"The Persians (An Indo-European Nation)
There were Aryans in the Indus Valley. Some went to India, some to Persia. Persians call themselves Aryans. They were called "Persian" by the Greeks. Their religion changed circa 600 B.C. Before this, the gods were Aryan, i.e., Indo-European. Persia was very insular. They moved in and took the world away from Babylon in 500 B.C. On the Persian plateau, there were many petty kingdoms which combined into an empire c. 600 B.C. In about 100 years, they took over the world.
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The Creation Story
In the beginning, Earth was a flat plain under a solid dome with 178 stars and a sun and moon fixed to the dome. The land was surrounded by the cosmic ocean. Outside the dome were two vague amorphous deities: the "Benevolent One" Ahura Mazda, and the "Malevolent One" Angra Mainyu, both of whom were male.
One day, Angra Mainyu decided to mess things up. He broke through the dome, went down into the ocean, and came back up through the earth, forming a volcanic mountain. He continued to do this until the earth was covered with mountains and valleys. The jarring vibration broke all the stars and the sun and moon loose and they began to slide westward. At the horizon, they broke out of the dome, went around to the other side and came back in. Each made a separate hole, leaving 180 holes on each side (as in angular degrees).
Ahura Mazda decides to be creative because things are now in motion. This is the beginning of life. He plants two trees: the Tree of Seeds (the source of all the other trees in the universe) and the Tree of White Haoma. Haoma is a sacred drink (like the Indian "Soma") which gave the gods immortality and all manner of inspiration. It is considered either very alcoholic or very narcotic. No one is sure. It is pressed from a plant. It is a milky white fluid that turns yellow while fermenting. Another name for it is Amrita, which is the same as Ambrosia, the food of the Greek gods. It is a vital drink for the gods. Angra Mainyu is against the Haoma. He sends a great lizard of the ocean to chew on the roots of the Tree of White Haoma. Ahura Mazda sends 13 fish to swin in around the roots and keep the lizard at bay. Eventually the lizard will prevail, but the fish help to delay this. The Tree of Seeds brings forth all other trees. All life begins.
Haoma is also personified as a god (very vague) but only to justify its worship.
Vayu, the God of the Wind. "He Who Goes Forward and He Who Goes Backward." A very powerful early god. He is neutral until Ahura Mazda and Angra Mainyu give sacrifices to him. Then Vayu allies himself with Ahura Mazda.
Anahita, the Great Goddess of Human Fertility. The source of the cosmic ocean. She purifies the male seed and the mother's womb and the mother's milk. A very popular goddess worshipped by temple prostitution. (As a conscription, all young women had to serve as temple prostitutes. But they were buried alive if they were caught having sex outside the temple before marriage.)
Tishtrya, the God of Plant and Animal Fertility. Also a storm god. He brings the rain. In oppostion to Tishtrya is Apaosha, the God of Draught. The first time they fought, Tishtrya was a great white stallion with gold trappings and Apaosha was a black stallion with all black trappings. They fought very hard and Apaosha was winning. Tishtrya complained to Ahura Mazda that the reason he was losing was that mankind was not giving him the proper rituals. So Ahura Mazda himself performed a ritual giving Tishtrya the strength to win. And humanity learned by this example never to forget to perform the rituals to Tishtrya. A complement to Tishtrya is a figure called Rapithwin, the Lord of the Noonday Heat. This is the heat that is necessary for the plants to grow. In the winter, Rapithwin retreats to the Underworld and keeps the subterranean waters warm so the roots of the plants won't freeze.
Atar. People will say the Persians were fire worshippers. They did have fire temples devoted to a sacred flame. But they were not worshipping fire itself. Ahura Mazda has by this time become the sun god. The Persians really idolize him. He is most powerful. They thought the sun was made of fire, and that fire on Earth was sent from the sun, arriving via lightning bolts. That means that fire on earth is simply an extension of Ahura Mazda himself. Thus the use of fire in their worship rituals. But they called earthbound fire Atar, a deity, like a surrogat Ahura Mazda. To make their sacred flame, they would gather a huge stack of cut wood to be blessed by a priest outside the temple. They would bring some wood in and ignite it. To make it sacred, they poured clarified goat butter on it. Then it would be sacred and eternal. If a priest let it go out, he would be buried alive. Their attitude toward fire was different. Our view is that fire is a purifying agent. But if something fell into the flame, the Persians considered the flame to be contaminated and it had to be extinguished.
