Thraetaona also known as Fereydun, the great hero-king of the Shahnameh who defeats the dragon Azhi Dahaka. Associated with, but not the same as, the Huma Bird. Sraosa works with the Holy Maiden Daena and, like her, reflects the conscience of the soul after death. Ancient Persian Mythology - World History Encyclopedia He was adopted by Simurgh, the dog-bird, and raised as one of her own children, acquiring great strength and wisdom. In early myths, she is known as Saena, the Great Falcon, who sits in the upper branches of the Tree of All Seeds and, by fluttering her wings, sends seeds flying to the ground and across the world to find their way into the earth. Dragon-serpents ( azhi) frequently appear in Persian mythology as the embodiment of evil and disorder, and Azhi Dahaka was the most fearsome of them all. License. Central to one's spiritual journey was how well a person treated animals, especially dogs. Indra the demon of apostasy who encouraged the abandonment of religious practice and true faith. Traditional legends and stories originally told by ancient Persians and other Iranian peoples, For example, those regions and peoples in the, Indogermanisches etymologisches Wrterbuch, Learn how and when to remove this template message, List of articles related to Persian mythology, Dialect, Culture, and Society in Eastern Arabia: Glossary, Ferdowsi millennial celebration in Berlin, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Persian_mythology&oldid=1146589156, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles needing additional references from September 2021, All articles needing additional references, Articles containing Avestan-language text, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. Simurgh the dog bird who cares for the hero Zal after he is abandoned by his father Sam in the Shahnameh. 30 Apr 2023. Most characters in Persian mythology are either good, or they are evil. Gayomartan the first man created by Ahura Mazda who, like Gavaevodata, was so beautiful he was killed by Angra Mainyu. Known as the golden-heeled, he was finally defeated and killed by the hero Karsasp. Along with the demon Aesma Daeva, he waits to catch souls with a rope and pull them from the bridge, but justified souls are protected by the angel Suroosh and comforted by the Holy Maiden, Daena. If one chose to follow Ahura Mazda, one would live a good and productive life in harmony with others and one's environment; if one chose Angra Mainyu, one lived in opposition to the truth and became a source of confusion and strife. Persian mythology - Wikipedia Persian mythology or Iranian mythology ( Persian : ) is the body of the myths originally told by ancient Persians and other Iranian peoples, and a genre of Ancient Persian folklore. Mark, Joshua J.. "Twelve Ancient Persian Mythological Creatures." Those who settled in Iran became the Persians. A Jinn might grant one wishes but could twist and betray the outcome in doing so or, conversely, could simply be helpful outright. Afterwards, his successors must struggle to maintain just rule since deception and trickery will now regularly play a part in politics. (2019, December 10). Tahmineh mother of the hero Sohrab in the Shahnameh. Royal Stars the four major stars which influenced or, at times, governed human events. Simurgh was an enormous bird with the head of a dog, body of a peacock, and claws of a lion, large enough to lift an elephant with ease, who lived in cycles of 1,700 years before plunging into a fire of its own making to die and be reborn (precursor to the later myth of the Phoenix). World History Encyclopedia. Ancient Persian Mythology is the term now referencing ancient Iranian Zorvanism (also given as Zuvanism, Zurvanism) was a sect of the Shadows in the Desert: Ancient Persia at War, The Persians: Ancient, Mediaeval and Modern Iran. Ahura Mazd was worshipped by the Persian king Darius I (reigned 522-486 bce) and his successors as the greatest of all gods and protector of the just king. The mythology of any civilization reflects its core values, greatest fears, and highest hopes and so it is with the mythology of ancient Persia.The great heroes like Karsasp, Thraetaona, and Rustum express particularly Persian values but, as with all mythical figures, are recognizable to people of any culture as role models whose best qualities are worth emulating. The oldest Persian deity was Mithra, who was identified with the sun. License. Mark, published on 16 January 2020. Dog imagery also appears in depictions of the great birds Simurgh (known as the dog-bird) and Chamrosh. We want people all over the