Zoroastrian Eschatology
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Zoroastrian Eschatology
''Frashokereti'' ( ') is the Avestan language term (corresponding to Zoroastrian Middle Persian, Middle Persian ''fraš(a)gird'' ) for the Zoroastrian doctrine of a final renovation of the universe, when evil will be destroyed, and everything else will be then in perfect unity with God (Ahura Mazda). The doctrinal premises are (1) good will eventually prevail over evil; (2) creation was initially perfectly good, but was subsequently corrupted by evil; (3) the world will ultimately be restored to the perfection it had at the time of creation; (4) the "salvation for the individual depended on the sum of [that person's] thoughts, words and deeds, and there could be no intervention, whether compassionate or capricious, by any divine being to alter this." Thus, each human bears the responsibility for the fate of his own soul, and simultaneously shares in the responsibility for the fate of the world.. Etymology and meaning The name suggests "making wonderful, excellent".The secon ...
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Avestan
Avestan ( ) is the liturgical language of Zoroastrianism. It belongs to the Iranian languages, Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family and was First language, originally spoken during the Avestan period, Old Iranian period ( – 400 BCE) by the Arya (Iran), Iranians living in the Avestan geography, eastern portion of Greater Iran. After Avestan Language death, became extinct, its religious texts were first transmitted Oral literature, orally until being collected and Sasanian Avesta, put into writing during the Sasanian empire, Sasanian period ( – 500 CE). The Avesta, extant material falls into two Variety (linguistics), groups: Old Avestan ( – 900 BCE) and Younger Avestan ( – 400 BCE). The immediate ancestor of Old Avestan was the Proto-Iranian language, a sister language to the Proto-Indo-Aryan language, with both having developed from the earlier Proto-Indo-Iranian language. As such, Old Avestan is quite close in both grammar and lexi ...
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Atar
Atar, Ahtra, Atash, Azar () or ''Dāštāɣni'',, s.v. ''agni-.'' is the Zoroastrian concept of holy fire, sometimes described in abstract terms as "burning and unburning fire" or "visible and invisible fire" (Mirza, 1987:389). It is considered to be the visible presence of Ahura Mazda and his Asha through the eponymous Yazata. The rituals for purifying a fire are performed 1,128 times a year. In the Avestan language, ''ātar'' is an attribute of sources of heat and light, of which the nominative singular form is ''ātarš'', source of Persian ''ātaš'' (fire). It was once thought to be etymologically related to the Avestan ''āθrauuan'' / ''aθaurun'' (Vedic '' atharvan''), a type of priest, but that is now considered unlikely (Boyce, 2002:16). The ultimate etymology of ''ātar'', previously unknown (Boyce, 2002:1), is now believed to be from the Indo-European *hxehxtr- 'fire'. This would make it a cognate to Latin '' ater'' (black) and to Albanian '' vatër'' (definite ...
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Ragnarök
In Norse mythology, (also Ragnarok; or ; ) is a foretold series of impending events, including a great battle in which numerous great Norse mythological figures will perish (including the Æsir, gods Odin, Thor, Týr, Freyr, Heimdall, and Loki); it will entail a catastrophic series of natural disasters, including the burning of the world, and culminate in the submersion of the world underwater. After these events, the world will rise again, cleansed and fertile, the surviving and returning gods will meet, and the world will be repopulated by two human survivors, Líf and Lífþrasir. is an important event in Norse mythology and has been the subject of scholarly discourse and theory in the history of Germanic studies. The event is attested primarily in the ''Poetic Edda'', compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the ''Prose Edda'', written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson. In the ''Prose Edda'' and in a single poem in the ''Poetic Edda'' ...
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Millenarianism
Millenarianism or millenarism () is the belief by a religious, social, or political group or movement in a coming fundamental transformation of society, after which "all things will be changed". Millenarianism exists in various cultures and religions worldwide, with various interpretations of what constitutes a transformation. These movements believe in radical changes to society after a major cataclysm or transformative event.''Millenarianism''
. In James Crossley and Alastair Lockhart (eds.) ''Critical Dictionary of Apocalyptic and Millenarian Movements''. 2021
Millenarianist movements can be secular (not espousing a particular religion) or religious in nature,Gordon Marshall, "millenarianism", ''The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Sociology'' (1994), p. 333. and are therefore not necessarily linked to < ...
