Anahita is the
Old Persian
Old Persian is one of two directly attested Old Iranian languages (the other being Avestan) and is the ancestor of Middle Persian (the language of the Sasanian Empire). Like other Old Iranian languages, it was known to its native speakers as (I ...
form of the name of an
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
ian goddess and appears in complete and earlier form as ('), the
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 ...
name of an
Indo-Iranian cosmological figure venerated as the divinity of "the Waters" (
Aban) and hence associated with fertility, healing and wisdom. There is also a temple named Anahita in Iran. Aredvi Sura Anahita is ''Ardwisur Anahid'' (اردویسور آناهید) in
Middle and
Modern Persian, and ''
Anahit'' in
Armenian
Armenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent
** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...
.
An iconic shrine sects of Aredvi Sura Anahita was, together with other shrine sects, "introduced apparently in the 4th century BCE and lasted until it was suppressed in the wake of an
iconoclastic movement under the
Sasanids."
[.] The symbol of goddess Anahita is the
Lotus flower. Lotus Festival (Persian: Jashn-e Nilupar) is an Iranian festival that is held on the end of the first week of July. Holding this festival at this time was probably based on the blooming of lotus flowers at the beginning of summer.
The Greek and Roman historians of
classical antiquity
Classical antiquity, also known as the classical era, classical period, classical age, or simply antiquity, is the period of cultural History of Europe, European history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD comprising the inter ...
refer to her either as Anaïtis or identified her with one of the divinities from their own pantheons.
270 Anahita, a silicaceous
S-type asteroid, is named after her. Based on the development of her sect, she was described as a
syncretistic goddess, who was composed of two independent elements. The first is a manifestation of the
Indo-Iranian idea of the Heavenly River who provides the waters to the rivers and streams flowing in the earth while the second is that of a goddess of uncertain origin, though maintaining her own unique characteristics, who became associated with the sect of the ancient
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of ...
n goddess
Inanna-Ishtar.
According to one theory, this arose partly from a desire to make Anahita part of
Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism ( ), also called Mazdayasnā () or Beh-dīn (), is an Iranian religions, Iranian religion centred on the Avesta and the teachings of Zoroaster, Zarathushtra Spitama, who is more commonly referred to by the Greek translation, ...
following the diffusion of her sect from the extreme northwest into the rest of Persia.
According to
Herman Lommel, the proper name of the divinity in Indo-Iranian times was
Sarasvatī, which also means "she who possesses waters". In
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 ...
, the name () means "of the waters, mighty, and immaculate". Like the Indian Sarasvatī, Anāhitā nurtures crops and herds; and she is hailed both as a divinity and as the mythical river which she personifies, "as great in bigness as all these waters which flow forth upon the earth" (Yasht 5.3).
Characteristics
Nomenclature
Only ' (a word otherwise unknown, perhaps with an original meaning "moist") is specific to the divinity.
[.]
The words ' and ' are generic
Avestan language
Avestan ( ) is the liturgical language of Zoroastrianism. It belongs to the Iranian branch of the Indo-European language family and was originally spoken during the Old Iranian period ( – 400 BCE) by the Iranians living in the eastern p ...
adjectives,
[.] and respectively mean "mighty" and "pure".
[.][.] Both adjectives also appear as epithets of other divinities or divine concepts such as
[.] and the
Fravashi
Fravashi (, ) is the Avestan term for the Zoroastrian concept of a personal spirit of an individual, whether dead, living, or yet-unborn. The ''fravashi'' of an individual sends out the ''urvan'' (often translated as ' soul') into the material wo ...
s.
[.] Both adjectives are also attested in
Vedic Sanskrit
Vedic Sanskrit, also simply referred as the Vedic language, is the most ancient known precursor to Sanskrit, a language in the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan subgroup of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family. It is atteste ...
.
[''cf.'' .]
As a divinity of the waters ('), the
yazata is of
Indo-Iranian origin, according to Lommel related to Sanskrit ''
'' that, like its Proto-Iranian equivalent ', derives from Indo-Iranian '.
[.][.] In its old Iranian form ', "her name was given to the region, rich in rivers, whose modern capital is
Kabul
Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...
(Avestan ', Old Persian ', Greek ')."
"Like the Devi Saraswati,
redvi Sura Anahitanurtures crops and herds; and is hailed both as a divinity and the mythical river that she personifies, 'as great in bigness as all these waters which flow forth upon the earth'." Some historians note that despite Anahita's Aryan roots and the way she represented the commonly shared concept of the Heavenly River, which in the Vedas was represented by the goddess ''
'' (the later heavenly Ganga), she had no counterpart in the ancient text who bear the same name or one that remotely resembled hers.
In the
(Middle-)Persian texts of the Sasanid and later eras, appears as '.
The evidence suggests a western Iranian origin of ''Anāhīta''. (see
borrowing from Babylonia, below).
