Ahura Mazda: Difference between revisions

| script = {{script|Avst|𐬀𐬵𐬎𐬭𐬋 𐬨𐬀𐬰𐬛𐬃}}<br>{{script|farsfa-Arab|آهورااهورا مزدا}}

'''Ahura Mazda''' ({{IPAc-en|ə|ˌ|h|ʊər|ə|_|ˈ|m|æ|z|d|ə}};<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ahura%20mazda |title=Ahura Mazda &#124; Definition of Ahura Mazda by Merriam-Webster |publisher=Merriam-webster.com |access-date=2016-01-11}}</ref> {{lang-langx|ae|{{script|Avst|𐬀𐬵𐬎𐬭𐬋𐬀𐬵𐬎𐬭𐬀 𐬨𐬀𐬰𐬛𐬃𐬨𐬀𐬰𐬛𐬁}}|translit=AhurōAhura Mazdā̊Mazdā}}; {{Lang-Langx|fa|آهورااهورا مزدا|translit=ÂhurâAhurâ Mazdâ}}),<ref group="n">{{lang-peoIPA|𐏈 or 𐏉 or 𐏊 (genitive)}}; [[Old Persian cuneiform]] logograms</ref><ref group="n">{{IPA-fa|æhuːɾɒː mæzdɒː}}</ref> also known as '''OromasdesHoromazes''',<ref '''Ohrmazd'''group="n">{{langx|grc|Ὡρομάζης|translit=Hōromázēs}}, '''Ormusd''', '''Hoormazd''', '''Harzoo''', '''Hormazd''', '''Hormaz''' and '''Hurmuz''',{{IPA-grc|hɔː.ro.máz.dɛːs}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Cristian |first=Radu |title=Ahura Mazda |url=https://www.worldhistory.org/Ahura_Mazda/ |access-date=2023-05-17 |website=World History Encyclopedia |language=en}}</ref> is the [[creator deity]] and [[Sky deity|god of the sky]]<ref name=":14">{{Cite book |last=Wilkinson |first=Philip |title=Illustrated Dictionary of Religions |publisher=[[DK (publisher)|DK]] |year=1999 |isbn=0-7894-4711-8 |editor-last=Spilling |editor-first=Michael |edition=First American |location=New York |pages=70 |author-link=Philip Wilkinson (author) |editor-last2=Williams |editor-first2=Sophie |editor-last3=Dent |editor-first3=Marion}}</ref> in the ancient Iranian religion- [[Zoroastrianism]]. He is the first and most frequently invoked spirit in the ''[[Yasna]]''. The literal meaning of the word ''[[Wikt:Ahura|Ahura]]'' is "lord", and that of ''[[Wikt:Mazda|Mazda]]'' is "wisdom".

'Ahura' is cognate with the Vedic word 'asura', both meaning 'Demon'.<ref>{{cite book|title=A History of the World's Religions|author=David S. Noss, Blake Grangaard|publisher=Routledge, 2016}}</ref> The most likely etymology is from [[Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European]] ''*h₂ḿ̥suros'', from ''*h₂ems-'' ("to engender, beget"), and therefore it is cognate with [[Proto-Germanic language|Proto-Germanic]] ''*ansuz''. However, Finnish Indologist [[Asko Parpola]] traceslocates thea etymologicalborrowing root offrom [[AsuraProto-Indo-Aryan language|Proto-Indo-Aryan]] to ''*asera-'' ofto the [[Uralic languages]], wherewith itthe meansmeaning 'lord, prince'.<ref name="asko">{{Cite book |first=Asko |last=Parpola (|date=2015), |title=The Roots of Hinduism: The Early Aryans and the Indus Civilization, |publisher=[[Oxford University Press,]] {{ISBN|page=114 |isbn=978-0190226923}},</ref><ref>{{Cite pp.journal 114–116|first=Václav |last=Blazek |author-link=Václav Blažek |title=Indo-Iranian elements in Fenno-Ugric mythological lexicon |journal=Indogermanische Forschungen |volume=110 |issue=1 |date=2005 |page=162 |doi=10.1515/9783110185164.162}}</ref>

