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Ahriman
Angra Mainyu (; Avestan: 𐬀𐬢𐬭𐬀⸱𐬨𐬀𐬌𐬥𐬌𐬌𐬎 ''Aŋra Mainiiu'') is the Avestan-language name of Zoroastrianism's hypostasis of the "destructive/evil spirit" and the main adversary in Zoroastrianism either of the Spenta Mainyu, the "holy/creative spirits/mentality", or directly of Ahura Mazda, the highest deity of Zoroastrianism. The Middle Persian equivalent is Ahriman 𐭠𐭧𐭫𐭬𐭭𐭩 (anglicised pronunciation: ). The name can appear in English-language works as Ahrimanes. In the Avesta In Zoroaster's revelation Avestan ''angra mainyu'' "seems to have been an original conception of Zoroaster's." In the Gathas, which are the oldest texts of Zoroastrianism and are attributed to Zoroaster, ''angra mainyu'' is not yet a proper name.Proper names are altogether rare in the Gathas. In these texts, even Ahura Mazda and Amesha Spenta are not yet proper names. In the one instance in these hymns where the two words appear together, the concept sp ...
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Ahrimanes
Angra Mainyu (; Avestan: 𐬀𐬢𐬭𐬀⸱𐬨𐬀𐬌𐬥𐬌𐬌𐬎 ''Aŋra Mainiiu'') is the Avestan-language name of Zoroastrianism's hypostasis of the "destructive/evil spirit" and the main adversary in Zoroastrianism either of the Spenta Mainyu, the "holy/creative spirits/mentality", or directly of Ahura Mazda, the highest deity of Zoroastrianism. The Middle Persian equivalent is Ahriman 𐭠𐭧𐭫𐭬𐭭𐭩 (anglicised pronunciation: ). The name can appear in English-language works as Ahrimanes. In the Avesta In Zoroaster's revelation Avestan ''angra mainyu'' "seems to have been an original conception of Zoroaster's." In the Gathas, which are the oldest texts of Zoroastrianism and are attributed to Zoroaster, ''angra mainyu'' is not yet a proper name.Proper names are altogether rare in the Gathas. In these texts, even Ahura Mazda and Amesha Spenta are not yet proper names. In the one instance in these hymns where the two words appear together, the concept sp ...
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Daevas
A daeva (Avestan: 𐬛𐬀𐬉𐬎𐬎𐬀 ''daēuua'') is a Zoroastrian supernatural entity with disagreeable characteristics. In the Gathas, the oldest texts of the Zoroastrian canon, the ''daeva''s are "gods that are (to be) rejected". This meaning is – subject to interpretation – perhaps also evident in the Old Persian "''daiva'' inscription" of the 5th century BCE. In the ''Younger Avesta'', the ''daeva''s are divinities that promote chaos and disorder. In later tradition and folklore, the ''dēw''s (Zoroastrian Middle Persian; New Persian ''div''s) are personifications of every imaginable evil. Over time, the Daeva myth as Div became integrated to Islam. ''Daeva'', the Iranian language term, shares the same origin of " Deva" of Hinduism. While the word for the Vedic spirits and the word for the Zoroastrian entities are etymologically related, their function and thematic development is altogether different. Originally, the term was used to denote beings of cultural f ...
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Daeva
A daeva (Avestan: 𐬛𐬀𐬉𐬎𐬎𐬀 ''daēuua'') is a Zoroastrian supernatural entity with disagreeable characteristics. In the Gathas, the oldest texts of the Zoroastrian canon, the ''daeva''s are "gods that are (to be) rejected". This meaning is – subject to interpretation – perhaps also evident in the Old Persian "''daiva'' inscription" of the 5th century BCE. In the ''Younger Avesta'', the ''daeva''s are divinities that promote chaos and disorder. In later tradition and folklore, the ''dēw''s (Zoroastrian Middle Persian; New Persian ''div''s) are personifications of every imaginable evil. Over time, the Daeva myth as Div became integrated to Islam. ''Daeva'', the Iranian language term, shares the same origin of "Deva" of Hinduism. While the word for the Vedic spirits and the word for the Zoroastrian entities are etymologically related, their function and thematic development is altogether different. Originally, the term was used to denote beings of cultural folk ...