Conflation with Ishtar
At some point prior to the 4th century BCE, this
yazata was conflated with (an analogue of)
Semitic ,
likewise a divinity of "maiden" fertility and from whom Aredvi Sura Anahita then inherited additional features of a divinity of war and of the planet
Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is often called Earth's "twin" or "sister" planet for having almost the same size and mass, and the closest orbit to Earth's. While both are rocky planets, Venus has an atmosphere much thicker ...
or "Zohreh" in
Arabic
Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
. It was moreover the association with the planet Venus, "it seems, which led
Herodotus
Herodotus (; BC) was a Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus (now Bodrum, Turkey), under Persian control in the 5th century BC, and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria, Italy. He wrote the '' Histori ...
to record that the
Persis">/nowiki>Persis">Persis.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Persis">/nowiki>Persis/nowiki> learnt 'to sacrifice to "the heavenly goddess"' from the Assyrians and Arabians."[ Cit. ] There are sources who based their theory on this aspect. For instance, it was proposed that the ancient Persians worshiped the planet Venus as *''Anahiti'', the "pure one", and that, as these people settled in Eastern Iran, *''Anahiti'' began to absorb elements of the cult of Ishtar. Indeed, according to Boyce, it is "probable" that there was once a Perso–Elamite language">Elamite
Elamite, also known as Hatamtite and formerly as Scythic, Median, Amardian, Anshanian and Susian, is an extinct language that was spoken by the ancient Elamites. It was recorded in what is now southwestern Iran from 2600 BC to 330 BC. Elamite i ...
divinity by the name of ' (as reconstructed from the Greek ').[.] It is then likely (so Boyce) that it was this divinity that was an analogue of Ishtar, and that it is this divinity with which Aredvi Sura Anahita was conflated.
The link between Anahita and Ishtar is part of the wider theory that Iranian kingship had Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of ...
n roots and that the Persian gods were natural extensions of the Babylonian deities, where Ahuramazda is considered an aspect of Marduk, Mithra for Utu, Shamash, and, finally, Anahita was Ishtar. This is supported by how Ishtar "apparently"[.] gave Aredvi Sura Anahita the epithet ''Banu'', 'the Lady', a typically Mesopotamian construct that is not attested as an epithet for a divinity in Iran before the common era. It is completely unknown in the texts of the Avesta
The Avesta (, Book Pahlavi: (), Persian language, Persian: ()) is the text corpus of Zoroastrian literature, religious literature of Zoroastrianism. All its texts are composed in the Avestan language and written in the Avestan alphabet. Mod ...
, but evident in Sasanid-era middle Persian
Middle Persian, also known by its endonym Pārsīk or Pārsīg ( Inscriptional Pahlavi script: , Manichaean script: , Avestan script: ) in its later form, is a Western Middle Iranian language which became the literary language of the Sasania ...
inscriptions (see Evidence of a cult, below) and in a middle Persian ''Zend'' translation of ''Yasna'' 68.13.[.] Also in Zoroastrian texts from the post-conquest epoch (651 CE onwards), the divinity is referred to as 'Anahid the Lady', 'Ardwisur the Lady' and 'Ardwisur the Lady of the waters'.[.]
Because the divinity is unattested in any old Western Iranian language, establishing characteristics prior to the introduction of Zoroastrianism in Western Iran (''c.'' 5th century BCE) is very much in the realm of speculation. Boyce concludes that "the Achaemenids' devotion to this goddess evidently survived their conversion to Zoroastrianism, and they appear to have used royal influence to have her adopted into the Zoroastrian pantheon."[.] According to an alternate theory, Anahita was perhaps "a '' daeva'' of the early and pure Zoroastrian faith, incorporated into the Zoroastrian religion and its revised canon" during the reign of "Artaxerxes I
Artaxerxes I (, ; ) was the fifth King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, from 465 to December 424 BC. He was the third son of Xerxes I.
In Greek sources he is also surnamed "Long-handed" ( ''Makrókheir''; ), allegedly because his ri ...
, the Constantine of that faith."[.]
Cosmological entity
The cosmological qualities of the world river are alluded to in '' Yasht'' 5 (see in the Avesta, below), but properly developed only in the ''Bundahishn
The ''Bundahishn'' (Middle Persian: , "Primal Creation") is an encyclopedic collection of beliefs about Zoroastrian cosmology written in the Book Pahlavi script. The original name of the work is not known. It is one of the most important extant ...
'', a Zoroastrian account of creation finished in the 11th or 12th century CE. In both texts, Aredvi Sura Anahita is not only a divinity, but also the source of the world river and the (name of the) world river itself. The cosmological legend runs as follows:
All the waters of the world created by Ahura Mazda
Ahura Mazda (; ; or , ),The former is the New Persian rendering of the Avestan form, while the latter derives from Middle Persian. also known as Horomazes (),, is the only creator deity and Sky deity, god of the sky in the ancient Iranian ...
originate from the source Aredvi Sura Anahita, the life-increasing, herd-increasing, fold-increasing, who makes prosperity for all countries. This source is at the top of the world mountain Hara Berezaiti
Hara Berezaiti () is a mythical mountain or mountain range in Zoroastrian tradition. Over time, it has been associated with a number of real-world mountains, more specifically Alborz mountain range in Iran.
In the Avesta, Mount Hara is the home ...
, "High Hara", around which the sky revolves and that is at the center of Airyanem Vaejah, the first of the lands created by Mazda.
