclusions from this also for the Avestan form of the name.[23] However, the modern IranologistRüdiger Schmitt rejects Andreas's assumption, and states that the older form which started with*zur- was just influenced by Armenianzur ('wrong, unjust, idle'), which therefore means that "the name must have been reinterpreted in an anti-Zoroastrian sense by the Armenian Christians".[23] Furthermore, Schmitt adds: "it cannot be excluded, that the (Parthian or) Middle Persian form, which the Armenians took over (Zaradušt or the like), was merely metathesized topre-Arm.*Zuradašt".[23]
There is no consensus on the dating of Zoroaster. The Avesta gives no direct information about it, while historical sources are conflicting. Some scholars base their date reconstruction on theProto-Indo-Iranian language andProto-Indo-Iranian religion, while others use internal evidence.[20] While many scholars today consider a date around 1000 BC to be the most likely,[32][33] others still consider a range of dates between 1500 and 500 BC to be possible.[2][3][4][5][6]
Classical scholarship in the 6th to 4th century BC believed he existed 6,000 years beforeXerxes I's invasion of Greece in 480 BC (Xanthus,Eudoxus,Aristotle,Hermippus), which is a possible misunderstanding of the Zoroastrian four cycles of 3,000 years (i.e. 12,000 years).[34][35][36][37] This belief is recorded byDiogenes Laërtius, and variant readings could place it 600 years before Xerxes I, somewhere before 1000 BC.[5] However, Diogenes also mentionsHermodorus's belief that Zoroaster lived 5,000 years before theTrojan War, which would mean he lived around 6200 BC.[5] The 10th-centurySuda provides a date of 500 years before the Trojan War.[34]Pliny the Elder cited Eudoxus which placed his death 6,000 years before Plato,c. 6300 BC.[5] Other pseudo-historical constructions are those ofAristoxenus who recorded Zaratas theChaldeaean to have taughtPythagoras inBabylon,[34][38] or lived at the time of mythologicalNinus andSemiramis.[39] According to Pliny the Elder, there were two Zoroasters. The first lived thousands of years ago, while the second accompanied Xerxes I in the invasion of Greece in 480 BC.[34] Some scholars propose that the chronological calculation for Zoroaster was developed by Persianmagi in the 4th century BC, and as the early Greeks learned about him from the Achaemenids, this indicates they did not regard him as a contemporary of Cyrus the Great, but as a remote figure.[40]
Some later pseudo-historical and Zoroastrian sources (theBundahishn, which references a date "258 years before Alexander") place Zoroaster in the 6th century BC,[k] TheSeleucid rulers who gained power following Alexander's death instituted an "Age of Alexander" as the new calendrical epoch. This did not appeal to the Zoroastrian priesthood who then attempted to establish an "Age of Zoroaster". To do so, they needed to establish when Zoroaster had lived, which they accomplished by (erroneously, according toMary Boyce some even identified Cyrus with Vishtaspa)[43] counting back the length of successive generations, until they concluded that Zoroaster must have lived "258 years before Alexander".[34][44] This estimate then re-appeared in the 9th- to 12th-century Arabic and Pahlavi texts of Zoroastrian tradition,[l] like the 10th centuryAl-Masudi who cited a prophecy from a lost Avestan book in which Zoroaster foretold the Empire's destruction in 300 years, but the religion would last for 1,000 years.[46]
In Zoroastrian scriptures,King Yima (Jam) and the legendaryPishdadian dynasty preceded the time when Zoroaster proclaimed his teachings.