'Mazda', or rather the Avestan stem-form ''Mazdā-'', [[Nominative case|nominative]] ''Mazdå'', reflects [[Proto-Iranian language|Proto-Iranian]] ''*mazdáH'' (a [[feminine gender|feminine]] noun). It is generally taken to be the proper name of the spirit and, like its [[Vedic Sanskrit|Vedic]] cognate ''medhā́'', means "[[intelligence]]" or "[[wisdom]]". Both the Avestan and the Sanskrit words reflect [[Proto-Indo-Iranian language|Proto-Indo-Iranian]] [[wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-Iranian/mazdʰáH|''*mazdʰáH'']], from [[Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European]] ''{{PIE|*mn̥sdʰh₁éh₂}}'', literally meaning "placing ({{PIE|*dʰeh₁}}) one's mind ({{PIE|*mn̥-s}})", hence "wise".{{sfn|Boyce|1983|p=685}}

The name may be attested on [[cuneiform]] tablets of [[Assyria|Assyrian]]n [[Ashurbanipal|Assurbanipal]], in the form ''Assara Mazaš'', but that interpretation is very controversial.{{sfn|Boyce|1975|p=14}}{{Update inline|date=July 2024|reason=The source is almost 50 years old.}}

{{UncitedUnreferenced section|date=October 2023}}

According to Zoroastrian tradition, at the age of 30, Zoroaster received a revelation: while fetching water at dawn for a sacred ritual, he saw the shining figure of the [[Amesha Spenta]], [[Vohu Manah]], who led Zoroaster to the presence of Ahura Mazda, where he was taught the cardinal principles of the "Good Religion" later known as [[Zoroastrianism]]. As a result of this vision, Zoroaster felt that he was chosen to spread and preach the religion.{{sfn|Nigosian|1993|p=12}} He stated that this source of all goodness was the Ahura, worthy of the highest worship. He further stated that Ahura Mazda created spirits known as [[Yazata|''yazata''s]] to aid him. Zoroaster proclaimed that some Iranian gods were ''[[daeva]]s'' who deserved no worship. These "bad" deities were created by [[Ahriman|Angra Mainyu]], the destructive spirit. Angra Mainyu was the source of all sin and misery in the universe. Zoroaster claimed that Ahura Mazda used the aid of humans in the cosmic struggle against Angra Mainyu. Nonetheless, Ahura Mazda is Angra Mainyu's superior, not his equal. Angra Mainyu and his ''daevas'', which attempt to attract humans away from the Path of [[Asha]], would eventually be defeated.{{Sfn|Andrea|Overfield|2000|p=86}}

According to [[Plutarch]],<ref> Plutarch (1936). Isis and Osiris. Translated by Thayer, Bill. Loeb Classical Library. pp. 46–47; available online: Plutarch (1936). Isis and Osiris. LacusCurtius. Translated by Thayer, Bill. University of Chicago. pp. 46–47.</ref> [[Zoroaster]] named "[[AreimaniosArimanius]]" as one of the two rivals who were the artificers of good and evil. In terms of sense perception, Oromazes was to be compared to light, and AreimaniosArimanius to darkness and ignorance; between these was [[MithrasMithra]]s the Mediator. AreimaniosArimanius received offerings that pertained to [[apotropaismApotropaic magic|warding off evil]] and [[mourning]].

In describing a ritual to AreimaniosArimanius, Plutarch says the god was invoked as [[Hades]]<ref>{{cite book |last=Reinach |first=S. |year=1909 |translator-last=Simmonds |translator-first=F. |title=Orpheus: A general history of religions |place=London, UK |publisher=Heinemann}}</ref>{{rp|page= 68}} gives the identification as [[Pluto (mythology)|Pluto]], the name of the Greek ruler of the underworld used most commonly in texts and inscriptions pertaining to the [[Greco-Roman mysteries|mystery religions]], and in Greek dramatists and philosophers of Athens in the [[Classical Greece|Classical period]]. Turcan<ref name=Turcan1992>{{cite book |last=Turcan |first=Robert |orig-year=1992 |year=2001 |title=The Cults of the Roman Empire |publisher=Blackwell |language=en}} originally published 1989 in French.</ref>{{rp|page= 232}} notes that Plutarch makes of AreimaniosArimanius "a sort of [[wikt:tenebrous|tenebrous]] Pluto". Plutarch, however, names the Greek god as ''[[Hades]]'', not the name ''[[Hades|Plouton]]'' used in the [[Eleusinian Mysteries|Eleusinian tradition]]{{efn|For distinctions in usage between the two names, see [[Pluto (mythology)#Mysteries and cult|Pluto in the mysteries and cult]] and [[Pluto (mythology)#In Greek literature and philosophy|Pluto in Greek literature and philosophy]].}} ("The Hidden One") and darkness.{{efn|In Greek religion, [[Hades]] was the ruler of the dead or shades, but not an evil god [[wikt:per se|''per se'']], except in the sense that death might be considered a bad thing – [[Wikt:κακόν|{{math|κακόν}}]], ''kakon''.}}