The water, warm and clear, flows through a hundred thousand golden channels towards Mount Hugar, "the Lofty", one of the daughter-peaks of Hara Berezaiti. On the summit of that mountain is Lake Urvis, "the Turmoil", into which the waters flow, becoming quite purified and exiting through another golden channel. Through that channel, which is at the height of a thousand men, one portion of the great spring Aredvi Sura Anahita drizzles in moisture upon the whole earth, where it dispels the dryness of the air and all the creatures of Mazda acquire health from it. Another portion runs down to Vourukasha, the great sea upon which the earth rests, and from which it flows to the seas and oceans of the world and purifies them.
In the Bundahishn, the two halves of the name "Ardwisur Anahid" are occasionally treated independently of one another, that is, with Ardwisur as the representative of waters, and Anahid identified with the planet Venus: The water of the all lakes and seas have their origin with Ardwisur (10.2, 10.5), and in contrast, in a section dealing with the creation of the stars and planets (5.4), the ''Bundahishn'' speaks of 'Anahid i Abaxtari', that is, the planet Venus.[.] In yet other chapters, the text equates the two, as in "Ardwisur who is Anahid, the father and mother of the Waters" (3.17).
This legend of the river that descends from Mount Hara appears to have remained a part of living observance for many generations. A Greek inscription from Roman times found in Asia Minor reads "the great goddess Anaïtis of high Hara".[.] On Greek coins of the imperial epoch, she is spoken of as "Anaïtis of the sacred water".
In scripture
Aredvi Sura Anahita is principally addressed in ''Yasht'' 5 ('' Yasna'' 65), also known as the '' Aban Yasht'', a hymn to the waters in Avestan and one of the longer and better preserved of the devotional hymns. ''Yasna'' 65 is the third of the hymns recited at the Ab-Zohr, the "offering to the waters" that accompanies the culminating rites of the Yasna service. Verses from ''Yasht'' 5 also form the greater part of the '' Aban Nyashes'', the liturgy to the waters that are a part of the ''Khordeh Avesta''.
According to Nyberg[.] and supported by Lommel[.] and Widengren,[.] the older portions of the ''Aban Yasht'' were originally composed at a very early date, perhaps not long after the Gathas themselves. ''Yasna'' 38, which is dedicated "to the earth and the sacred waters" and is part of seven-chapter ''Yasna Haptanghāiti'', is linguistically as old as the Gathas.
In the ''Aban Yasht'', the river '' yazata'' is described as "the great spring Ardvi Sura Anahita is the life-increasing, the herd-increasing, the fold-increasing who makes prosperity for all countries" (5.1). She is "wide flowing and healing", "efficacious against the ''daeva''s", "devoted to Ahura's lore" (5.1). She is associated with fertility, purifying the seed of men (5.1), purifying the wombs of women (5.1), encouraging the flow of milk for newborns (5.2). As a river divinity, she is responsible for the fertility of the soil and for the growth of crops that nurture both man and beast (5.3). She is a beautiful, strong maiden, wearing beaver skins (5.3,7,20,129).
The association between water and wisdom that is common to many ancient cultures is also evident in the ''Aban Yasht'', for here Aredvi Sura is the divinity to whom priests and pupils should pray for insight and knowledge (5.86). In verse 5.120 she is seen to ride a chariot drawn by four horses named "wind", "rain", "clouds" and "sleet". In newer passages she is described as standing in "statuesque stillness", "ever observed", royally attired with a golden embroidered robe, wearing a golden crown, necklace and earrings, golden breast-ornament, and gold-laced ankle-boots (5.123, 5.126-8). Aredvi Sura Anahita is bountiful to those who please her, stern to those who do not, and she resides in 'stately places' (5.101).
The concept of Aredvi Sura Anahita is to a degree blurred with that of Ashi, the Gathic figure of Good Fortune, and many of the verses of the ''Aban Yasht'' also appear in ''Yasht'' 17 (''Ard Yasht''), which is dedicated to Ashi. So also a description of the weapons bestowed upon worshippers (5.130), and the superiority in battle (5.34 et al.). These functions appears out of place in a hymn to the waters, and may have originally been from ''Yasht'' 17.
Other verses in ''Yasht'' 5 have masculine instead of feminine pronouns, and thus again appear to be verses that were originally dedicated to other divinities.[.] Boyce also suggests that the new compound divinity of waters with martial characteristics gradually usurped the position of Apam Napat, the great warlike water divinity of the Ahuric triad, finally causing the latter's place to be lost and his veneration to become limited to the obligatory verses recited at the '' Ab-Zohr''.
There are also parts in the Yasht that show discrepancies in the description of Anahita. There was the case, for instance, of her beaver coat, which was described to an audience for whom the Yasht was redacted. It was clear that these do not know the animal given the fact that the Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber) were found in the Caucasus but did not range south of the Caspian Sea
The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, described as the List of lakes by area, world's largest lake and usually referred to as a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia: east of the Caucasus, ...
nor the rivers and lakes of the Aral-Caspian steppe.
Inscriptions and classical accounts
Evidence of a cult
The earliest dateable and unambiguous reference to the iconic cult of Anahita is from the Babylonian scholar-priest Berosus, who – although writing in 285 BCE, over 70 years after the reign of Artaxerxes II Mnemon – records that the emperor had been the first to make cult statues of Aphrodite Anaitis and place them in the temples of many of the empire's major cities, including Babylon
Babylon ( ) was an ancient city located on the lower Euphrates river in southern Mesopotamia, within modern-day Hillah, Iraq, about south of modern-day Baghdad. Babylon functioned as the main cultural and political centre of the Akkadian-s ...