In modern scholarship, two main approaches can be distinguished: a late dating to the 7th and 6th centuries BC, based on the indigenous Zoroastrian tradition, and an early dating, which places his life more generally in the 15th to 9th centuries BC.[47]
Some scholars[2] propose a period between 7th and 6th century BC, for example,c. 650–600 BC or 559–522 BC.[5][6] The latest possible date is the mid 6th century BC, at the time of Achaemenid Empire'sDarius I, or his predecessorCyrus the Great. This date gains credence mainly from attempts to connect figures in Zoroastrian texts to historical personages;[6] thus some have postulated that the mythicalVishtaspa who appears in an account of Zoroaster's life wasDarius I's father, also named Vishtaspa (orHystaspes in Greek). However, if this was true, it seems unlikely that the Avesta would not mention that Vishtaspa's son became the ruler of the Persian Empire, or that this key fact about Darius's father would not be mentioned in theBehistun Inscription. It is also possible that Darius I's father was named in honor of the Zoroastrian patron, indicating possible Zoroastrian faith byArsames.[46]
It has been suggested by Silk Road Seattle, using its own interpretations ofVictor H. Mair's writings on the topic that Zoroaster could have been born in the 2nd millennium BC.[52][53]
The birthplace of Zoroaster is also unknown, and the language of the Gathas is not similar to the proposed north-western and north-eastern regional dialects of Persia. It is also suggested that he was born in one of the two areas and later lived in the other area.[55]
Yasna 9 and 17 cite the Ditya River inAiryanem Vaējah (Middle PersianĒrān Wēj) as Zoroaster's home and the scene of his first appearance. TheAvesta (both Old and Younger portions) does not mention the Achaemenids or of any West Iranian tribes such as theMedes,Persians, or even theParthians. TheFarvardin Yasht refers to some Iranian peoples that are unknown in the Greek and Achaemenid sources about the 6th and 5th century BC Eastern Iran. TheVendidad contain17 regional names, most of which are located in north-eastern and eastern Iran.[56]
However, inYasna 59.18, thezaraθuštrotema, or supreme head of the Zoroastrian priesthood, is said to reside in 'Ragha' (Badakhshan).[11] In the 9th- to 12th-century Middle Persian texts of Zoroastrian tradition, 'Ragha' and many other places appear as locations in Western Iran. While the land of Media does not figure at all in the Avesta (the westernmost location noted in the scripture isArachosia), theBūndahišn, or "Primordial Creation", (20.32 and 24.15) puts Ragha inMedia (medievalRai). However, in Avestan, Ragha is simply a toponym meaning 'plain, hillside.'[57]
Apart from these indications in Middle Persian sources that are open to interpretations, there are a number of other sources. The Greek and Latin sources are divided on the birthplace of Zoroaster. Among the Greek accounts,Ctesias located him inBactria,Diodorus Siculus placed him among Ariaspai (inSistan),[11]Cephalion andJustin suggests east of greater Iran, whereasPliny andOrigen suggest west of Iran as his birthplace.[55] Moreover, there is the suggestion that there has been more than one Zoroaster.[58]
On the other hand, in post-Islamic sourcesShahrastani (1086–1153), anIranian writer originally from Shahristān, in present-dayTurkmenistan, proposed that Zoroaster's father was fromAtropatene (also in Medea) and his mother was fromRey. Coming from a reputed scholar of religion, this was a serious blow to the various regions which all claimed that Zoroaster originated fromtheir homelands, some of which had then decided that Zoroaster must have then been buried in their regions or composed his Gathas there or preached there.[59][60] Arabic sources of the same period and the same region of historical Persia also considerAzerbaijan as the birthplace of Zarathustra.[55]
By the late 20th century, most scholars had settled on an origin in eastern Greater Iran. Gnoli proposedSistan,Baluchistan (though in a much wider scope than the present-day province) as the homeland of Zoroastrianism; Frye voted for Bactria andChorasmia;[61] Khlopin suggests the Tedzen Delta in present-dayTurkmenistan.[62] Sarianidi considered theBactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex region as "the native land of the Zoroastrians and, probably, of Zoroaster himself."[63] Boyce includes thesteppes to the west from theVolga.[64] The medieval "from Media" hypothesis is no longer taken seriously, and Zaehner has even suggested that this was a Magi-mediated issue to garner legitimacy, but this has been likewise rejected by Gershevitch and others.
