Zoroastrianism Lecture 1

What are the key features of Zoroastrianism?

• one God, Ahura Mazda, made the world

• the world is a mixture of good and evil

• the ultimate goal of existence is to defeat evil

• history will have an end; this is when evil is defeated

• there is a notion of a world saviour who will come to restore order and justice

What role do humans play in Zoroastrianism?

• rituals are performed for the benefit of the good forces

• humans will be rewarded after death for their actions

What is the origin for the name of Zoroastrianism?

• comes from zoroaster

Where did the name Zoroaster come from?

• zarathustra was the original name, the Greek name became Zoroasteres then it became zoroaster

Approx how many Zoroastrians are there in the world according to the 2012 census?

110,000

India has the most at 61 k

Iran had around 15k

How long has Zoroastrianism been known in the Western world?

2500 years

Where was Zoroastrianism born?

• Born in the eastern part of the Iranian World

  • Was the main religion in the Iranian world before Islam

What are the Iranian Languages?

• Old Iranian

  • Old Persian, Avestan

• Middle Iranian

  • Middle Persian, Parthian, Several others

• New Iranian

  • Many languages, Pashto, Kurdish, Parsi

When did the Indo-Aryans and the the Iranians Split and where did each group settle?

• 2nd millenium BCE

• Aryans went to Northern India

  • Iranians stayed in Iran

What is the Pre-Islamic Period?

The time before the end of the Sassanian Empire (651 CE)

What was the name of the combined group of the Aryans and the Iranians?

Indo-Iranians

What religion did the Indians and the Iranians follow after the split?

The traditional Iranian Religion (The Indio Iranian Religion)

What was the most important Notion that the Indo-Iranian Religion Perserved?

Order and Deceit

• the idea that order and deceit underline cosmic existence

What is order?

It is what makes life going harmonically, things like the seasons

What is Deceit?

it is the basis for all of the evil in cosmic life

What was the view of the traditional Iranian Religion?

• History is based on a repetition of cyclical events

• History will have a definitive end

What is the word for Order and Deceit in the Avesta?

Asha (order) Druj (deceit)

What is the view of time in Zoroastrianism?

Time is linear, there is a creation and an end (the defeat of evil)