Skip to content

Liber XXXV · Zoroastrianism

Liber XXXV

Zoroastrianism and Ancient Iranian Religion

Zarathustra, Ahura Mazda, the sacred fire and the Magi of ancient Persia.

Zoroastrianism is the religion founded on the teaching of the prophet Zarathustra (Zoroaster), who lived in eastern Iran perhaps between 1500 and 1000 BCE. It was the faith of the great Persian empires and survives today among the Parsis of India and the Zoroastrians of Iran. This section covers the Gathas and the Avesta, Ahura Mazda and the struggle of good against evil, the sacred fire and fire temples, purity and death rites, the Magi who gave their name to 'magic', and the influence of Iranian ideas on Judaism, Christianity, Gnosticism and Manichaeism.

Chapters

On the shelf

The Avestan Hymn to MithraIlya Gershevitch The Avestan Hymn to MithraIlya Gershevitch Cosmos, Chaos and the World to ComeNorman Cohn Cosmos, Chaos and the World to ComeNorman Cohn The Dawn and Twilight of ZoroastrianismR. C. Zaehner The Dawn and Twilight of ZoroastrianismR. C. Zaehner Dualism in TransformationShaul Shaked Dualism in TransformationShaul Shaked The Gāthās of Zarathushtra and the Other Old Avestan TextsHelmut Humbach The Gāthās of Zarathushtra and the Other Old Avestan TextsHelmut Humbach The HistoriesHerodotus The HistoriesHerodotus A History of Zoroastrianism, Volume IMary Boyce A History of Zoroastrianism, Volume IMary Boyce A History of Zoroastrianism, Volume IIMary Boyce A History of Zoroastrianism, Volume IIMary Boyce The Hymns of ZarathustraJacques Duchesne-Guillemin The Hymns of ZarathustraJacques Duchesne-Guillemin Les Mages hellénisésJoseph Bidez Les Mages hellénisésJoseph Bidez & Franz Cumont Mithraic StudiesJohn R. Hinnells Mithraic StudiesJohn R. Hinnells The Mysteries of MithraFranz Cumont The Mysteries of MithraFranz Cumont The Origins of the Mithraic MysteriesDavid Ulansey The Origins of the Mithraic MysteriesDavid Ulansey The Parsis of IndiaJesse S. Palsetia The Parsis of IndiaJesse S. Palsetia A Persian OfferingFiroze M. Kotwal A Persian OfferingFiroze M. Kotwal & James W. Boyd A Persian Stronghold of ZoroastrianismMary Boyce A Persian Stronghold of ZoroastrianismMary Boyce The Religion of the Mithras Cult in the Roman EmpireRoger Beck The Religion of the Mithras Cult in the Roman EmpireRoger Beck The Religious Ceremonies and Customs of the ParseesJivanji Jamshedji Modi The Religious Ceremonies and Customs of the ParseesJivanji Jamshedji Modi Revelation of the MagiBrent Landau Revelation of the MagiBrent Landau The Roman Cult of MithrasManfred Clauss The Roman Cult of MithrasManfred Clauss The Spirit of ZoroastrianismProds Oktor Skjærvø The Spirit of ZoroastrianismProds Oktor Skjærvø Textual Sources for the Study of ZoroastrianismMary Boyce Textual Sources for the Study of ZoroastrianismMary Boyce Traditions of the MagiAlbert de Jong Traditions of the MagiAlbert de Jong The Wiley Blackwell Companion to ZoroastrianismMichael Stausberg The Wiley Blackwell Companion to ZoroastrianismMichael Stausberg & Yuhan Sohrab-Dinshaw Vevaina