The 2005Encyclopedia Iranica article on the history of Zoroastrianism summarizes the issue with "while there is general agreement that he did not live in western Iran, attempts to locate him in specific regions of eastern Iran, including Central Asia, remain tentative".[65]
19th century painting depicting the events of Zoroaster's life
Zoroaster is recorded as the son of Pourushaspa of the Spitama family,[10] and Dugdōw,[55] while his great-grandfather was Haēčataspa. All the names appear appropriate to the nomadic tradition. His father's name means 'possessing gray horses' (with the wordaspa meaning 'horse'), while his mother's means 'milkmaid'. According to the tradition, he had four brothers, two older and two younger, whose names are given in much laterPahlavi work.[66]
Zoroaster's training for priesthood probably started very early around seven years of age.[67] He became a priest probably around the age of 15, and according to Gathas, gaining knowledge from other teachers and personal experience from traveling when he left his parents at age 20.[68] By the age of 30, Zoroaster experienced a revelation during a spring festival; on the river bank he saw a shining being, who revealed himself asVohu Manah (Good Purpose) and taught him aboutAhura Mazda (Wise Lord) and five other radiant figures. Zoroaster soon became aware of the existence of two primal spirits, the second beingAngra Mainyu (Destructive Spirit), with opposing concepts ofAsha (order) andDruj (deception). Thus he decided to spend his life teaching people to seekAsha.[69] He received further revelations and saw a vision of the sevenAmesha Spenta, and his teachings were collected in theGathas and theAvesta.[70]
Eventually, at the age of about 42, Zoroaster received the patronage of queen Hutaosa and a ruler namedVishtaspa, an early adherent of Zoroastrianism (possibly from Bactria according to theShahnameh).[71]
According to the tradition, he lived for many years after Vishtaspa's conversion, managed to establish a faithful community,[72] and married three times. His first two wives bore him three sons, Isat Vâstra, Urvatat Nara, and Hvare Chithra, and three daughters, Freni, Thriti, and Pouruchista. His third wife, Hvōvi, was childless.[73][74] Zoroaster died when he was 77 years and 40 days old.[73] There are conflicting traditions on Zoroaster's manner of death. The most common is that he was murdered by akarapan (priest of theold religion) named Brādrēs, while performing at an altar. TheDēnkart, and theepicShahnameh, ascribe his death to aTuranian soldier named Baraturish, potentially a spin on the same figure, while other traditions combine both accounts or hold that he died ofold age.[75]
The Cypress of Kashmar is a mythical cypress tree of legendary beauty and gargantuan dimensions. It is said to have sprung from a branch brought by Zoroaster from Paradise and to have stood in today'sKashmar in northeastern Iran and to have been planted by Zoroaster in honor of the conversion ofKing Vishtaspa to Zoroastrianism. According to the Iranian physicist and historianZakariya al-Qazwini, King Vishtaspa had been a patron of Zoroaster who planted the tree himself. In hisʿAjā'ib al-makhlūqāt wa gharā'ib al-mawjūdāt ('The Wonders of Creatures and the Marvels of Creation'), he further describes how theAl-Mutawakkil in 247 AH (861 AD) caused the mighty cypress to be felled, and then transported it across Iran, to be used for beams in his new palace atSamarra. Before, he wanted the tree to be reconstructed before his eyes. This was done in spite of protests by the Iranians, who offered a very great sum of money to save the tree. Al-Mutawakkil never saw the cypress, because he was murdered by aTurkic soldier (possibly in the employ of his son) on the night when it arrived on the banks of the Tigris.[76]
TheEncyclopædia Iranica claims that the stories of Zoroaster's life were attributed to him by quoting stories from Christianity and Judaism, but the most quotations were from Islam after the entry of Muslims into Persia, as it was a means for the Zoroastrian clergy to strengthen their religion.[80]
The orientalistArthur Christensen in his book ''Iran During The Sassanid Era'', mentioned that the sources dating back to the era of theSasanian state inancient Persian that refer to the Zoroastrian doctrine do not match the sources that appeared after the collapse of the state, such as the Pahlavi source and others. The reason is that because of the fall of the Sasanian state, the Zoroastrian clerics tried to save their religion from extinction through modifying it to resemble the religion of Muslims to retain followers in the Zoroastrian religion.[81]
Gherardo Gnoli comments that the Islamic conquest of Persia caused a huge impact on the Zoroastrian doctrine:[82]
After the Islamic conquest of Persia and the migration of many Zoroastrians to India and after being exposed to Islamic and Christian propaganda, the Zoroastrians, especially the Parsis in India, went so far as to deny dualism and consider themselves completely monotheists. After several transformations and developments, one of the distinctive features of the Zoroastrian religion gradually faded away and almost disappeared from modern Zoroastrianism
Maneckji Nusserwanji Dhalla described the doctrine of theGayomarthians sect as another attempt to mitigate the dualism that has always been the essence of Zoroastrianism. This was due to the Prophet Muhammad’s emphasis on monotheism and the Muslims’ mockery of the doctrine of worshipping two gods, which made the Zoroastrians view dualism as a defect, so they added monotheism, which led to the Zoroastrians’ division into sects and he mentions examples of the Zoroastrian attempt to establish a monotheistic belief by diminishing the importance of Ahriman, including that Ahura Mazda and Ahriman were created from time, or that Ahura Mazda himself allowed the existence of evil, or that Ahriman was a corrupt angel who rebelled against Ahura Mazda. Then he mentions the name of a Persian book from the 15th century in which it is written that the Magi (Zoroastrians) believe that Allah and Iblis are brothers.[83]
This provides an explanation of why a number of parallels have been drawn between Zoroastrian teachings and Islam.[original research?] Such parallels include the evident similarities betweenAmesha Spenta and the archangelGabriel, praying five times a day, covering one's head during prayer, and the mention ofThamud andIram of the Pillars in theQuran.[original research?]