world to learn about history. The Avesta and Zoroastrianism: The Creation, Disappearance and The four-eyed dog a dog with a spot above each eye was considered especially potent protection against evil spirits. We care about our planet! Two dogs guard the Chinvat Bridge and welcome justified souls while rebuking those who lived according to lies. He was later recognized in the post-Zoroastrian movement of Zorvanism as god of limited space and time. In a story which some scholars cite as a direct influence on the later biblical Noah's Ark tale, Yima also saves the world from destruction. Once animals and plant life were in place, Ahura Mazda created the first man, Gayomartan (also given as Gayomard, Kiyumars) who is beautiful and bright as the sun and so attracts the attention of Angra Mainyu who kills him. The Supreme Deity first created sky an orb and then filled it with water and separated the water with earth, which was planted with various types of vegetation, and then made the Primordial Bull, which was brilliant white and glowed like the moon. By the time Ferdowsi was writing, monotheism in the form of Islam had replaced the ancient Persian religion, but his work still resonated with an audience and continues to do so. In the Zoroastrian text Vendidad, it is the mountain in the afterlife on the other side of the Chinvat Bridge, the span between the world of the living and the dead. Peris, like jinns, are considered neutral in the war between Good and Evil and, also like them, are as apt to trick a person as to deal fairly. He is one of the Amesha Spentas and a powerful opponent against the forces of evil. In both Persian and Arabic sources it is said that by eating the flesh of a black cat one is protected against magic (Je, II, p. 207; IV, p. 42; V, p. 341; Damr, II, p. 37; Qazvn, p. 417). The waters are said to come from the Alburz Mountains through ice-melt and collect in the Vourukasha Sea and, from there, flow outwards to form all the other bodies of water in the world. Gaymart, Avestan Gay Maretan ("Mortal Life"), in later Zoroastrian creation literature, the first man, and the progenitor of mankind. Vohu Manah good purpose, one of the seven Amesha Spentas, represented on earth by domesticated animals, especially the cow. Karsasp (Keresaspa, Garshasp) the great hero who defeated Gandareva, Karmak, and engaged in many other adventures. He has taught history, writing, literature, and philosophy at the college level. She was closely associated with the god Mithra and her sacred animals were the dove and peacock. Mark has lived in Greece and Germany and traveled through Egypt. Most famous of these is the Simurgh, a large, beautiful, and powerful bird; and the Huma bird, a royal bird of victory whose plume adorned Persian crowns. Persian Hero RustumMaksim (Public Domain). They were considered so important that their role as guardians was preserved once the early religion of the Persians was reimagined by the prophet Zoroaster (c. 1500-1000 BCE) who kept them as the keepers of the Chinvat Bridge, the span across the abyss between the world of the living and the dead. According to the creation myth as described in the Bundahishn, Ohrmuzd's (Ahura Mazda) sixth creation is the primeval beast Gayomart (Gayamartan), who was neither male nor female. He is the son of the water god Vouru-Kasa, keeper of the waters, who gives water to humans. As with other ancient religions, the cosmological dichotomy of chaos and cosmos figured in both myth and worldview. Gaymart | Zoroastrianism | Britannica It originated in Persia but most followers today live in India and some still live in Iran. He also carries daggers, throwing-axes, and his famous mace which is his most powerful weapon. World History Publishing is a non-profit company registered in the United Kingdom. It was said to be so large it could easily stride the seven regions of the earth and people could climb on its back to travel from one place to another. Main Carving, Rock-Cut Tombs of QizqapanOsama Shukir Muhammed Amin (Copyright). There were four levels descending down from the Chinvat Bridge, each one increasing in darkness until the lowest which was completely absent of all light. According to Herodotus, a 5th-Century Greek writer and geographer often credited with being the first historian, the Amazons maintained an idyllic all-female existence in modern-day Turkey. Thank you! The World History Encyclopedia logo is a registered trademark. Help our mission to provide free history education to the world! Another great threat to order and human happiness was the dragon (known as azhi) and the