Explain the meaning of Zoroastrianism and related terms.

CHAPTER 9

Learning Outcomes After studying this chapter, you will be able to do the following:

LO1 Explain the meaning of Zoroastrianism and related terms.

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LO2 Outline how Zoroastrianism developed over time into what it is today.

LO3 Explain the essential Zoroastrian teachings of monotheism and moral dualism.

LO4 State the main ethical precepts of Zoroastrianism. LO5 Outline the way Zoroastrians worship and observe

rituals.

LO6 State the main features of Zoroastrian life in North America today.

Encountering Zoroastrianism: The Way of the One Wise Lord

BONNIE VAN VOORST © CENGAGE LEARNINGBONNIE VAN VOORST © CENGAGE LEARNING

Copyright 2011 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.

205

Your Visit to Yazd, Iran

F or more than a year you’ve planned and prepared for a hiking trip through Iran. You’ve been careful to get the cor- rect visas and learn about cultural ways. Now that you’re hiking there, you come

across fascinating remains of the past as you approach the ancient city of Yazd (yahzd) on the ancient Silk Road. You already know about the importance of Silk Road caravan trade routes that ran from China to the Mediterranean Sea. Now you see the remains of a stone way station on the Silk Road, one of hundreds, each every thirty kilometers. They had lodging and food for humans and animals—even running water. It occurs to you that they were like full-service rest stops along this ancient highway.

Yazd is the historic center of Zoroastrianism (ZOHR- oh-ASS-tree-uh-NIHZ-uhm) in present-day Iran, although most Iranian Zoroastrians now live in the capital city, Tehran. Yazd has an active Zoroastrian temple, one of the most beautiful in the world, housing a fi re that Zoroastrians believe has burned for more than a thou- sand years. Zoroastrians are not “fi re worshipers,” as you may have heard some Iranians say, but use fi re as a sym- bol of the spiritual essence of God.

You hoped to hike out into the desert to Chak-Chak, an important pilgrimage site for Zoroastrians about 110 kilometers north of Yazd, to see a four-day festival that was about to start. But then you hear that only the faith- ful can attend the festival and that the temple will be closed at that time to non-Zoroastrians, so you travel out there right away before the festival starts. Chak- Chak, literally “drip-drip” in Persian, is a small group of buildings built onto the side of a mountain cliff . According to legend, a Zoroastrian princess who was fl eeing the invading Muslim Arab armies escaped from Yazd into the desert. She arrived at this cliff and was

cornered, with the army closing in on her. She prayed to God to be spared, and the cliff opened and she dis- appeared inside forever. From that time on, dripping water from a spring has marked the place of her res- cue. Legends such as this one have helped Zoroastrians cope with the predominantly Muslim nation in which they fi nd themselves.

Back in Yazd the next day, you hike out of town to the round stone “towers of silence” built on the hills, used as the funeral buildings for Zoroastrians until recent times. After climbing to the top of a tower, you think about the som- ber scene. For more than two thousand years, Zoroastrians didn’t bury or cremate their dead, believing that this would contaminate the earth. Instead, they left dead bodies in these towers to be eaten there by vultures until only clean bones remained to be bleached white by the sun. The bones were then swept into a central depository within the tower, but you can’t see them any longer. On the plains of Yazd below, you see partially ruined temples and build- ings used for funeral rites. Beyond the ruins, you can see the well-maintained, modern Zoroastrian cemetery where Zoroastrians now bury their dead inside concrete-lined graves. You take in the whole scene from the tower, amazed by how this site is so peaceful now. The towers are indeed silent.

“I acknowledge my faith in Good Thoughts, Good Words, and Good Deeds, the Good Religion of Ahura Mazda.” —from the Zoroastrian declaration of faith

The belief that the world is locked in a cosmic struggle between good and evil, as Zoroastrians believe, makes for a powerful faith.

Strongly Disagree Strongly Agree 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

What Do YOU Think?

< A Zoroastrian priest lights candles to begin the Zoroastrians’ New Year festival of Nowruz at their temple in Suff ern, New York. Pictures of Zarathustra, the founder of the faith, are on the table and the rear wall.