, Susa
Susa ( ) was an ancient city in the lower Zagros Mountains about east of the Tigris, between the Karkheh River, Karkheh and Dez River, Dez Rivers in Iran. One of the most important cities of the Ancient Near East, Susa served as the capital o ...
, Ecbatana
Ecbatana () was an ancient city, the capital of the Median kingdom, and the first capital in History of Iran, Iranian history. It later became the summer capital of the Achaemenid Empire, Achaemenid and Parthian Empire, Parthian empires.Nardo, Do ...
, Bactria
Bactria (; Bactrian language, Bactrian: , ), or Bactriana, was an ancient Iranian peoples, Iranian civilization in Central Asia based in the area south of the Oxus River (modern Amu Darya) and north of the mountains of the Hindu Kush, an area ...
, Persepolis
Persepolis (; ; ) was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire (). It is situated in the plains of Marvdasht, encircled by the southern Zagros mountains, Fars province of Iran. It is one of the key Iranian cultural heritage sites and ...
, Damascus
Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...
and Sardis
Sardis ( ) or Sardes ( ; Lydian language, Lydian: , romanized: ; ; ) was an ancient city best known as the capital of the Lydian Empire. After the fall of the Lydian Empire, it became the capital of the Achaemenid Empire, Persian Lydia (satrapy) ...
. Also according to Berosus, the Persians knew of no images of gods until Artaxerxes II erected those images. This is substantiated by Herodotus, whose mid-5th-century-BCE general remarks on the usages of the Perses, Herodotus notes that "it is not their custom to make and set up statues and images and altars, and those that make such they deem foolish, as I suppose, because they never believed the gods, as do the Greeks, to be the likeness of men." [.][.] As the cult was institutionalized, it began to spread widely, reaching beyond the borders of Persia taking root in Armenia
Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...
and Asia Minor
Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...
.
The extraordinary innovation of the shrine cults can thus be dated to the late 5th century BCE (or very early 4th century BCE), even if this evidence is "not of the most satisfactory kind." Nonetheless, by 330 BCE and under Achaemenid royal patronage, these cults had been disseminated throughout Asia Minor
Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...
and the Levant
The Levant ( ) is the subregion that borders the Eastern Mediterranean, Eastern Mediterranean sea to the west, and forms the core of West Asia and the political term, Middle East, ''Middle East''. In its narrowest sense, which is in use toda ...
, and from there to Armenia
Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...
. The temples also served as an important source of income. From the Babylonian kings, the Achaemenids had taken over the concept of a mandatory temple tax, a one-tenth tithe which all inhabitants paid to the temple nearest to their land or other source of income. A share of this income called the ''quppu ša šarri'' or "kings chest" – an ingenious institution originally introduced by Nabonidus
Nabonidus (Babylonian cuneiform: ''Nabû-naʾid'', meaning "May Nabu be exalted" or "Nabu is praised") was the last king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, ruling from 556 BC to the fall of Babylon to the Achaemenian Empire under Cyrus the Great in 53 ...
– was then turned over to the ruler.
Nonetheless, Artaxerxes' close connection with the Anahita temples is "almost certainly the chief cause of this king's long-lasting fame among Zoroastrians, a fame which made it useful propaganda for the succeeding Arsacids to claim him (quite spuriously) for their ancestor."[.][.]
Parsa, Elam, and Media
Artaxerxes II's devotion to Anahita is most apparent in his inscriptions, where her name appears directly after that of Ahura Mazda
Ahura Mazda (; ; or , ),The former is the New Persian rendering of the Avestan form, while the latter derives from Middle Persian. also known as Horomazes (),, is the only creator deity and Sky deity, god of the sky in the ancient Iranian ...
and before that of Mithra
Mithra ( ; ) is an ancient Iranian deity ('' yazata'') of covenants, light, oaths, justice, the Sun, contracts, and friendship. In addition to being the divinity of contracts, Mithra is also a judicial figure, an all-seeing protector of Truth ( ...
. Artaxerxes' inscription at Susa
Susa ( ) was an ancient city in the lower Zagros Mountains about east of the Tigris, between the Karkheh River, Karkheh and Dez River, Dez Rivers in Iran. One of the most important cities of the Ancient Near East, Susa served as the capital o ...
reads: "By the will of Ahura Mazda, Anahita, and Mithra I built this palace. May Ahura Mazda, Anahita, and Mithra protect me from all evil" (A²Hc 15–10). This is a remarkable break with tradition; no Achaemenid king before him had invoked any but Ahura Mazda alone by name although the Behistun inscription of Darius invokes Ahuramazda and "The other gods who are".
The temple(s) of Anahita at Ecbatana
Ecbatana () was an ancient city, the capital of the Median kingdom, and the first capital in History of Iran, Iranian history. It later became the summer capital of the Achaemenid Empire, Achaemenid and Parthian Empire, Parthian empires.Nardo, Do ...