The AreimaniosArimanius ritual required an otherwise-unknown plant that Plutarch calls "''[[Haoma|omomi]]''" ([[Haoma]] or [[Soma (drink)|Soma]]), which was to be pounded in a mortar and mixed with the blood of a sacrificed wolf. The substance was then carried to a place "''where the sun never shines''" and cast therein. He adds that "water-rats" belong to this god, and therefore proficient rat-killers are fortunate men.

Oromazes, born from the purest light, and Areimanius, born from darkness, are constantly at war with each other; and Oromazes created six gods, the first of Good Thought, the second of Truth, the third of Order, and, of the rest, one of Wisdom, one of Wealth, and one the Artificer of Pleasure in what is Honourable. But Areimanius created rivals, as it were, equal to these in number. Then Oromazes enlarged himself to thrice his former size, and removed himself as far distant from the Sun as the Sun is distant from the Earth, and adorned the heavens with stars. One star he set there before all others as a guardian and watchman, the [[Sirius|Dog-star]]. Twenty-four other gods he created and placed in [[world egg|an egg]]. But those created by Areimanius, who were equal in number to the others, pierced through the egg and made their way inside; hence evils are now combined with good. But a destined time shall come when it is decreed that Areimanius, engaged in bringing on pestilence and famine, shall by these be utterly annihilated and shall disappear; and then shall the earth become a level plain, and there shall be one manner of life and one form of government for a blessed people who shall all speak one tongue. — Plutarch<ref>{{cite book |author=[[Plutarch]] |title=Moralia |article=Isis and Osiris |at= |publisher=[[University of Chicago]] |article-url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/H/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Moralia/Isis_and_Osiris*/C.html |via=Penelope.UChicago.edu}}</ref><ref name=PlutarchIsis>{{cite book |author=Plutarch |author-link=Plutarch |translator-first=Bill |translator-last=Thayer |title=Isis and Osiris |year=1936 |pages=46–47 |publisher=Loeb Classical Library |postscript=;}} available online: {{cite book |author=Plutarch |author-link=Plutarch |translator-first=Bill |translator-last=Thayer |year=1936 |title=Isis and Osiris |pages=46–47 |websitevia=[[LacusCurtius]] |publisher=University of Chicago |url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Moralia/Isis_and_Osiris*/C.html#46}}</ref>{{rp|at= 47}}

In his ''Life of Themistocles'', Plutarch has the Persian king invoke AreimaniosArimanius by name, asking the god to cause the king's enemies to behave in such a way as to drive away their own best men; de&nbsp;Jong (1997)<ref name=deJong1997>{{cite book |last=de&nbsp;Jong |first=A. |year=1997 |title=Traditions of the Magi: Zoroastrianism in Greek and Latin literature |publisher=Brill}}</ref>{{rp|page= 313}} doubted that a Persian king would pray to his own national religion's god of evil, particularly in public.

According to Plutarch, the king then made a sacrifice and got drunk<!-- Irrelevant citation follows: The topic is Christian polemic on habitual drunkenness; if you can figure out its pertinence to this article, go ahead and explain it first and un-comment it second. -- <ref>{{cite web |url=https://biblehub.com/text/1_corinthians/11-25.htm |title=11–25 |series=First Corinthians |website=biblehub.com}}</ref> --> – essentially a [[running gag]] on Persian kings in Plutarch's writing, and thus dubious evidence for actual behavior.<ref name=deJong1997/>{{efnrp|page= 314}}

[[File:Darius I the Great's inscription.jpg|thumb|The [[Behistun Inscription]] contains many references to Ahura Mazda.]]