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206 C H A P T E R 9 E N CO U N T E R I N G ZO R OA S T R I A N I S M : T H E WAY O F T H E O N E W I S E LO R D

Begun thousands of years ago by Zarathustra, the prophet known to the Greeks as Zoroaster, Zoroastrianism became the state religion of the ancient Persian and Sassanid empires. Some historians estimate that it had as many as 40 million followers, making it one of the largest religions in the ancient world. Today, its numbers are severely reduced, for reasons we will explore in this chapter. About 150,000 adher- ents, almost all of them ethnic Persians, are clustered in eastern Iran and Mumbai (Bombay), India, and about another 50,000 are scattered in twenty-three nations of the world, including 20,000 in North America. These numbers are estimates, because exact numbers are hard to come by.

“Zoroastrianism has probably had more

influence on human life, directly and

indirectly, than any other single faith.”

—Mary Boyce

Despite these reduced numbers, the study of Zoroastrianism has an appeal all its own. Any religion from so long ago that is still present today deserves to be studied carefully. Scholars also study Zoroastrianism today for a wider reason, to discern the possible infl u- ence of Zoroastrianism on other Western religions. Most scholars conclude that Zoroastrianism had some direct infl uence on ancient Judaism and then some indirect infl uence (mostly through Judaism) on Christianity and Islam. The exact extent of this infl u- ence is sharply debated. On the one hand, a leading scholar of Zoroastrianism, Mary Boyce, argues for a maximum infl uence: “Zoroastrianism has probably had more infl uence on human life, directly and indi- rectly, than any other single faith.” She also argues that Zoroastrianism’s teachings on judgment, heaven and hell, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting were borrowed by Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.1

This position is frequently seen on the Web. On the other hand, Hebrew Bible scholar James Barr and others have argued that signifi cant borrowing of Zoroastrian ideas, directly or indirectly, cannot be demonstrated in early Judaism, aside from a few small points of contact. Barr argues as well that later Christian and Islamic beliefs

1 Mary Boyce, Zoroastrians: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices (London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1979), 1, 29.

cannot be shown to have drawn from Zoroastrianism.2

This debate continues today. In your study of Zoroastrianism, these unique, ini-

tially puzzling features may appear:

● Zoroastrians place a strong emphasis on morality in thought, word, and deed. But unlike many other reli- gions that stress moral purity, Zoroastrianism gives emphasis to dealing with hundreds of ritual impuri- ties, because they can ruin the effect of moral deeds.

● Zoroastrianism is a monotheistic religion, teaching that only one God exists. But it also features dozens of other spirits good and bad, most of them named, who have large roles in human life. Sometimes they are even called “divinities,” as for example on the opening page of a matchmaking website for Zoroastrians, which invokes the power of Ava Ardvisur, the “Divinity of fertility and childbirth.”

● Christians throughout the world, and many people who aren’t Christians, know about the Bible’s story of “wise men from the east” visiting the newborn Jesus to honor him and bring him gifts. Two of these gifts, frankincense and myrrh, have been offered in Zoroastrian worship for more than 2,500 years now. And most Christians don’t realize that the term the Bible uses for the wise men, magi (MAJ-igh), is a special Zoroastrian word for their priests.

LO1 Names for Zoroastrianism and Zoroastrians Zoroastrianism is the most common designation of the ancient Persian monotheistic religion. This name is built from the Greek form of the name of its founder, Zoroaster (ZOHR-oh-ASS-ter). The founder is known as Zarathustra (ZAHR-uh-THUHS-truh) in the religion’s most ancient writings. Zoroastrianism was originally a European name for the faith and refl ects the European tendency to name religions after their founders whether the religions themselves do so or not. Zarathustra would probably not have been pleased with this name. But Zoroastrianism “stuck,” and most followers of the faith use it happily today.

2 James Barr, “The Question of Religious Infl uence: The Case of Zoroastrianism, Judaism, and Christianity.” Journal of the American Academy of Religion 53 (1985): 201–35.

207 ZO R O A S T R I A N I S M A S S H A P E D B Y I T S PA S T

Zoroastrianism was originally a European name for the faith and reflects

the European tendency to name religions

after their founders.

Ancient Zoroastrian sources called it the “Good Religion,” not in a generic sense (after all, what reli- gion doesn’t think of itself as good?) but as point- ing especially to the key role of struggle for good in Zoroastrianism. This moral dimension of the faith is richly refl ected in its symbol, the faravahar (or faro- har), which means “Divine glory.” More specifi cally, Zoroastrians have called their faith the “Mazda- worshiping” or “Mazdayasnian” (MAHZ-duh-YAHZ- nee-uhn) religion. The latter name refers to Ahura Mazda, the “Wise Lord,” who is the only God. He created the universe as a place in which good will eventually prevail. This book will follow the current scholarly convention of referring to the name of the religion as Zoroastrianism and the name of its founder as Zarathustra.