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Kali Yuga
''Kali Yuga'' (Devanagari: कलियुग), in Hinduism, is the fourth, shortest, and worst of the four '' yugas'' (world ages) in a '' Yuga cycle'', preceded by '' Dvapara Yuga'' and followed by the next cycle's '' Krita (Satya) Yuga''. It is believed to be the present age, which is full of conflict and sin. According to Puranic sources, Krishna's death marked the end of '' Dvapara Yuga'' and the start of ''Kali Yuga'', which is dated to 17/18 February 3102  BCE. Lasting for 432,000 years (1,200 divine years), ''Kali Yuga'' began years ago and has years left as of   CE. ''Kali Yuga'' will end in the year 428,899 CE. Near the end of ''Kali Yuga'', when virtues are at their worst, a cataclysm and a re-establishment of ''dharma'' occur to usher in the next cycle's ''Krita (Satya) Yuga'', prophesied to occur by Kalki. Etymology '' Yuga'' (), in this context, means "an age of the world", where its archaic spelling is ''yug'', with other forms of ''yugam'', , a ...
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Apocatastasis
In theology, apokatastasis (, also spelled apocatastasis) is the restoration of creation to a condition of perfection. In Christianity, the term refers to a form of Christian universalism, often associated with Origen, that includes the ultimate salvation of everyone, including the damned and the Devil. The New Testament ( Acts 3:21), speaks of the "apokatastasis of all things". The dogmatic status of apokatastasis is disputed, and some orthodox fathers such as Gregory of Nyssa taught apokatastasis and were never condemned. Apokatastasis was definitely condemned as a heresy by the Synod of Constantinople of 543. Etymology and definition While apokatastasis is derived from the Greek verb ''apokathistemi'', which means "to restore", it first emerged as a doctrine in Zoroastrianism where it is the third time of creation. This period was referred to as ''wizarishn'' or the end of history—the time of separation and resolution when evil is destroyed and the world is restored to its ...
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Haoma
(; Avestan: ) is a divine plant in Zoroastrianism and in later Persian culture and Persian mythology, mythology. has its origins in Indo-Iranian religion and is the cognate of Vedas, Vedic . Etymology Both Avestan and Sanskrit derived from Proto-Indo-Iranian language, proto-Indo-Iranian *. The root of the word , , and of , , suggests 'press' or 'pound'. In Old Persian cuneiform it was known as , as in the DNa inscription (c. 490 BC) which makes reference to "''haoma''-drinking Scythians" (). The Middle Persian form of the name is , which continues to be the name in Modern Persian language, Persian and other living Iranian languages (). As a plant In the Avesta The physical attributes, as described in the texts of the Avesta, include: * the plant has stems, roots and branches ( 10.5). * it has a plant ( 9.16). The term is only used in conjunction with a description of , and does not have an established translation. It refers to 'twigs' according to Dieter Taillieu, 'stalk ...
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Ab-Zohr
The Ab-Zohr (; ; ) is the culminating rite of the greater '' Yasna'' service, the principal Zoroastrian act of worship that accompanies the recitation of the ''Yasna'' liturgy. As described in the liturgy that accompanies the procedure, the rite constitutes a symbolic offering (, ''zohr'' < , ) to the waters (''aban'' < ''apas'') in order to purify them.


Technical terms

The technical terms and literally mean "offering to water" (, water; , offering; ''cf'' Apas). The words of the expression have
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Amesha Spenta
In Zoroastrianism, the Amesha Spenta (—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 ''Amesha Spenta'' does ...
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Angra Mainyu
Angra Mainyu (; ) is the Avestan 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 (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 spoken of is that of a ''mainyu'' ("mind", "spirit" or otherwise an abstract energy etc.)The translation of '' ...
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Ashavan
Ashavan (Avestan: 𐬀𐬴𐬀𐬬𐬀𐬥 ''ašavan'') is a Zoroastrian theological term. It literally means "possessing/mastering '' aša''" and has been interpreted as "possessing/mastering truth" or "possessing/mastering righteousness", but has further implications: * It is an epithet of Ahura Mazda (''Yasht'' 1.12). The term may then be applied to anything within the domain of Ahura Mazda and/or Aša (i.e. all of Creation), and excludes only that which is ''dr''ə''gvant'' "possessing lie" ( YAv: ''drvant''). * With respect to mortals and in an eschatological and sotereological context, ''ašavan'' is also a quality that can be acquired in life. Then, having acquired the qualities of an ''ašavan'', one becomes an ''ašavan'' (through "blessed union with aša") after death. (See also: ''aša'': in eschatology and sotereology). This soteriological meaning of ''ašavan'' is also evident in Xerxes' ''daiva inscription'', an Old Persian text (XPh, early 5th century BCE). Thi ...
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