Like the Greeks of classical antiquity, Islamic tradition understands Zoroaster to be the founding prophet of the Magians (via Aramaic, ArabicMajūsiyya, collectiveMajūs). The 11th-century CordobanIbn Hazm (Zahiri school) contends that the designationkitābī "[follower] of the Scripture [of God]" cannot apply in light of the Zoroastrian assertion that their books were destroyed by Alexander. Citing the authority of the 8th-centuryal-Kalbi, the 9th- and 10th-century Sunni historianal-Tabari (I, 648)[citation needed] reports that Zaradusht bin Isfiman (anArabic adaptation of "Zarathushtra Spitama") was an inhabitant of Israel and a servant of one of the disciples of the prophetJeremiah.[85] According to this tale, Zaradusht defrauded his master, who cursed him, causing him to become leprous (cf.Elisha's servantGehazi in Jewish scripture).[citation needed] According toIbn Kathir, Zoroaster came into conflict with Jeremiah which resulted in angry Jeremiah cast a curse upon Zoroaster, causing him to sufferLeprosy, and exiling him. Zoroaster later moved to a place of modern-dayAzerbaijan which ruled by Bashtaasib (Vishtaspa), governor of Nebuchadnezzar, and spread his teaching of Zoroastrianism there. Bashtaasib then followed his teaching, forces the inhabitants ofPersia to convert to Zoroastrianism and killed those who refused.[86][87]
Ibn Kathir has quoted the original narrative was borrowed from Tabari's record of the "History of Jerusalem". He also mentioned that Zoroastrian was synonymous withMajus.[88][89]
Sibt ibn al-Jawzi instead stated that some older narration said that Zoroaster was a former disciple ofUzair.[90]
Al-Tabari (I, 681–683)[citation needed] recounts that Zaradusht accompanied a Jewish prophet to Bishtasb/Vishtaspa. Upon their arrival, Zaradusht translated the sage's Hebrew teachings for the king and so convinced him to convert (Tabari also notes that they had previously beenSabis) to the Magian religion.[citation needed]
The 12th-centuryheresiographeral-Shahrastani describes the Majusiya into three sects, theKayumarthiya (an otherwise undocumented sect that – per Sharastani – seems to have had a stronger doctrine of Ahriman's "non-reality"), theZurwaniya and theZaradushtiya, among which Al-Shahrastani asserts that only the last of the three were properly followers of Zoroaster. As regards the recognition of a prophet, Zoroaster has said: "They ask you as to how should they recognize a prophet and believe him to be true in what he says; tell them what he knows the others do not, and he shall tell you even what lies hidden in your nature; he shall be able to tell you whatever you ask him and he shall perform such things which others cannot perform." (Namah Shat Vakhshur Zartust, .5–7. 50–54)
TheAhmadiyya Community views Zoroaster as a Prophet and describe the expressions of the all-good Ahura Mazda and evil Ahriman as merely referring to the coexistence of forces of good and evil enabling humans to exercise free will.[91]
Manichaeism considered Zoroaster to be a figure in a line of prophets of whichMani (216–276) was the culmination.[92] Zoroaster's ethical dualism is—to an extent—incorporated in Manichaeism's doctrine which, unlike Mani's thoughts,[93] viewed the world as being locked in an epic battle between opposing forces of good and evil.[94] Manicheanism also incorporated other elements of Zoroastrian tradition, particularly the names of supernatural beings; however, many of these other Zoroastrian elements are either not part of Zoroaster's own teachings or are used quite differently from how they are used in Zoroastrianism.[95][96]
Zoroaster appears in theBahá'í Faith as a "Manifestation of God", one of a line of prophets who have progressively revealed the Word of God to a gradually maturing humanity. Zoroaster thus shares an exalted station withAbraham,Moses,Krishna,Jesus,Muhammad, theBáb, and the founder of the Bahá'í Faith,Bahá'u'lláh.[97]Shoghi Effendi, the head of the Bahá'í Faith in the first half of the 20th century, saw Bahá'u'lláh as the fulfillment of a post-Sassanid Zoroastrian prophecy that saw a return of Sassanid emperorBahram;[98] Effendi also stated that Zoroaster lived roughly 1000 years before Jesus.[m]
Detail ofThe School of Athens byRaphael, 1509, showing what may be Zoroaster (left, with star-studded globe)
In theGathas, Zoroaster sees the human condition as the mental struggle betweenaša anddruj. The cardinal concept ofaša—which is highly nuanced and difficult to translate—is at the foundation of all Zoroastrian doctrine, including that ofAhura Mazda (who isaša), creation (that isaša), existence (that isaša), and as the condition for free will.