One other name for Zoroastrians has become important. Zoroastrians who moved to India from Iran in the 900s C.E. are called Parsis (sometimes spelled “Parsees”), a name derived from Persians. The Zoroastrian communities in east Africa, Great Britain, and North America descend largely from this group, so it has spread beyond India. Parsis is often used as a syn- onym of Zoroastrians.

LO2 Zoroastrianism As Shaped by Its Past

A prominent Zoroastrian of the twentieth century was the rock star Freddie Mercury (1946–1991), the lead singer in the British band Queen. Born as Farrokh Bulsara to a Zoroastrian family in what is now Tanzania, he was raised as a devout Zoroastrian and was initiated into the faith as a teenager.

faravahar [fahr-uh- VAH-har] “Divine glory,” winged symbol of Zoroastrianism stressing morality

Ahura Mazda [ah- HOOR-uh MAHZ-duh] “Wise Lord,” the single, all- powerful god worshiped by Zoroastrians

Parsis [PAR-seez] Name for Zoroastrians in India, also spelled “Parsees”

The Symbol of Zoroastrianism

Zoroastrianism has had a few diff erent sym- bols through- out its history. One ancient symbol still seen today is a sacrifi cial fi re burning in a ritual urn. But the symbol most associated with Zoroastrianism for more than 2,500 years is the faravahar, the fi gure of a human being with eagle’s wings. Its origins are debated. Some think that it originally represented Ahura Mazda, because it seems to draw some elements from the symbols of gods in Assyrian religion. However, Zoroastrians have always considered God to be an undepictable spirit.

The central human fi gure represents the individual Zoroastrian believer. The fi gure is obviously a male, with the long beard that Persian men wore, but this hasn’t prevented

Zoroastrian women from identifying with the symbol. He is aged in appearance, so the soul is wise. He wears a tradi- tional Persian hat, suggesting respect for culture. One hand is open and lifted upward, symbolic of faith in and obedi- ence to the goodness of Ahura Mazda. The other hand holds a ring, which may represent loyalty and faithfulness. The circle around the center of the human fi gure represents the immortality of the soul or the eternal signifi cance of human actions in the here and now.

The two wings have three main rows of feathers, representing good thoughts, good words, and good deeds. Doing these things lifts up one’s soul as on powerful wings. The tail below also has three rows of feathers, said to represent bad thoughts, bad words, and bad deeds. The two streamers below the human figure represent the spirits of good and evil. Every person must constantly choose between the two, so the figure is fac- ing the good and turning his back on evil.

A Closer Look:

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208 C H A P T E R 9 E N CO U N T E R I N G ZO R OA S T R I A N I S M : T H E WAY O F T H E O N E W I S E LO R D

Mercury sang many hit songs, including “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “We Are the Champions,” and “Crazy Little Thing Called Love.” Although he hadn’t formally observed his ancestral Zoroastrian religion as an adult, his funeral in London was led at Mercury’s wishes by Zoroastrian priests. It was conducted entirely in the Avestan language and included prayers and hymns from the Zoroastrian scriptures. After the service, his body was cremated. The debate over Mercury’s legacy indicates a divide in modern Zoroastrianism: Can it be followed by keeping just its main moral commands, as some argue Mercury tried to do, or is it necessary to keep the full, traditional way of life of Zoroastrianism, as he did not?

The early history of Zoroastrianism is still shrouded in the mists of antiquity. We aren’t certain of many key details about its beginnings, because most of its earli- est writings were destroyed in persecutions. But as it moved closer to our time, Zoroastrianism emerged from the mists and became a key religion in the world. It can be divided into three main periods: birth and for- mation (ca. 630–550 B.C.E.); growth into the offi cial religion of the Persian Empire, decline under Greek and Parthian rule, and revival and renewed offi cial status in the Sassanian Empire (550 B.C.E.–650 C.E.); and slow, steady decline under Islamic rulers and in the modern world (650 C.E.–today).

As it moved closer to our time,

Zoroastrianism emerged from the mists

and became a key religion in the world.

