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 monotheisti ...

, Spənta Ārmaiti (

Avestan Avestan (), or historically Zend, is an umbrella term for two Old Iranian languages: Old Avestan (spoken in the 2nd millennium BCE) and Younger Avestan (spoken in the 1st millennium BCE). They are known only from their conjoined use as the scrip ...

𐬯𐬞𐬆𐬧𐬙𐬀 𐬁𐬭𐬨𐬀𐬌𐬙𐬌 for "Bounteous Harmony" or "Holy Devotion") is one of the

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 Persia ...

s, the seven divine manifestations of Wisdom and

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'' ...

. While older sources present the Amesha Spentas more as abstract entities, in later sources Spenta Armaiti is personified as a female divinity with connotations of harmony and devotion.

Name

Spenta Armaiti is known in later

Iranian languages The Iranian languages or Iranic languages are a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages in the Indo-European language family that are spoken natively by the Iranian peoples, predominantly in the Iranian Plateau. The Iranian languages are groupe ...

as ''Spandarmad'' (in

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 P ...

) and ''Isfandārmaḏ'' (in Modern Persian). Sometimes Armaiti is paired with other Zoroastrian deity, Zam ('earth'), another being associated with the Earth, thus forming a compound ''Zam-Armaiti'' or ''Zam-Armatay''.

Cultic role

In Zoroastrian religion, Spenta Armaiti is seen as the wife or companion of major deity

, who, in some accounts, is described as her creator or father. She is associated with

earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's sur ...

and sacred literature describes her role as a Mother Nature character. Thus, she is linked to fertility and to farmers. She is also associated with the dead.

Religious legacy

In the

Zoroastrian calendar Adherents of Zoroastrianism use three distinct versions of traditional calendars for liturgical purposes, all derived from medieval Iranian calendars and ultimately based on the Babylonian calendar as used in the Achaemenid empire. ''Qadim ...

, she is associated with the twelfth month ( fa, سپندارمذ ) and the fifth day of the month. The fifth day of the twelfth month is hence her holy day,

Sepandārmazgān Sepandārmazgān ( fa, سپندارمذگان) or Espandegān (اسپندگان), is an ancient Iranian day of women with Zoroastrian roots dating back to the first Persian Empire, the Achaemenid Empire.M. Boyce,Textual sources for the study of ...

. Sepandārmazgān is an ancient festival to celebrate eternal love. Iranian lovers give each other gifts on this day.

Parallels

Scholarship states that Armaiti is equivalent to a

RigVedic The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' ( ', from ' "praise" and ' "knowledge") is an ancient Indian collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canonical Hindu texts (''śruti'') known as the Vedas. Only one ...

entity named ''Aramati''. In

Armenian mythology Armenian mythology originated in ancient Indo-European traditions, specifically Proto-Armenian, and gradually incorporated Hurro- Urartian, Mesopotamian, Iranian, and Greek beliefs and deities."Armenia (Vannic)" by A.H. Sayce, p.793-4; "Arm ...

, her name appears as Sandaramet ( hy, Սանդարամետ).

Footnotes

References

External links

Armaiti
in ''

Encyclopedia Iranica An encyclopedia (American English) or encyclopædia (British English) is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge either general or special to a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles ...

'' {{Zoroastrian Calendar Yazatas Earth goddesses