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Zarathustra
628 B.C. Zarathustra is born. 551 B.C. He dies.
He was an enormounsly important prophet. The Persians were astrologers. The Greeks called him Zoroaster (Zodiac Star). But he was not an astrologer. Before he was born, his birth was announced to his mother. He was born with a Favr (an aura -- believed to be a special link with the gods). Zarathustra then smiled, indicating that even at birth, he was aware. In his early teens, he withdrew from the world and disappeared. He was working on his version of true religion. At age 30, he reappeared. Angra Mainyu tried to tempt him and frighten him out of teaching his new religion. Zarathustra resisted and began teaching. (Note the parallels in this story to the stories of Christ and Buddha.) For ten years, no one would listen to Zarathustra. Finally he converted a king, and the kingdom followed. But the king's counselors were jealous and slandered Zarathustra, landing him in prison. He talked a lot with Ahura Mazda and wrote what became the core of the Persian canon the Avesta. He was later released and became a leader. At 77, he was worshiping in a fire temple when robbers broke in and he was killed.
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The Universe as Zarathustra Saw It
Ahura Mazda is most powerful. He created Spenta Mainyu and Angra Mainyu. They have free choice of the principles they embrace. Spenta Mainyu chose Asha (good) and Angra Mainyu chose Druj (evil), thus the advent of dualism. We are all products of dualism. This ideology has prevaded the entire Western World. There are also Righteousness and Wickedness, Order and Chaos, Truth and The Lie (Persians are in the Truth category -- everyone else is part of The Lie). Each side has an army. Spenta Mainyu has the Ahuras. Angra Mainyu has the Daevas. Ahura Mazda is on the side of Spenta Mainyu. They eventually merge into a single god Ormazd. Angra Mainyu becomes Ahriman.
There are also a number of "archangels" in several categories:
(1) Amesha Spenta, "The Blessed Beloved Ones." There are six of them. Each has two characteristics: something in nature and some human virtue.
(2) Yazata. There are 40 of them. They are all standard gods. The most famous is Mithras whose cult spread throughout the world. He was a god of oaths and vows and contracts, all of which were sealed by swearing to Mithras. He is shown grabbing a bull's head and thrusting a sword into it. His name comes to mean "contract" as a common noun.
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The After Life
When a man dies, the spirit waits for three days on Earth. On each of the three nights, it contemplates: (1) the things he said, (2) the things he thought, and (3) the things he did. The spirit then travels to Chinvat, "The Bridge of the Requiter" ("requite" = "to give back in kind") where one is going to get one's comeuppances. If you were middle of the road, you would go to Hamstagen, total oblivion. If you were really good, you would be met by a beautiful young girl who would take you by the hand and lead you across the Chinvat. The young woman represents the conscience, which is hardly used in the life of one who is good. That is why she is young. If you have been evil, you are met by a disgustingly ugly old hag who signals to a couple of ogres who take clubs and drive you onto the bridge, which is now like a sword blade turned on edge. You cut yourself up and fall right off into a vat of molten metal. You end up in the House of the Lie, a place of eternal torment, depending on what you did. If you were good, you go to the House of Song, an eternal paradise. Followers of Zarathustra thought this was too harsh. Even when he was an old man, they were beginning to change this: On a day called Frashkart, "The Rehabilitation of the Universe," a person called Saoshyant, "He Who Saves," will save everyone. They hoped it would be Zarathustra, but after he died, it developed so that it would just be a descendant of Zarathustra and they would know by the stars. Frashkart meant that the Saoshyant would reunite the souls to the bodies. They would all pass through the molten metal, only it would not hurt and they would be cleansed to go on to the House of Song. Ahriman and his followers would either be annihilated or sent to the House of the Lie."
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