most fearsome of these was Azhi Dahaka who is described as three-mouthed, the three-headed, the six-eyed, who has a thousand sensesmost powerful, to destroy the world of the good principle (Yasht 9.14; Curtis, 23). Her name means beneficent devotion, and she is also associated with the earth and the newly dead as one was expected to show devotion to one's home and to those who had passed from it. He has taught history, writing, literature, and philosophy at the college level. Some Rights Reserved (2009-2023) under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license unless otherwise noted. Shahriyar (Shahryar) the king in the One Thousand Nights and a Night who, upon finding out his wife was unfaithful, has her executed and then marries only virginal women, killing them the morning after the wedding night, before they have a chance to betray him. Righteous Ass the white donkey with a golden horn protruding from its forehead with three legs, nine mouths, and six eyes who guards the Tree of All Seeds and the great haoma plant, Gaokerena, in the midst of the Vourukasha Sea. World History Encyclopedia. Rapithwin god of the midday sun, guardian of the south, warm winds, and summer. Kamak plays precisely the opposite role, feeding on Persians and their livestock and bringing destruction. Mark, Joshua J.. "Ancient Persian Mythology." Arash the archer, great hero who fired his arrow to mark the boundary between Iran and Turan. He has a magic cup used in divination which was thought to contain the elixir of immortality. It was thought to live in lonely places outside of communities, could kill anything except elephants, and was invincible because its hide was so thick. After a person died, the soul lingered by the corpse for three days while the gods considered their ultimate fate and tallied up their good and bad deeds. Even so, the oral tradition of the Persians is thought to have influenced the religious systems of other cultures many centuries earlier. Ahura Mazd, (Avestan: "Wise Lord") also spelled Ormizd or Ormazd, supreme god in ancient Iranian religion, especially Zoroastrianism, the religious system of the Iranian prophet Zarathustra (c. 6th century bce; Greek name Zoroaster). He derives strength from the proper worship of the people; fighting well when offerings are made in the right spirit and faltering when his worshipers neglect him. Zal Taken by the Simurgh (Public Domain). The Avesta was only finally written down during the reign of Shapur II (309-379 CE) and codified/revised under Kosrau I (r. 531-579 CE) of the Sassanian Empire (224-651 CE), while the Shannameh was only completed at the beginning of the 11th century CE. Atar the god of fire who is also the personification of fire and physically present when fires are lighted. Suroosh symbolized protection and Daena one's own conscience. Saurva demon of chaos and one of the central Daevas, archenemy of the Amesha Spenta Khshathra Vairya, protector of the desirable dominion of paradise. Cats although there is myth associating the creation of the cat with the hero Rustum, cats were generally regarded with suspicion or outright fear because they were associated with the physical manifestation of the demons known as khrafstra who appeared as frogs, lizards, wasps, but also as animals such as lions and tigers. 30 Apr 2023. African religions - Mythology | Britannica Mithra's heroic qualities formed the basis for the central figure of the Roman mystery religion known as the Cult of Mithras, but the two deities are not the same. He has a thousand senses and is invincible but, embodied as the tyrant Zahak, was defeated by the hero Thraetaona (Fereydun) who keeps him in chains until the end of the world at which time he will be killed by the resurrected hero Karsasp. Faravahar at PersepolisNapishtim (CC BY-SA). Manuchehr initiates the Iranian-Turanian War. Thus, in the first three centuries, a number of ideas from the ancient Middle East, from Hellenistic and especially from Jewish and Christian traditions . There is little notice of the Persian god in the Roman world until the beginning of the 2nd century, but, from the year 136 ce onward, there are hundreds of dedicatory inscriptions to Mithra. Manticore man-eater, a monster with the head of a man, body of a lion, and tail of a scorpion who devoured people whole, leaving no trace of them except sometimes spatters of blood. Please note that some of these recommendations are listed under our old name, Ancient History Encyclopedia. Iransaga - Persian Myths, The Creation of the World - Plus
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