Lecture 2 Zoroastrianism

What are the beliefs of some scholars in relation to Zoroaster and his existence?

Some believe that he is simply a legendary character that resembles a priest

What is the main argument of scholars who believe that Zoroaster is a legendary figure?

They argue that there was no rupture of the religion, i.e., there was no great change to the traditional Iranian religion and that the Avesta was simply and evolution of Indo-Iranian theology

what are the 2 main things that the doubting scholars tend to underestimate?

• there are theological pecularities of the Gathas compared to what we can reconstruct of the indo-indian religion

  • the differences between the indo-Iranian and Indo-Iranian religions can be explained by a rupture

• the consistency in themes of the Gathas, and the texts attributed to him

What time was Zoroaster from and what is his homeland?

No reliable source of record of him was found, nor is there anything mentioned in the Gathas or other Avestan texts

What is the most sound hypothesis of Zoroaster’s time and homeland?

2nd millennium BCE (10th century BCE latest)

• hypothesis was made based on the comparison based on the Gathas and that of the Vedas

Thought to be from eastern part of the Iranian world

• this is found from the Avestan texts, which are later than the Gathas

What type of society did Zoroaster live in?

A pastoral Society

Who is the protagonist of the Gathas?

Zoroaster is the human protagonist

Ahura Mazda is the Divine protagonist

What does Ahura Mazda mean?

Ahura means wise

Mazda means lord

Who are the twin spirits and what type of sprits are they?

Spenta Mainyu (Bounteous spirit)

Angra Mainyu (Evil spirit)

Were the two spirits made evil or good?

No, they were made neutral and made a choice to either follow Druj or asha

What is the Gathic myth surrounding the two spirits?

The twins differentiate b/c of their choice

the choice of one of the twins brings forth evil

How is humanity made after the twins?

Humans are called to make the choice between asha and druj, just as spenta and angra mainyu, and the other spirits after them

How did Zoroaster talk about the Dualism in the religion?

None of the spiritual beings other than Ahura Mazda (and spenta mainyu) in the Gathas had the qualities of a God

they are all emanations or are by creation of Ahura Mazda and have no independent power from him

How does Zoroastrianism answer the question of does the existence of evil contradict God’s Goodness?

Evil originates from Angra Mainyu and his choice of Druj

Ahura Mazda is not responsible for its existence

What are the 2 paths for the soul to go to after death

Heaven (for people who follow Asha)

Hell (for people who follow druj)

What happens to the soul once it is in the afterlife?

• soul is met by daena and she either looks beautiful or ugly depending on how the person lived their life

What are the two planes of existence of cosmic existence mentioned in the Gathas?

Spiritual (world of thought)

Material (bony world)

How many phases are there in the history of the material world?

3

What is the first phase of the material world?

Beginning phase: the world is pure and has not been polluted yet

What is the intermediate phase?

This is the world we live in

• world was introduced by a foundational event, the attack of the evil spirits to the material world

• the world will become a battlefield for the event

What is the final phase?

the end of time, evil is defeated