(Hamadan) in Media must have once been the most glorious sanctuaries in the known world. Although the palace had been stripped by Alexander and the following Seleucid kings, when Antiochus III
Antiochus III the Great (; , ; 3 July 187 BC) was the sixth ruler of the Seleucid Empire, reigning from 223 to 187 BC. He ruled over the region of Syria and large parts of the rest of West Asia towards the end of the 3rd century BC. Rising to th ...
raided Ecbatana in 209 BCE, the temple "had the columns round it still gilded and a number of silver tiles were piled up in it, while a few gold bricks and a considerable quantity of silver ones remained."
Polybius' reference to Alexander is supported by Arrian
Arrian of Nicomedia (; Greek: ''Arrianos''; ; )
was a Greek historian, public servant, military commander, and philosopher of the Roman period.
'' The Anabasis of Alexander'' by Arrian is considered the best source on the campaigns of ...
, who in 324 BCE wrote of a temple in Ecbatana dedicated to "Asclepius
Asclepius (; ''Asklēpiós'' ; ) is a hero and god of medicine in ancient Religion in ancient Greece, Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology. He is the son of Apollo and Coronis (lover of Apollo), Coronis, or Arsinoe (Greek myth), Ars ...
" (by inference presumed to be Anahita, likewise a divinity of healing), destroyed by Alexander
Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history.
Variants listed here ar ...
because she had allowed his friend Hephaestion to die. The massive stone lion on the hill there (said to be part of a sepulchral monument to Hephaestion) is today a symbol that visitors touch in hope of fertility.
Plutarch
Plutarch (; , ''Ploútarchos'', ; – 120s) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''Parallel Lives'', ...
records that Artaxerxes II had his concubine Aspasia consecrated as priestess at the temple "to Diana of Ecbatana, whom they name Anaitis, that she might spend the remainder of her days in strict chastity." This does not however necessarily imply that chastity was a requirement of Anaitis priestesses.
Isidore of Charax
Isidore of Charax (; , ''Isídōros o Charakēnós''; ) was a Greek geographer of the 1st century BC and 1st century AD, a citizen of the Parthian Empire, about whom nothing is known but his name and that he wrote at least one work.
Name
Isidore ...
, in addition to a reference to the temple at Ecbatana ("a temple, sacred to Anaitis, they sacrifice there always") also notes a "temple of Artemis" at Concobar (Lower Media, today Kangavar). Despite archaeological findings that refute a connection with Anahita,[.] remains of a 2nd-century BCE Hellenic-style edifice at Kangavar continue to be a popular tourist attraction.
Isidore also records another "royal place, a temple of Artemis, founded by Darius" at Basileia (Apadana), on the royal highway along the left bank of the Euphrates
The Euphrates ( ; see #Etymology, below) is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of West Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia (). Originati ...
.[.]
During the Hellenistic Parthian period, Susa
Susa ( ) was an ancient city in the lower Zagros Mountains about east of the Tigris, between the Karkheh River, Karkheh and Dez River, Dez Rivers in Iran. One of the most important cities of the Ancient Near East, Susa served as the capital o ...
had its "Dianae templum augustissimum" far from Elymais
Elymais or Elamais (Ἐλυμαΐς, Hellenic form of the more ancient name, Elam) was an autonomous state of the 2nd century BC to the early 3rd century AD, frequently a vassal under Parthian control. It was located at the head of the Persian ...
where another temple, known to Strabo as the "''Ta Azara''", was dedicated to Athena/Artemis and where tame lions roamed the grounds. This may be a reference to the temple above the Tang-a Sarvak ravine in present-day Khuzestan province
Khuzestan province () is one of the 31 Provinces of Iran. Located in the southwest of the country, the province borders Iraq and the Persian Gulf, covering an area of . Its capital is the city of Ahvaz. Since 2014, it has been part of Iran's R ...
. Other than this, no evidence of the cult in Western Iran from the Parthian period survives, but "it is reasonable to assume that the martial features of Anāhita (Ishtar) assured her popularity in the subsequent centuries among the warrior classes of Parthian feudalism."[.]
In the 2nd century CE, the center of the cult in Parsa (Persia proper) was at Staxr (Istakhr). There, Anahita continued to be venerated in her martial role and it was at Istakhr that Sasan, after whom the Sasanid dynasty is named, served as high priest. Sasan's son, Papak, likewise a priest of that temple, overthrew the King of Istakhr (a vassal of the Arsacids), and had himself crowned in his stead. "By this time (the beginning of the 3rd century), Anāhita's headgear (''kolāh'') was worn as a mark of nobility", which in turn "suggests that she was goddess of the feudal warrior estate." Ardashir (''r.'' 226-241 CE) "would send the heads of the petty kings he defeated for display at her temple."[ Cit. ]
During the reign of Bahram I (''r.'' 272-273 CE), in the wake of an iconoclastic movement that had begun at about the same time as the shrine cult movement, the sanctuaries dedicated to a specific divinity were – by law – disassociated from that divinity by removal of the statuary and then either abandoned or converted into fire altars.[.] So also the popular shrines to Mehr/Mithra
Mithra ( ; ) is an ancient Iranian deity ('' yazata'') of covenants, light, oaths, justice, the Sun, contracts, and friendship. In addition to being the divinity of contracts, Mithra is also a judicial figure, an all-seeing protector of Truth ( ...
which retained the name ''Darb-e Mehr'' – Mithra's Gate – that is today one of the Zoroastrian technical terms for a fire temple. The temple at Istakhr was likewise converted and, according to the Kartir inscription, henceforth known as the "Fire of Anahid the Lady."[.] Sasanid iconoclasm, though administratively from the reign of Bahram I, may already have been supported by Bahram's father, Shapur I
Shapur I (also spelled Shabuhr I; ) was the second Sasanian Empire, Sasanian King of Kings of Iran. The precise dating of his reign is disputed, but it is generally agreed that he ruled from 240 to 270, with his father Ardashir I as co-regent u ...