[[File:CILICIA, Soloi. Tiribazos, Satrap of Lydia. Second reign, 388-380 BC.jpg|thumb|[[Stater]] of [[Tiribazus|Tiribazos]], Satrap of Lydia, {{Circa|380 BC}} showing Ahura Mazda]]

Whether the [[Achaemenid Empire|Achaemenids]] were Zoroastrians is a matter of much debate. However, it is known that the Achaemenids were worshipers of Ahura Mazda.{{sfn|Bromiley|1995|p=126}} The representation and invocation of Ahura Mazda can be seen on royal inscriptions written by Achaemenid kings.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Hanson|first=Victor Davis|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XGr16-CxpH8C|title=Carnage and Culture: Landmark Battles in the Rise to Western Power|date=2007-12-18|publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-307-42518-8|language=en}}</ref> The most notable of all the inscriptions is the [[Behistun Inscription]] written by [[Darius Ithe of Persia|Darius IGreat]] which contains many references to Ahura Mazda. An inscription written in Greek was found in a late Achaemenid temple at [[Persepolis]], which invoked Ahura Mazda and two other deities, [[Mithra]] and [[Anahita]]. [[Artaxerxes III]] makes this invocation Ahuramazda again during his reign.

In the [[Elamite language]] Persepolis Fortification Tablets dated between 509 - 494509–494 BC, offerings to Ahura Mazda are recorded in tablets #377, #338 (notably alongside Mitra), #339, and #771.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hallock |first=Richard |url=https://oi.uchicago.edu/sites/oi.uchicago.edu/files/uploads/shared/docs/oip92.pdf |title=Persepolis Fortification Tablets |publisher=The University of Chicago Press |year=1969 |location=Chicago, Illinois |pages=151, 771}}</ref>

The early Achaemenid period contained no representation of Ahura Mazda. The winged symbol with a male figure formerly regarded by European scholars as Ahura Mazda has been now speculated to represent the royal ''[[Khvarenah|xvarənahkhvarenah]]'', the personification of divine power and regal glory. However, it was customary for every emperor from [[Cyrus the Great|Cyrus]] until [[Darius III of Persia|Darius III]] to have an empty chariot drawn by white horses as a place for Ahura Mazda to accompany the [[Military history of Iran#Achaemenid Empire (550–330 BCE)|Persian army]] on battles. The use of images of Ahura Mazda began in the western [[satrap]]s of the Achaemenid Empire in the late 5th century BC. Under Artaxerxes II, the first literary reference, as well as a statue of Ahura Mazda, was built by a Persian governor of [[Lydia]] in 365 BC.{{sfn|Boyce|1983|p=686}}

[[File:Irnp105-Grobowce Naqsh-E Rustam.jpg|thumb|300px| Ahura Mazda (on the right, with high crown) presents [[Ardashir I]] (left) with the ring of kingship. ([[Naqsh-e Rostam]], 3rd century AD)]]

[[File:Taghe bostan.JPG|right|thumb|300px|[[Investiture]] scene: [[Anahita]] on the left as the patron ''[[yazata]]'' of the [[Sasanian dynasty]] behind [[Khosrow II|Emperor Khosrow II]], with Ahura Mazda presenting the [[khvarenah]] of sovereignty on the right. [[Taq-e Bostan]], [[Iran]].]]

In 1884, [[Martin Haug]] proposed a new interpretation of ''Yasna'' 30.3 that subsequently influenced Zoroastrian doctrine significantly. According to Haug's interpretation, the "twin spirits" of 30.3 were Angra Mainyu and Spenta Mainyu, the former being literally the "Destructive Spirit"<ref group="n">For an explanation of the approximation of ''mainyu'' as "spirit", see [[Angra Mainyu]].</ref> and the latter being the "Bounteous Spirit" (of Ahura Mazda). Further, in Haug's scheme, Angra Mainyu was now not Ahura Mazda's binary opposite, but—like Spenta Mainyu—an [[Emanationism|emanation]] of Him. Haug also interpreted the concept of a free will of ''Yasna'' 45.9 as an accommodation to explain where Angra Mainyu came from since Ahura Mazda created only good. The free will made it possible for Angra Mainyu to ''choose'' to be evil. Although these latter conclusions were not substantiated by Zoroastrian tradition,{{sfn|Boyce|1983|p=685}} at the time, Haug's interpretation was gratefully accepted by the [[ParsiParsis]]s of Bombay since it provided a defense against Christian missionary rhetoric,<ref group="n">Most prominent of these voices was that of the Scottish Presbyterian minister [[John Wilson (scholar)|John Wilson]], whose church was next door to the M. F. Cama Athornan Institute, the premier school for Zoroastrian priests. That the opinions of the Zoroastrian priesthood were barely represented in the debates that ensued was to some extent since the priesthood spoke Gujarati and not English, but also because they were (at the time) poorly equipped to debate with a classically trained theologian on his footing. Wilson had even taught himself Avestan.</ref> particularly the attacks on the Zoroastrian idea of an uncreated Evil that was as uncreated as God was. Following Haug, the Bombay Parsis began to defend themselves in the English-language press. The argument was that Angra Mainyu was not Mazda's binary opposite but his subordinate, who—as in Zurvanism also—''chose'' to be evil. Consequently, Haug's theories were disseminated as a Parsi interpretation in the West, where they appeared to be corroborating Haug. Reinforcing themselves, Haug's ideas came to be iterated so often that they are today almost universally accepted as doctrine.{{sfn|Boyce|1983|p=686}}{{sfn|Maneck|1997|pp=182ff}}<ref group="n">For a scholastic review of the theological developments in Indian Zoroastrianism, particularly concerning the devaluation of Angra Mainyu to a position where the (epitome of) pure evil became viewed as a creation of Mazda (and so compromised their figure of pure good), see {{harvnb|Maneck|1997}}</ref>