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Zahhak
Zahhāk or Zahāk () ( fa, ضحّاک), also known as Zahhak the Snake Shoulder ( fa, ضحاک ماردوش, Zahhāk-e Mārdoush), is an evil figure in Persian mythology, evident in ancient Persian folklore as Azhi Dahāka ( fa, اژی دهاک), the name by which he also appears in the texts of the '' Avesta''. In Middle Persian he is called Dahāg ( fa, دهاگ) or Bēvar Asp ( fa, بیور اسپ) the latter meaning "he who has 10,000 horses". In Zoroastrianism, Zahhak (going under the name Aži Dahāka) is considered the son of Ahriman, the foe of Ahura Mazda. In the '' Shāhnāmah'' of Ferdowsi, Zahhāk is the son of a ruler named Merdās. Etymology and derived words ''Aži'' (nominative ''ažiš'') is the Avestan word for "serpent" or "dragon". It is cognate to the Vedic Sanskrit word ''ahi'', "snake", and without a sinister implication. The original meaning of ''dahāka'' is uncertain. Among the meanings suggested are "stinging" (source uncertain), "burning" (cf. Sans ...
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Middle Persian
Middle Persian or Pahlavi, also known by its endonym Pārsīk or Pārsīg () in its later form, is a Western Middle Iranian language which became the literary language of the Sasanian Empire. For some time after the Sasanian collapse, Middle Persian continued to function as a prestige language. It descended from Old Persian, the language of the Achaemenid Empire and is the linguistic ancestor of Modern Persian, an official language of Iran, Afghanistan ( Dari) and Tajikistan ( Tajik). Name "Middle Iranian" is the name given to the middle stage of development of the numerous Iranian languages and dialects. The middle stage of the Iranian languages begins around 450 BCE and ends around 650 CE. One of those Middle Iranian languages is Middle Persian, i.e. the middle stage of the language of the Persians, an Iranian people of Persia proper, which lies in the south-western highlands on the border with Babylonia. The Persians called their language ''Parsik'', meaning "Persian" ...
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Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religion and one of the world's oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a dualistic cosmology of good and evil within the framework of a monotheistic ontology and an eschatology which predicts the ultimate conquest of evil by good. Zoroastrianism exalts an uncreated and benevolent deity of wisdom known as '' Ahura Mazda'' () as its supreme being. Historically, the unique features of Zoroastrianism, such as its monotheism, messianism, belief in free will and judgement after death, conception of heaven, hell, angels, and demons, among other concepts, may have influenced other religious and philosophical systems, including the Abrahamic religions and Gnosticism, Northern Buddhism, and Greek philosophy. With possible roots dating back to the 2nd millennium BCE, Zoroastrianism enters recorded history around the middle of the 6th century BCE. It served as the state religion of th ...
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Akem Manah
Aka Manah is the Avestan language name for the Zoroastrian daeva "Evil Mind", "Evil Purpose", "Evil Thinking", or "Evil Intention". Aka Manah is the demon of sensual desire that was sent by Ahriman to seduce the prophet Zoroaster. His eternal opponent is Vohu Manah. Aka Manah is the hypostatic abstraction of accusative ''akem manah'' (''akәm manah''), "''manah'' made evil". The objectification of this malign influence is the demon Aka/Akem Manah, who appears in later texts as Middle Persian ''Akoman'' and New Persian '' Akvan''. In scripture In the Gathas The concept of ''akem manah'' is already attested in the Gathas, the oldest texts of Zoroastrianism and believed to have been composed by Zoroaster himself. In two of the three instances where the term is used in these ancient texts, ''akem manah'' is an attribute of humans. In ''Yasna'' 33.4, the poet promises to counter his own "disobedience and ''aka manah''" through worship. In ''Yasna'' 47.5, ''aka manah'' is the mot ...
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Ahura Mazda
Ahura Mazda (; ae, , translit=Ahura Mazdā; ), also known as Oromasdes, Ohrmazd, Ahuramazda, Hoormazd, Hormazd, Hormaz and Hurmuz, is the creator deity in Zoroastrianism. He is the first and most frequently invoked spirit in the ''Yasna''. The literal meaning of the word ''Ahura'' is "lord", and that of ''Mazda'' is "wisdom". The first notable invocation of Ahura Mazda occurred during the Achaemenid period () with the Behistun Inscription of Darius the Great. Until the reign of Artaxerxes II (), Ahura Mazda was worshipped and invoked alone in all extant royal inscriptions. With Artaxerxes II, Ahura Mazda was gathered in a triad with Mithra and Anahita. In the Achaemenid period, there are no known representations of Ahura Mazda at the royal court other than the custom for every emperor to have an empty chariot drawn by white horses to invite Ahura Mazda to accompany the Persian army on battles. Images of Ahura Mazda, however, were present from the 5th century BC but were ...