The purpose of humankind, like that of all other creation, is to sustain and align itself toaša. For humankind, this occurs through active ethical participation in life, ritual, and the exercise of constructive/good thoughts, words, and deeds.
Elements of Zoroastrian philosophy entered the West through their influence onJudaism andPlatonism and have been identified as one of the key early events in the development of philosophy.[99] Among the classic Greek philosophers,Heraclitus is often referred to as inspired by Zoroaster's thinking.[100]
In 2005, the Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy ranked Zoroaster as first in the chronology of philosophers.[101][102] Zoroaster's impact lingers today due in part to the system of religious ethics he founded calledMazdayasna. The wordMazdayasna isAvestan and is translated as 'Worship of Wisdom/Mazda' in English. The encyclopediaNatural History (Pliny) claims that Zoroastrians later educated the Greeks who, starting withPythagoras, used a similar term, philosophy, or "love of wisdom" to describe the search for ultimate truth.[103]
Zoroaster emphasized the freedom of the individual to choose right or wrong and individual responsibility for one's deeds. This personal choice to acceptaša and shundruj is one's own decision and not a dictate ofAhura Mazda. For Zoroaster, by thinking good thoughts, saying good words, and doing good deeds (e.g. assisting the needy, doing good works, or conducting good rituals) one increasesaša in the world and in themselves, celebrating the divine order, and coming a step closer on the everlasting road toFrashokereti.
Depiction of Zoroaster inClavis Artis [it], an alchemy manuscript published in Germany in the late 17th or early 18th century andpseudoepigraphically attributed to Zoroaster
Although a few recent depictions of Zoroaster show him performing some deed of legend, in general the portrayals merely present him in white vestments (which are also worn by present-day Zoroastrian priests). He often is seen holding a collection of unbound rods or twigs, known as abaresman (Avestan; Middle Persianbarsom), which is generally considered to be another symbol of priesthood, or with a book in hand, which may be interpreted to be the Avesta. Alternatively, he appears with a mace, thevarza—usually stylized as a steel rod crowned by a bull's head—that priests carry in their installation ceremony. In other depictions he appears with a raised hand and thoughtfully lifted finger, as if to make a point. Alternatively, this could be an Islamic influence, drawing parallels between both religions' conception of the oneness of God.[citation needed]
Zoroaster is rarely depicted as looking directly at the viewer; instead, he appears to be looking slightly upwards, as if beseeching. Zoroaster is almost always depicted with a beard along with other factors bearing similarities to 19th-century portraits ofJesus.[104]
Indian Zoroastrian depiction of Zoroaster from a 1906 travel guide. Derived from afigure that appears in a 4th-century sculpture atTaq-e Bostan in South-Western Iran. The original is now believed to be either a representation ofMithra orHvare-khshaeta.[105]
Many modern depictions of Zoroaster derive from a Sassanid-era rock-face carving atTaq-e Bostan. In this depiction, a figure is seen to preside over the coronation of eitherArdashir I orII. The figure is standing on a lotus, with abaresman in hand and with agloriole around his head. Until the 1920s, this figure was commonly thought to be a depiction of Zoroaster, but in recent years is more commonly interpreted to be a depiction ofMithra.