The Birth of Zoroastrianism (ca. 630–550 B.C.E.) The question of when Zarathustra lived isn’t easy to answer. A few scholars and many traditional Zoroastrians date it all the way back to 7500 B.C.E., at what they consider the dawn of human civilization; others hold to

a time between 1400 and 900 B.C.E. Most commonly today, historians put his birth around 630 B.C.E., at the beginning of the Axial Age in Europe and Asia. This term was given by phi- losopher Karl Jaspers to the

period from 600 to 400 B.C.E. when many religions and value (axial) systems were founded. This wide chronologi- cal range, so unusual for dating the founder of a major reli- gion, shows that fi rm evidence for the life of Zarathustra is lacking. The Zoroastrian scriptures that he is thought to have authored, the central chapters of the Gathas, do not locate him chronologically. No historical sources outside of Zoroastrianism give reliable information that can be used in dating his life. Moreover, most Zoroastrian scrip- tures weren’t written down until about 400 C.E., at least a thousand years after the events they relate.

The birth of Zarathustra was said by some sacred writings to be prepared by prophecies and accompanied by miraculous signs. For example, the glory of Ahura Mazda descended on Zarathustra’s mother, resulting in a virginal conception, and the newborn Zoroaster was said to have laughed when he was born. The main outline of Zarathustra’s teaching, which he gave to disciples and at the court of the Persian kings, can be reliably traced, although the details are sketchy. The ancient Persians were polytheistic, as were all other Indo-European peo- ples. The basic structure of Persian polytheism was prob- ably the same as that of Vedic Hinduism. For example, both religions worshiped many gods in nature, sacrifi ced animals whose souls were thought to join the gods, and used a hallucinogenic drug in some sacrifi ces.

Zarathustra saw this religion as mistaken. He had a revolutionary monotheistic vision that only one God existed, Ahura Mazda. He also had a vision of an evil fi gure (supernatural but not divine), named Angra Mainyu, who opposed God. Zarathustra taught that all people had to choose which of these two moral forces they would follow, a choice that would either improve the world or make it worse. This choice determined their judgment by God to heaven or hell when they died, but Zarathustra taught that a fi nal restoration would come when Ahura Mazda completely defeated the forces of evil. In this restoration, even hell would come to an end, and all people would be resurrected with a re-created body to an eternal, blessed life. Despite the up-and- down fortunes of this faith, Zarathustra’s powerful teaching has endured through today.

The Spread of Zoroastrianism in the Persian and Sassanian Empires (550 B.C.E.–650 C.E.) The fi rst certain date in Zoroastrian history is its estab- lishment in Persia during the reign of the Persian kings, beginning in 550 B.C.E. These kings created and ruled over the largest empire the world had yet seen, and

Axial Age Name given by philosopher Karl Jaspers to the period from 600 to 400 B.C.E. when many religions and value (axial) systems were founded

209 ZO R O A S T R I A N I S M A S S H A P E D B Y I T S PA S T

Zoroastrianism spread with it (see Map 9.1). Some Persian kings drew explicitly on Zoroastrianism for the legitimacy of their empire, claiming that Ahura Mazda wanted his fame and goodness spread throughout the world. However, the Persians never attempted to impose Zoroastrianism on subject peoples with other religions. Given Zoroastrianism’s monotheism and moral rigor based on individual choice, religious ideas not widely shared in the ancient Middle East, this was a wise policy. Persian rule was autocratic but tolerant and effi cient, respecting and even embracing cultural and religious differences in its subject peoples. As the ancient Greek historian Herodotus wrote, “No nation so readily adopts foreign cus- toms as the Persians do.”3

“No nation so readily adopts foreign

customs as the Persians.” —Herodotus,

ancient Greek historian

Cyrus (SY-rus) II, later called Cyrus the Great, ruled the small Persia home- land from 550 to 530 B.C.E. He began the expansion of Persia by overthrowing the king of Media to the north, and he kept on marching. Within ten years he had conquered much of the Middle East. He was a faithful Zoroastrian, as were the emperors of Persia who came after him, but tolerant toward other reli- gions in his empire. When he cap- tured Babylon, he rebuilt the temple of its main god, Marduk (MAHR- dook). He released many captive peoples held in Babylonia, allow- ing them to return to their homes and pursue their religions. For example, Cyrus allowed the thou- sands of Jews taken to Babylon in 586 B.C.E. to return to Jerusalem in 539, to rebuild their temple and land as a loyal part of the Persian

3 William Stearns Davis, Readings in Ancient History: Illustrative Extracts from the Sources, Vol. 2: Greece and the East (Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1912), 60.