(''r.'' 241-272 CE). In an inscription in Middle Persian, Parthian and Greek at Ka'ba of Zoroaster, the "Mazdean lord, ..., king of kings, ..., grandson of lord Papak" (ShKZ 1, Naqsh-e Rustam
Naqsh-e Rostam (; , ) is an ancient archeological site and necropolis located about 13 km northwest of Persepolis, in Fars province, Iran. A collection of ancient Iranian rock reliefs are cut into the face of the mountain and the mountain ...
) records that he instituted fires for his daughter and three of his sons. His daughter's name: Anahid. The name of that fire: Adur-Anahid.
Notwithstanding the dissolution of the temple cults, the triad Ahura Mazda, Anahita, and Mithra (as Artaxerxes II had invoked them) would continue to be prominent throughout the Sasanid age, "and were indeed (with Tiri and Verethragna
Verethragna or Bahram () is a Zoroastrian yazata.
The neuter noun ''verethragna'' is related to Avestan ''verethra'', 'obstacle' and ''verethragnan'', 'victorious'. Representing this concept is the divinity Verethragna, who is the Hypostasis ( ...
) to remain the most popular of all divine beings in Western Iran."[.] Moreover, the iconoclasm of Bahram I and later kings apparently did not extend to images where they themselves are represented. At an investiture scene at Naqsh-e Rustam
Naqsh-e Rostam (; , ) is an ancient archeological site and necropolis located about 13 km northwest of Persepolis, in Fars province, Iran. A collection of ancient Iranian rock reliefs are cut into the face of the mountain and the mountain ...
, Narseh (''r.'' 293-302 CE) is seen receiving his crown from a female divinity identified as Anahita. Narseh, like Artaxerxes II, was apparently also very devoted to Anahita, for in the investiture inscription at Paikuli (near Khaniqin, in present-day Iraq), Narseh invokes "Ormuzd and all the yazatas, and Anahid who is called the Lady."
Anahita has also been identified as a figure in the investiture scene of Khusrow Parvez (Khosrau II, ''r.'' 590-628 CE) at Taq-e Bostan, but in this case not quite as convincingly as for the one of Narseh.[.] But, aside from the two rock carvings at Naqsh-e Rustam and Taq-e Bostan, "few figures unquestionably representing the goddess are known." The figure of a female on an Achaemenid cylinder seal has been identified as that of Anahita, as have a few reliefs from the Parthian era (250 BCE-226 CE), two of which are from ossuaries.[, fig. 120, 313.]
In addition, Sasanid silverware depictions of nude or scantily dressed women seen holding a flower or fruit or bird or child are identified as images of Anahita.[, cit. Trever, ''À propos'', plates XXVII-XXIX.] Additionally, "it has been suggested that the colonnaded or serrated crowns epictedon Sasanian coins belong to Anahid."
Asia Minor and the Levant
The cult flourished in Lydia
Lydia (; ) was an Iron Age Monarchy, kingdom situated in western Anatolia, in modern-day Turkey. Later, it became an important province of the Achaemenid Empire and then the Roman Empire. Its capital was Sardis.
At some point before 800 BC, ...
even as late as the end of the Hellenistic period
In classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Greek history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC, which was followed by the ascendancy of the R ...
and early Parthian Empire
The Parthian Empire (), also known as the Arsacid Empire (), was a major Iranian political and cultural power centered in ancient Iran from 247 BC to 224 AD. Its latter name comes from its founder, Arsaces I, who led the Parni tribe ...
, well into the lifetime of Jesus
Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...
. The Lydians had temples to the divinity at Sardis
Sardis ( ) or Sardes ( ; Lydian language, Lydian: , romanized: ; ; ) was an ancient city best known as the capital of the Lydian Empire. After the fall of the Lydian Empire, it became the capital of the Achaemenid Empire, Persian Lydia (satrapy) ...
, Philadelphia
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
, Hierocaesarea, Hypaipa (where she was still revered as Artemis Anaitis or Persian Artemis in Classical and Roman times), Maeonia
Lydia (; ) was an Iron Age Monarchy, kingdom situated in western Anatolia, in modern-day Turkey. Later, it became an important province of the Achaemenid Empire and then the Roman Empire. Its capital was Sardis.
At some point before 800 BC, ...
and elsewhere; the temple at Hierocaesarea reportedly having been founded by "Cyrus" (presumably[.] Cyrus the Younger
Cyrus the Younger ( ''Kūruš''; ; died 401 BC) was an Achaemenid prince and general. He ruled as satrap of Lydia and Ionia from 408 to 401 BC. Son of Darius II and Parysatis, he died in 401 BC in battle during a failed attempt to oust his ...
, brother of Artaxerxes II
Arses (; 445 – 359/8 BC), known by his regnal name Artaxerxes II ( ; ), was King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire from 405/4 BC to 358 BC. He was the son and successor of Darius II () and his mother was Parysatis.