Western references to Zoroaster and Zoroastrianism
The Greeks—in theHellenistic sense of the term—had an understanding of Zoroaster as expressed byPlutarch,Diogenes Laertius, andAgathias[106] that saw him, at the core, to be the "prophet and founder of the religion of the Iranian peoples," Beck notes that "the rest was mostly fantasy".[107] Zoroaster was set in the ancient past, six to seven millennia before the Common Era, and was described as a king ofBactria or aBabylonian (or teacher of Babylonians), and with a biography typical of aNeopythagorean sage, i.e. having a mission preceded by ascetic withdrawal and enlightenment.[107] However, at first mentioned in the context of dualism, inMoralia, Plutarch presents Zoroaster as"Zaratras," not realizing the two to be the same, and he is described as a "teacher ofPythagoras".[108][38]
Zoroaster has also been described as a sorcerer-astrologer – the creator of both magic and astrology. Deriving from that image, and reinforcing it, was a "mass of literature" attributed to him and that circulated theMediterranean world from the 3rd century BC to the end of antiquity and beyond.[109][110]
The language of that literature was predominantlyGreek, though at one stage or another various parts of it passed throughAramaic,Syriac,Coptic, orLatin. Its ethos and cultural matrix was likewise Hellenistic, and "the ascription of literature to sources beyond that political, cultural and temporal framework represents a bid for authority and a fount of legitimizing "alien wisdom". Zoroaster and the magi did not compose it, but their names sanctioned it."[109] The attributions to "exotic" names (not restricted to magians) conferred an "authority of a remote and revelatory wisdom."[111]
Among the named works attributed to "Zoroaster" is a treatiseOn Nature (Peri physeos), which appears to have originally constituted four volumes (i.e. papyrus rolls). The framework is a retelling of Plato'sMyth of Er, with Zoroaster taking the place of the original hero. WhilePorphyry imaginedPythagoras listening to Zoroaster's discourse,On Nature has the Sun in middle position, which was how it was understood in the 3rd century. In contrast, Plato's 4th-century BC version had the Sun in second place above the Moon.Colotes accusedPlato of plagiarizing Zoroaster,[112][113] andHeraclides Ponticus wrote a text titledZoroaster based on his perception of "Zoroastrian" philosophy, in order to express his disagreement with Plato onnatural philosophy.[114] With respect to substance and content inOn Nature only two facts are known: that it was crammed with astrological speculations, and thatNecessity (Ananké) was mentioned by name and that she was in the air.[citation needed]
Pliny the Elder names Zoroaster as the inventor of magic (Natural History 30.2.3). "However, a principle of the division of labor appears to have spared Zoroaster most of the responsibility for introducing the dark arts to the Greek and Roman worlds." That "dubious honor" went to the "fabulous magus,Ostanes, to whom most of the pseudepigraphic magical literature was attributed."[115] Although Pliny calls him the inventor of magic, the Roman does not provide a "magician's persona" for him.[115] Moreover, the little "magical" teaching that is ascribed to Zoroaster is actually very late, with the very earliest example being from the 14th century.[116]
Association with astrology according to Roger Beck, were based on hisBabylonian origin, and Zoroaster's Greek name was identified at first with star-worshiping (astrothytes, 'star sacrificer") and, with theZo-, even as the 'living' star.[117][verification needed] Later, an even more elaborate mythoetymology evolved: Zoroaster died by the living (zo-) flux (ro-) of fire from the star (astr-) which he himself had invoked, and even, that the stars killed him in revenge for having been restrained by him.[117][verification needed]
The alternate Greek name for Zoroaster wasZaratras[108] or Zaratas/Zaradas/Zaratos.[118]Pythagoreans considered the mathematicians to have studied with Zoroaster in Babylonia.[119]Lydus, inOn the Months, attributes the creation of the seven-day week to "the Babylonians in the circle of Zoroaster andHystaspes," and who did so because there were seven planets.[120]Lucian of Samosata, inMennipus 6, reports deciding to journey to Babylon "to ask one of the magi, Zoroaster's disciples and successors," for their opinion.[121]