Empire. Historians who argue for a large infl uence of Zoroastrianism on Judaism typically point to this “Persian period” in Jewish history as the time when it occurred.

Darius (dah-RY-us) I, called “Darius the Great,” ruled from 521 to 486 B.C.E. He is known mainly for his great building projects, such as a spectacular new capital at Persepolis. He was adept at managing his empire and expanded Persian rule to its greatest extent. Darius referred to Ahura Mazda in his royal inscrip- tions as the source of his successes, and he had monu- mental faravahars carved on many walls in Persepolis and in older cities. He attempted to conquer Greece, but wasn’t successful.

Darius’s son Xerxes (ZUHRK-seez), who ruled from 486–465 B.C.E., also tried to conquer Greece, this time with a massive effort. Like his father, he failed. Several relatively small Greek city-states turned back the mighty Persian Empire, marking a turning point in Persian fortunes. (This story is told in historical-fantasy form by the much-mocked 2006 fi lm 300, with its false depiction of the Persians and of Xerxes.) Xerxes and his successors changed the policy of tolerating differ- ent religions and ethnic groups as their predecessors

had, betraying Zoroastrian values. Local and regional imperial offi cials were now drawn

only from Persian ranks, not as before from local national and ethnic groups. Over the next hundred years, the empire suffered from various revolts and struggles over the throne. It was greatly reduced in size and splendor by the time Alexander the Great of Macedon, a nation that had once been a part of the Persian Empire, easily toppled it in 334 B.C.E.

Zoroastrians today see much to be proud of in this period, includ- ing the birth and early growth of their faith. But they view the accom- plishments as short-lived due to the onslaught of Alexander. They blame Alexander for many of the troubles of later Zoroastrianism. They have so hated Alexander that they have called him not “Alexander the Great” but “Alexander the Accursed.” They cursed him for murdering priests and scholars, extinguishing ritual

fi res, destroying temples, and carrying off sacred writ- ings and having them burned or (worse) translated for non-Zoroastrians. Some of these charges are no doubt

Miniature relief carving of Cyrus the Great

210 C H A P T E R 9 E N CO U N T E R I N G ZO R OA S T R I A N I S M : T H E WAY O F T H E O N E W I S E LO R D

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exaggerated; Alexander, like the Persians, tended to be basically tolerant of other religions. But the fact remains that Alexander overthrew the empire to which Zoroastrianism had become closely connected, and Zoroastrianism was greatly damaged in the process. In particu-

lar, the loss of much of the sacred literature at this time and in later book burnings means that we are no longer able to reconstruct the history of Zoroastrian teachings.

Zoroastrianism struggled under Hellenistic, Roman, and Parthian rule that controlled parts of its homeland from 334 B.C.E. until 224 C.E. Zoroastrian reli- gious leaders praised the kings of

the Sassanian Empire (224–651 C.E.; also known as “Sassanid”) for powerfully reestablishing the religion. For the second time, Zoroastrianism was the offi cial religion of a large empire (see Map 9.2). This was the “golden age” of Zoroastrianism. Several Sassanian rul- ers featured Zoroastrian symbols in offi cial inscriptions and coins. Their patronage enabled the establishment of many Zoroastrian temples and the rise of a profes- sional Zoroastrian priesthood to staff them. The Avesta, the fi rst and basic Zoroastrian scripture, was collected.

Towers of silence, stone funeral struc- tures for the Zoroastrian dead, were

built throughout the land. In the Sassanian period, Zoroastrianism reached the basic form that it would keep through today.

The Sassanians presented themselves as pious Zoroastrians, putting religious images on their coins and buildings. Later sources celebrated some Sassanian kings as a blessing to Zoroastrianism. Zoroastrians still use the date of

Map 9.1 The Zoroastrian Persian Empire, ca. 500 B.C.E. At its height around 500 B.C.E., the Persians controlled a huge empire that included northern Greece, Egypt,

and most of western Asia, from the Mediterranean coast to the Indus River in India.

Avesta [ah-VEHS-tuh] First and basic Zoroastrian scripture

tower of silence Stone funeral structure where the Zoroastrian dead were placed and bones stored; no longer used in most locations

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Coin of Sassanian King Shahpur II (309–379 C.E.), with a fi re altar and priests

211 ZO R O A S T R I A N I S M A S S H A P E D B Y I T S PA S T

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Explain the meaning of Zoroastrianism and related terms.

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