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Zoroaster
Zoroaster,; fa, زرتشت, Zartosht, label= Modern Persian; ku, زەردەشت, Zerdeşt also known as Zarathustra,, . Also known as Zarathushtra Spitama, or Ashu Zarathushtra is regarded as the spiritual founder of Zoroastrianism. He is said to have been an Iranian prophet who founded a religious movement that challenged the existing traditions of ancient Iranian religion, and inaugurated a movement that eventually became a staple religion in ancient Iran. He was a native speaker of Old Avestan and lived in the eastern part of the Iranian plateau, but his exact birthplace is uncertain. There is no scholarly consensus on when he lived. Some scholars, using linguistic and socio-cultural evidence, suggest a dating to somewhere in the second millennium BC. Other scholars date him to the 7th and 6th centuries BC as a near-contemporary of Cyrus the Great and Darius the Great. Zoroastrianism eventually became the official state religion of ancient Iran—particularly during ...
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Khvarenah
Khvarenah (also spelled khwarenah or xwarra(h): ae, 𐬓𐬀𐬭𐬆𐬥𐬀𐬵 ') is an Avestan word for a Zoroastrian concept literally denoting "glory" or "splendour" but understood as a divine mystical force or power projected upon and aiding the appointed. The neuter noun thus also connotes "(divine) royal glory", reflecting the perceived divine empowerment of kings. The term also carries a secondary meaning of "(good) fortune"; those who possess it are able to complete their mission or function. In 3rd- to 7th-century Sassanid-era inscriptions as well as in the 9th- to 12th-century texts of Zoroastrian tradition, the word appears as Zoroastrian Middle Persian ''khwarrah'', rendered with the Pahlavi ideogram ''GDE'', reflecting Aramaic ''gada'' "fortune". Middle Persian ''khwarrah'' continues as New Persian ''k(h)orra''. These variants, which are assumed to be learned borrowings from the Avestan, are the only Iranian language forms with an initial 'xᵛ-'. In all other dial ...
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Spenta Mainyu
In Zoroastrianism, the Amesha Spenta ( ae, , Aməša Spəṇta—literally "Immortal (which is) holy/bounteous/furthering") are a class of seven divine entities emanating from Ahura Mazda, the highest divinity of the religion. Later Middle Persian variations of the term include the contraction 'Ameshaspand' as well as the specifically Zoroastrian 'Mahraspand' and 'Amahraspand'. As divine entities Significantly more common than the non-specific meaning of ''Amesha Spenta'' (see below) is a restrictive use of the term to refer to the great seven divine entities emanating from Ahura Mazda. In Zoroastrian tradition, these are the first seven emanations of the uncreated creator, through whom all subsequent creation was accomplished. This fundamental doctrine is only alluded to in the Avesta, but is systematically described in later Middle Persian language texts, in particular in the ''Bundahishn'', an 11th or 12th century work that recounts Zoroastrian cosmology. The expression ''Ame ...
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Amesha Spenta
In Zoroastrianism, the Amesha Spenta ( ae, , Aməša Spəṇta—literally "Immortal (which is) holy/bounteous/furthering") are a class of seven divine entities emanating from Ahura Mazda, the highest divinity of the religion. Later Middle Persian variations of the term include the contraction 'Ameshaspand' as well as the specifically Zoroastrian 'Mahraspand' and 'Amahraspand'. As divine entities Significantly more common than the non-specific meaning of ''Amesha Spenta'' (see below) is a restrictive use of the term to refer to the great seven divine entities emanating from Ahura Mazda. In Zoroastrian tradition, these are the first seven emanations of the uncreated creator, through whom all subsequent creation was accomplished. This fundamental doctrine is only alluded to in the Avesta, but is systematically described in later Middle Persian language texts, in particular in the '' Bundahishn'', an 11th or 12th century work that recounts Zoroastrian cosmology. The expression ' ...
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