Ahura Mazda

Ahura Mazda is the Avestan language name for an exalted divinity of ancient proto-Indo-Iranian religion that was subsequently declared by Zarathustra (Zoroaster) to be the one uncreated creator of all (God).

Ahura Mazda was also known as Aramazd in Armenia and Parthian Persia, and Ohrmazd or Hormizd in middle Persian. Present-day Persian language usage varies, but Ormazd and Hormuzd are common transliterations.

The Zoroastrian faith is described by its adherents as Mazdayasna, the worship of Mazda. In Zoroastrian tradition, to worship a lesser divinity is to worship Ahura Mazda, since all the divinities are but a manifestation of the Creator.

Nomenclature

Ahura

The first half of the name, "Ahura", denotes the class of the 'right' divinities (as opposed to the daevas, the 'wrong' divinities). The term existed in pre-Zoroastrian religions, but probably had a slightly different meaning. (See: Ahura for details).

Mazda

In Avestan this word has the stem-form Mazdā- and nominative form Mazdå, the latter reflecting Proto-Iranian *Mazdāh. It is generally taken to be the proper name of the deity, but is clearly related to Sanskrit medhā meaning "intelligence" or "wisdom". Both the Avestan and Sanskrit words reflect Proto-Indo-Iranian *mazdhā-, from Proto-Indo-European *, literally meaning "placing () one's mind ()", hence "wise".

In the Gathas (Gāθās), the hymns thought to have been composed by Zoroaster himself, the two halves of the name are not necessarily used together, or are used interchangeably, or are used in reverse order. However, in later texts of the Avesta, both Ahura and Mazda are integral parts of the name Ahura Mazda, which were conjoined as Ahuramazda in western Iran. In Old Persian the name had the form Auramazdāh.

Perceived origin

Although Ahura Mazda is accepted to be the conceptual equivalent of a proto-Indo-Iranian divinity, the details are a matter of speculation and debate. Scholarly consensus identifies a connection to the prototypical *vouruna and *mitra, but whether Ahura Mazda is one of these two, or both together, or even a superior of the two has not been conclusively established.

One view (Kuiper) is that the proto-Indo-Iranian divinity is the nameless "Father Ahura", that is, Varuna of the Rigveda. In this view, Zoroastrian mazda is the equivalent of the Vedic medhira, described in Rigveda 8.6.10 as the "(revealed) insight into the cosmic order" that Varuna grants his devotees. According to another view, Ahura Mazda is the dualistic *vouruna-*mitra, in which the favorable characteristics of *mitra negates the unfavorable qualities of *vouruna. In another view (Boyce, Schlerath, et al), Ahura Mazda is seen as the Ahura par excellence, superior to both *vouruna (whom Boyce identifies with Apam Napat, the divinity of waters, also known as Ahura Berezant also known as Burz Yazad) and *mitra (Mithra in the Avesta).

According to Boyce, the development was probably a linguistic one. In her opinion, the attribute ahuradata- "created by Ahura" probably initially referred to proto-Indo-Iranian *vouruna, and only later came to mean "created by Ahura ^*". She also notes that on Persepolis fortification tablet #337, Ahura Mazda appears with both Mithra and the Baga (*vouruna).

The Zoroastrian evolution

In both the ancient religions as well as in Zoroaster's doctrine, Ahura Mazda is the Creator (Avestan: Dadvāh or Dātār, middle Persian: Dādār). However, Zoroaster gave Ahura Mazda an entirely new dimension by characterizing the Creator as the one uncreated God (Yasna 30.3, 45.2).

Although Ahura Mazda is the benevolent and good Creator of all (Yasna 44.7), Zoroaster appears to have perceived that, just as good is opposed by bad, Ahura Mazda was opposed by an adversary that is the cause of all suffering and grief. In the Gathas, Zoroaster does not specifically name the adversary and only refers to it abstractly as "the Lie" (Yasna 31.1).

In Zoroaster's revelation, Ahura Mazda will ultimately triumph (Yasna 48.1), but cannot (or will not) control the forces of "the Lie" in the here and now. As such, Zoroaster did not perceive Ahura Mazda to be omnipotent. Zoroaster's revelation is also doctrinally significant: Ahura Mazda was perceived to be the creator of only the good (Yasna 31.4), the "supreme benevolent providence" (Yasna 43.11), so suffering had to have a source other than Ahura Mazda.

In Yasna 45.9, Ahura Mazda "has left to men's wills" to choose between doing good (that is, good thoughts, good words and good deeds) and doing evil (bad thoughts, bad words and bad deeds). The interpretation of Yasna 45.9 also accommodates a solution for the contradiction implied in Zoroaster's revelation: everything was created good, and "the Lie" chose to be evil. The concept of a free will is perhaps Zoroaster's greatest contribution to religious philosophy.

In Zurvanism

In Zurvanism, which evolved from Zoroastrianism, Ahura Mazda was not the transcendental God, but one of two equal-but-opposite divinities under the supremacy of Zurvan, "Time". This belief, which is today called the "Zurvan heresy", rests on an interpretation of Yasna 30.3, that makes Ahura Mazda and Angra Mainyu twin brothers that had co-existed for all time.

Although Zurvanism was officially supported during the Sassanid era (226-651), no traces of it remain beyond the 10th century.

In recent history

In 1884, Martin Haug proposed a new interpretation of Yasna 30.3 that provided an escape from the dualism implicit in the Gathas. According to Haug's interpretation, the "Twin spirits" of 30.3 were Spenta Mainyu and Angra Mainyu. There is no trace of such a doctrine in Zoroastrian tradition, but Haug's interpretation was gratefully accepted by the Parsis of Bombay since it provided a defence against Christian missionaries who were attacking the Zoroastrians for their dualism. Haug's idea was subsequently disseminated as a Parsi interpretation, thus corroborating Haug's theory. Haug's theory was so popular that it is now almost universally accepted as doctrine.

Imagery

From the reign of Cyrus the Great down to Darius III, it was apparently customary for an empty chariot drawn by white horses to accompany the Persian army. According to Herodotus, who first described the practice, this chariot was sacred to "Zeus" who was presumably believed to position himself at the head of the army. (Ahura Mazda was frequently named Zeus by the Greeks; Aristotle refers to Zeus/Oromasdes being opposed by Hades/Aremainius).

The earliest reference to the use of an image to accompany devotion to Ahura Mazda is from c. 365 BCE, during the reign of Artaxerxes II, in which a Persian governor is said to have raised a statue to Ahura Mazda.

The worship of Ahura Mazda with accompanying images is known to have occurred during the Parthian era (250 BCE-226 CE), but by the beginning of the Sassanid period (226-651), the custom appears to have fallen out of favor. A few images from Sassanid times that depict "Ohrmazd" reveal a male figure wearing a high crown.

Nomenclature

Ahura

Mazda

Perceived origin

The Zoroastrian evolution

In Zurvanism

In recent history

Imagery

Bibliography

See also

Gourt Home::Gourt :: Ahura Mazda

Nomenclature

Ahura

Mazda

Perceived origin

The Zoroastrian evolution

In Zurvanism

In recent history

Imagery

Bibliography

See also