While the division along the lines of Zoroaster/astrology and Ostanes/magic is an "oversimplification, the descriptions do at least indicate what the works arenot"; they were not expressions of Zoroastrian doctrine, they were not even expressions of what the Greeks and Romans "imagined the doctrines of Zoroastrianism to have been".[111] The assembled fragments do not even show noticeable commonality of outlook and teaching among the several authors who wrote under each name.[122]
Almost all Zoroastrianpseudepigrapha is now lost, and of the attested texts—with only one exception—only fragments have survived. Pliny's 2nd- or 3rd-century attribution of "two million lines" to Zoroaster suggest that (even if exaggeration and duplicates are taken into consideration) a formidable pseudepigraphic corpus once existed at theLibrary of Alexandria. This corpus can safely be assumed to be pseudepigrapha because no one before Pliny refers to literature by "Zoroaster",[123] and on the authority of the 2nd-centuryGalen of Pergamon and from a 6th-century commentator on Aristotle it is known that the acquisition policies of well-endowed royal libraries created a market for fabricating manuscripts of famous and ancient authors.[123]
The exception to the fragmentary evidence (i.e. reiteration of passages in works of other authors) is a complete Coptictractate titledZostrianos (after the first-person narrator) discovered in theNag Hammadi library in 1945. A three-line cryptogram in the colophones following the 131-page treatise identify the work as "words of truth of Zostrianos. God of Truth [logos]. Words of Zoroaster."[124] Invoking a "God of Truth" might seem Zoroastrian, but there is otherwise "nothing noticeably Zoroastrian" about the text and "in content, style, ethos and intention, its affinities are entirely with the congeners among theGnostic tractates."[122]
Another work circulating under the name of "Zoroaster" was theAsteroskopita (orApotelesmatika), and which ran to five volumes (i.e. papyrus rolls). The title and fragments suggest that it was an astrological handbook, "albeit a very varied one, for the making of predictions."[111] A third text attributed to Zoroaster isOn Virtue of Stones (Peri lithon timion), of which nothing is known other than its extent (one volume) and that pseudo-Zoroaster 'sang' it (from which Cumont and Bidez[who?] conclude that it was in verse). Numerous other fragments preserved in the works of other authors are attributed to "Zoroaster", but the titles of those books are not mentioned.[citation needed]
These pseudepigraphic texts aside, some authors did draw on a few genuinely Zoroastrian ideas. TheOracles of Hystaspes, by "Hystaspes", another prominent magian pseudo-author, is a set of prophecies distinguished from other Zoroastrian pseudepigrapha in that it draws on real Zoroastrian sources.[111] Some allusions are more difficult to assess:[original research?] in the same text that attributes the invention of magic to Zoroaster,[citation needed] Pliny states that Zoroaster laughed on the day of his birth, although in an earlier place, Pliny had sworn in the name ofHercules that no child had ever done so before the 40th day from his birth.[125] This notion of Zoroaster's laughter also appears in the 9th– to 11th-century texts of genuine Zoroastrian tradition, and for a time it was assumed[weasel words] that the origin of those myths lay with indigenous sources.[citation needed] Pliny also records that Zoroaster's head had pulsated so strongly that it repelled the hand when laid upon it, a presage of his future wisdom.[126] The Iranians were however just as familiar with the Greek writers, and the provenance of other descriptions are clear.[citation needed] For instance, Plutarch's description of its dualistic theologies reads thus: "Others call the better of these a god and his rival a daemon, as, for example, Zoroaster the Magus, who lived, so they record, five thousand years before the siege of Troy. He used to call the oneHoromazes and the otherAreimanius".[127]
An early reference to Zoroaster in English literature occur in the writings of the physician-philosopher SirThomas Browne who asserted in hisReligio Medici (1643):
I believe, besides Zoroaster, there were divers[n] that writ before Moses, who notwithstanding have suffered the common fate of time.