Some scholars (Kuiper. IIJ I, 1957; Zimmer. Münchner Studien 1984:187–215) believe that Ahura Mazda originates from *vouruna-miθra, or [[Vedic mythology|Vedic]] [[Varuna]] (and [[Mitra (Vedic)|Mitra]]).{{CNCitation needed|date=January 2023}} According to William W. Malandra both Varuna (in Vedic period) and Ahura Mazda (in old Iranian religion) represented same Indo-Iranian concept of a supreme "wise, all-knowing lord".<ref>William W. Malandra. An Introduction to Ancient Iranian Religion. 1983. p. 46</ref>

[[File:Huvihska with Ahuramazda.jpg|thumb|[[Kushan Empire|Kushan]] coinage of [[Huvishka]] with Ahuramazda on the reverse (Greek legend ωΡΟΜ, ''Orom[zdo]''). 150–180 AD.<ref name="AHH327">{{cite book |last1=Dani |first1=Ahmad Hasan |last2=Harmatta |first2=János |title=History of Civilizations of Central Asia |year=1999 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publ. |isbn=978-81-208-1408-0 |pages=327–328 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DguGWP0vGY8C&pg=PA327 |language=en}}</ref>]]

In [[Manichaeism]], the name ''Ohrmazd Bay'' ("god Ahura Mazda") was used for the primal figure Nāšā Qaḏmāyā, the "original man" and emanation of the [[Father of Greatness]] (in Manicheism called [[Zurvanism|Zurvan]]) through whom after he sacrificed himself to defend the world of light was consumed by the forces of darkness. Although Ormuzd is freed from the world of darkness his "sons", often called his garments or weapons, remain. After a series of events, his sons, later known as the [[Anima mundi|World Soul]], will, for the most part, escape from matter and return to the world of light where they came from. Manicheans often identified many of Mani's cosmological figures with Zoroastrian ones. This may partly be because Mani was born in the greatly Zoroastrian Parthian Empire.

In [[Sogdian language|Sogdian]] [[Buddhism]], ''Xwrmztʼ'' (Sogdian was written without a consistent representation of vowels) was the name used in place of Ahura Mazda.{{sfn|Unknown|1999|p=429}}{{sfn|Frye|1996|p=247}} Via contacts with [[Turkic peoplepeoples|Turkic]] peoples like the [[Uyghur people|Uyghurs]], this Sogdian name came to the [[Mongols]], who still name this deity ''[[Qormusta Tengri]]'' (also ''Qormusta'' or ''Qormusda'') is now a popular enough deity to appear in many contexts that are not explicitly Buddhist.{{sfn|Sims-Williams|1992|p=44}}

The pre-Christian [[Armenians]] held [[Aramazd]] as an important deity in their pantheon of gods. He is thought to be a [[Religious syncretism|syncretic]] deity, a combination of the autochthonous Armenian figures [[Armenian mythology|Aram]] and his son [[Ara the BeautifulHandsome|Ara]] and the Iranian Ahura Mazda. In modern-day [[Armenia]], Aramazd is a male first name.

[[File:Hormizd I Kushanshah Merv mint.jpg|thumb|300px|Coin of [[Hormizd I Kushanshah]] (277-286 AD). [[Pahlavi scripts|Pahlavi]] inscription: "The Mazda worshipper, the divine Hormizd the great [[Kushan Empire|Kushan]] king of kings"/ Pahlavi inscription: "Exalted god, Hormizd the great Kushan king of kings", Hormizd standing right, holding investiture wreath over altar and raising left hand in benedictional gesture to [[Anahita]] holding investiture wreath and sceptre. [[Merv]] mint.]]