Soon after his accession, Ar ...
, who was satrap
A satrap () was a governor of the provinces of the ancient Median kingdom, Median and Achaemenid Empire, Persian (Achaemenid) Empires and in several of their successors, such as in the Sasanian Empire and the Hellenistic period, Hellenistic empi ...
of Lydia between 407 and 401 BCE).
In the 2nd century CE, the geographer Pausanias reports having personally witnessed (apparently Mazdean) ceremonies at Hypaipa and Hierocaesarea. According to Strabo
Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-si ...
, Anahita was revered together with Omanos at Zela in Pontus. At Castabala, she is referred to as 'Artemis Perasia'. Anahita and Omanos had common altars in Cappadocia
Cappadocia (; , from ) is a historical region in Central Anatolia region, Turkey. It is largely in the provinces of Nevşehir, Kayseri, Aksaray, Kırşehir, Sivas and Niğde. Today, the touristic Cappadocia Region is located in Nevşehir ...
.
Armenia and the Caucasus
"Hellenic influence ave
is a Latin word, used by the Roman Empire, Romans as a salutation (greeting), salutation and greeting, meaning 'wikt:hail, hail'. It is the singular imperative mood, imperative form of the verb , which meant 'Well-being, to be well'; thus on ...
a new impetus to the cult of images ndpositive evidence for this comes from Armenia, then a Zoroastrian land."
According to Strabo, the "Armenians shared in the religion of the Perses and the Medes and particularly honored Anaitis". The kings of Armenia
Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...
were "steadfast supporters of the cult" and Tiridates III, before his conversion to Christianity, "prayed officially to the triad Aramazd-Anahit-Vahagn
Vahagn or Vahakn (), also known as Vahagn Vishapakagh (), is a warrior god in Armenian mythology. Scholars consider him to be either the thunder, or sun and fire god of the pre-Christian Armenian pantheon, as well as the god of war, bravery and ...
but is said to have shown a special devotion to 'the great lady Anahit, ... the benefactress of the whole human race, mother of all knowledge, daughter of the great Aramazd'".[ Cit. Agathangelos 22.] According to Agathangelos, tradition required the Kings of Armenia to travel once a year to the temple at Eriza (Erez) in Acilisene in order to celebrate the festival of the divinity; Tiridates made this journey in the first year of his reign where he offered sacrifice and wreaths and boughs. The temple at Eriza appears to have been particularly famous, "the wealthiest and most venerable in Armenia", staffed with priests and priestesses, the latter from eminent families who would serve at the temple before marrying. This practice may again reveal Semitic syncretic influences, and is not otherwise attested in other areas. Pliny reports that Mark Antony
Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman people, Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the Crisis of the Roman Republic, transformation of the Roman Republic ...
's soldiers smashed an enormous statue of the divinity made of solid gold and then divided the pieces amongst themselves. Also according to Pliny, supported by Dio Cassius
Lucius Cassius Dio (), also known as Dio Cassius ( ), was a Roman historian and senator of maternal Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of the history of ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the ...
, Acilisene eventually came to be known as Anaetica. Dio Cassius also mentions that another region along the Cyrus River, on the borders of Albania
Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...
and Iberia
The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, compri ...
, was also called "the land of Anaitis."
Anahit was also venerated at Artashat (Artaxata
Artashat (), Greek language, Hellenized as Artaxata () and Artaxiasata (), was a major city and commercial center of ancient Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity), Armenia that served as the capital of the Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity), Kingdom of Ar ...
), the capital of the Armenian Kingdom, where her temple was close to that of Tiur, the divinity of oracles. At Astishat, center of the cult of Vahagn
Vahagn or Vahakn (), also known as Vahagn Vishapakagh (), is a warrior god in Armenian mythology. Scholars consider him to be either the thunder, or sun and fire god of the pre-Christian Armenian pantheon, as well as the god of war, bravery and ...
, she was revered as ''voskimayr'', the 'golden mother'. In 69 BCE, the soldiers of Lucullus
Lucius Licinius Lucullus (; 118–57/56 BC) was a Ancient Romans, Roman List of Roman generals, general and Politician, statesman, closely connected with Lucius Cornelius Sulla. In culmination of over 20 years of almost continuous military and ...
saw cows consecrated to 'Persian Artemis' roaming freely at Tomisa in Sophene
Sophene ( or , ; ) was a province of the ancient kingdom of Armenia, located in the south-west of the kingdom, and of the Roman Empire. The region lies in what is now southeastern Turkey.
History
The region that was to become Sophene was part ...
(on the Euphrates
The Euphrates ( ; see #Etymology, below) is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of West Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia (). Originati ...
in South-West Armenia), where the animals bore the brand of a torch on their heads. Following Tiridates' conversion to Christianity, the cult of Anahit was condemned and iconic representations of the divinity were destroyed.
Attempts have been made to identify Anahita as one of the prime three divinities in Albania
Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...
, but these are questionable. However, in the territories of the Moschi in Colchis
In classical antiquity and Greco-Roman geography, Colchis (; ) was an exonym for the Georgian polity of Egrisi ( ka, ეგრისი) located on the eastern coast of the Black Sea, centered in present-day western Georgia.
Its population, the ...