InThus Spoke Zarathustra (1885), considered to be his seminal work, the philosopherFriedrich Nietzsche gives to the central character the native Iranian name "Zarathustra".[131] Nietzsche explained the choice of the name in his autobiographical workEcce Homo: "Zarathustra was the first to see in the struggle of good and evil the true driving-wheel in the machinery of things [...] Zarathustracreated the disastrous error that is morality: thus he must also be the first toacknowledge the mistake."[132] Though the naming of Zarathustra is an acknowledgement of the lineage of moralism, Nietzsche advocates atheism and moral nihilism, directly contradicting the philosophy of Zoroaster, and makes subversive allusions to Zoroastrianism. Despite Nietzsche's iconoclasm, some admirers of pre-Islamic Persian culture see his use of the name "Zarathustra" as a mark of uncritical respect towards the historical figure.[133]
Zoroaster statue (left) atop the Appellate Division Courthouse of New York State
A sculpture of Zoroaster byEdward Clark Potter, representing ancient Persian judicial wisdom and dating to 1896, towers over theAppellate Division Courthouse of New York State at East 25th Street and Madison Avenue inManhattan.[134][135][136] A sculpture of Zoroaster is included among other prominent religious figures in a procession representing major faith traditions on the south side ofRockefeller Memorial Chapel at theUniversity of Chicago. It features figures from Abraham to the Reformation, illustrating a historical continuum of religious thought that includes the likes of Zoroaster,Moses, Plato and others.[137]
^Zoroastrian tradition from no later than the 10th century AD holds that Zoroaster's revelation happened at 30 years old "258 years before the time of Alexander" (almost certainly based on faulty reasoning, seethe section on Zoroastrian and Muslim scholarship), where "time of Alexander" is vague, and could either begin withhis accession (336 BC),his conquest of Iran, or, more likely, with the establishment of theAnno Graecorum following the conquest ofBabylon bySeleucus I Nicator (312/311 BC).[1]Most scholars believe this dating to be far too recent based on linguistic and socio-cultural evidence, instead placing Zoroaster's life sometime in the 2nd millennium or early 1st millennium BC, with some suggesting dates as early as the 18th century BC, or as late as the 6th century BC, the latter of which would seemingly match with the tradition.[2][3][4][5][6] Sometime aroundc. 1000 BC, give or take a few centuries, is the most conservative estimate.[7][8]
^Zoroastrian tradition usually places Zoroaster's death at 77 years and 40 days of age.Celebrations of Zoroaster's birth anddeath place them at around 26 March and 26 December respectively, which contradict the traditional account. It is likely the dates are symbolic at best and conjectural at worst.
^Avestan:𐬰𐬀𐬭𐬀𐬚𐬎𐬱𐬙𐬭𐬀⸱𐬯𐬞𐬌𐬙𐬁𐬨𐬀,romanized: Zaraθuštra Spitāma; also attested asSpitāma Zaraθuštra. The epithetSpitāma itself means 'abundant strength',[citation needed] and is thought to have been a clan or family name taken from an eponymous ancestor.
^For refutation of these and other proposals, see Humbach, 1991.[25]
^"258 years before Alexander" is only superficially precise.[1] It has been suggested that this "traditional date" is an adoption of some date from foreign sources, from the Greeks[41] or the Babylonians[42] for example, which the priesthood then reinterpreted. The traditional Zoroastrian date originates in the period immediately followingAlexander the Great's conquest of theAchaemenid Empire in 330 BC.[5]
^TheBundahishn computes "200 and some years" (GBd xxxvi.9) or "284 years" (IBd xxxiv.9). That '258 years' was the generally accepted figure is however noted byal-Biruni andal-Masudi, with the latter specifically stating (in 943/944 AD) that "the Magians count a period of two hundred and fifty-eight years between their prophet and Alexander."[45][1]
^From a letter of the Universal House of Justice, Department of the Secretariat, 13 May 1979, to Gayle Woolson published inHornby (1983), p. 501.
^abcdLincoln 1991, pp. 149–150: "At present, the majority opinion among scholars probably inclines toward the end of the second millennium or the beginning of the first, although there are still those who hold for a date in the seventh century."
^Malandra 2005: "Controversy over Zaraθuštra's date has been an embarrassment of long standing to Zoroastrian studies. If anything approaching a consensus exists, it is that he lived ca. 1000 BCE give or take a century or so [...]"
^Kellens 2011: "In the last ten years a general consensus has gradually emerged in favor of placing the Gāthās around 1000 BCE [...]"
^Malandra 2005, : "Controversy over Zaraθuštra's date has been an embarrassment of long standing to Zoroastrian studies. If anything approaching a consensus exists, it is that he lived ca. 1000 BCE give or take a century or so [...]".
^Kellens 2011, : "In the last ten years a general consensus has gradually emerged in favor of placing the Gāthās around 1000 BCE [...]".
^William Enfield; Johann Jakob Brucker; Knud Haakonssen (2001).The History of Philosophy from the Earliest Periods: Drawn Up from Brucker's Historia Critica Philosophia. Thoemmes. pp. 18, 22.ISBN1-85506-828-1.
^SeePorphyry'sLife of Pythagoras 12, Alexander Polyhistor apud Clement'sStromata I.15, Diodorus of Eritrea and Aristoxenus apudHippolytus VI32.2, for the primary sources.[non-primary source needed]
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