, Strabo mentions a cult of Leucothea
In Greek mythology, Leucothea (; ), sometimes also called Leucothoe (), was a Water deity, sea goddess. Myths surrounding Leucothea typically concern her original identity, either as Ino (Greek mythology), Ino or Halia of Rhodes, Halia, and her t ...
, which Wesendonck and others have identified as an analogue of Anahita. The cult of Anahita may have also influenced Ainina and Danina, a paired deities of the Caucasian Iberians mentioned by the medieval Georgian chronicles.
Legacy
As a divinity Aredvi Sura Anahita is of enormous significance to the Zoroastrian
Zoroastrianism ( ), also called Mazdayasnā () or Beh-dīn (), is an Iranian religion centred on the Avesta and the teachings of Zarathushtra Spitama, who is more commonly referred to by the Greek translation, Zoroaster ( ). Among the wo ...
religion, for as a representative of Aban ("the waters"), she is in effect the divinity towards whom the '' Yasna'' service – the primary act of worship – is directed. (see Ab-Zohr). "To this day reverence for water is deeply ingrained in Zoroastrians, and in orthodox communities offerings are regularly made to the household well or nearby stream."[.]
It is "very probable" that the shrine of Bibi Shahrbanu at royal Ray (Rhagae, central Media) was once dedicated to Anahita. Similarly, one of the "most beloved mountain shrines of the Zoroastrians of Yazd, set beside a living spring and a great confluence of water-courses, is devoted to Banu-Pars, "the Lady of Persia"."[.][.]
However, and notwithstanding the widespread popularity of Anahita, "it is doubtful whether the current tendency is justified whereby almost every isolated figure in Sasanid art, whether sitting, standing, dancing, clothed, or semi-naked, is hailed as her representation."
The Armenian cult of Anahit, as well as the pre-Christian Armenian religion in general, was very closely connected to Persian Zoroastrianism.
In literature
In his '' Life of Johnson'', James Boswell
James Boswell, 9th Laird of Auchinleck (; 29 October 1740 ( N.S.) – 19 May 1795), was a Scottish biographer, diarist, and lawyer, born in Edinburgh. He is best known for his biography of the English writer Samuel Johnson, '' Life of Samuel ...
tells the story of Donald McQueen, who believed a building near Dunvegan Castle to be the ruins of a temple to Anahita. Samuel Johnson
Samuel Johnson ( – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, literary critic, sermonist, biographer, editor, and lexicographer. The ''Oxford ...
gave no credence to McQueen's beliefs, which Johnson said was based purely on phonological similarities of names.
In Tad Williams' Bobby Dollar Series, Anahita is referred to as Anaita, a powerful goddess turned angel who acts as one of five members of a judgement collective known as the Ephorate.
See also
* Ab-Zohr, the Zoroastrian "purification of the waters" ceremony and the most important act of worship in Zoroastrianism.
* Aban, "the Waters", representing and represented by Aredvi Sura Anahita.
* Airyanem Vaejah, first of the mythological lands created by Ahura Mazda
Ahura Mazda (; ; or , ),The former is the New Persian rendering of the Avestan form, while the latter derives from Middle Persian. also known as Horomazes (),, is the only creator deity and Sky deity, god of the sky in the ancient Iranian ...
and the middle of the world that rests on High Hara.
* Atargatis, A Syrian deity also conflated with Ishtar and associated with waters.
* Temple of Anahita, Kangavar archaeological site in Kermanshah province, Iran.
* Temple of Anahita, Istakhr archaeological site in Fars province, Iran.
* Arachosia, name of which derives from Old Iranian ''*Harahvatī'' (Avestan ', Old Persian ''Hara(h)uvati-'').
* Hara Berezaiti
Hara Berezaiti () is a mythical mountain or mountain range in Zoroastrian tradition. Over time, it has been associated with a number of real-world mountains, more specifically Alborz mountain range in Iran.
In the Avesta, Mount Hara is the home ...
, "High Hara", the mythical mountain that is the origin of the ''*Harahvatī'' river.
* Oxus
The Amu Darya ( ),() also shortened to Amu and historically known as the Oxus ( ), is a major river in Central Asia, which flows through Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Afghanistan. Rising in the Pamir Mountains, north of the Hindu Ku ...
, identified as the world river that descends from the mythological High Hara.
* Mahadevi
Mahadevi (, , IPA: / mɐɦɑd̪eʋiː/), also referred to as Adi Parashakti, and Mahamaya, is the supreme goddess in Hinduism. According to the goddess-centric sect Shaktism, all Hindu gods and goddesses are considered to be manifestations of t ...
, or Adi Parashakti and Mahamaya, is the supreme goddess in Hinduism
* Sarasvati River
The Sarasvati River () is a Apotheosis, deified myth, mythological Rigvedic rivers, river first mentioned in the Rigveda and later in Vedas, Vedic and post-Vedic texts. It played an important role in the Historical Vedic religion, Vedic religio ...
, a manifestation of the goddess Saraswati
Saraswati (, ), also spelled as Sarasvati, is one of the principal Devi, goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the goddess of knowledge, education, learning, arts, speech, poetry, music, purification, language and culture. Together with the godde ...
.
* Minar (Firuzabad)
* Qadamgah (ancient site)
* Anahit (disambiguation)
References
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