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86-569: Lohrasp was not really the king of Iran; he ruled only part of Iran and was the head of his great tribes. The land he occupied is called Arzan or Arzāniān, and his whereabouts are still unknown. In fact, his son Goshtāsep and his grandson Esfandiyār are very famous. The character of the Lohraspian dynasty is God-worshiping, and it was by his son that the Zoroastrian religion was adopted in Iran. Lohrasp

172-435: A daivadana "house of the daiva s", generally interpreted to be a reference to a shrine or sanctuary. In his inscription, Xerxes records that "by the favour of Ahura Mazda I destroyed that establishment of the daivas and I proclaimed, 'The daivas thou shalt not worship!'" This statement has been interpreted either one of two ways. Either the statement is an ideological one and daiva s were gods that were to be rejected, or

258-512: A Zoroastrian view of creation completed in the 12th century. In this text, the evil spirit Ahriman (the middle Persian equivalent of Avestan Angra Mainyu ) creates his hordes of dew s to counter the creation of Ormuzd (Avestan Ahura Mazda ). This notion is already alluded to in the Vendidad (see Younger Avestan texts above), but only properly developed in the Bundahishn . In particular, Ahriman

344-482: A list of demons: Completely adapted to Iranian phonology, these are Indra (Vedic Indra ), Sarva (Vedic Sarva, i.e. Rudra ), and Nanghaithya (Vedic Nasatya ). The process by which these three came to appear in the Avesta is uncertain. Together with three other daeva s, Tauru, Zairi and Nasu, that do not have Vedic equivalents, the six oppose the six Amesha Spentas . Vendidad 19.1 and 19.44 have Angra Mainyu dwelling in

430-627: A mission in which Esfandiar is destined to die. In the Shahnameh , the nobles upbraid Goshtasb as a disgrace to the throne; his daughters denounce him as a heinous criminal; and his younger son Bashutan (Avestan Peshotanu ) condemns him as a wanton destroyer of Iran. As in Zoroastrian tradition, in the Sistan cycle texts Goshtasp is succeeded by Esfandiar's son, Bahman (< MP Wahman). The identification of Bahman with 'Ardashir' (see above ) reappears in

516-402: A new prophet claiming divine authority. " The tradition goes on to relate that Zoroaster triumphed after three days of debate, only to be maligned by his enemies to Vishtaspa, who then had the prophet imprisoned. But, from prison, Zoroaster cured one of Vishtaspa's favourite horses (which had suddenly become paralyzed), for which the prophet then gained Vishtaspa's support and admiration. The tale

602-404: A positive connotation, but "no known Iranian dialect attests clearly and certainly the survival of a positive sense for [Old Iranian] *daiva- ", in the 19th- and 20th-century a great deal of academic discussion revolved around questions of how Iranian daeva might have gained its derogatory meaning. This "fundamental fact of Iranian linguistics" is "impossible" to reconcile with the testimony of

688-582: A prehistorical opposition of *asura/daiva involves "interminable and entirely conjectural discussions" on the status of various Indo-Iranian entities that in one culture are asura s/ ahura s and in the other are deva s/ daeva s (see examples in the Younger Avesta , below). In the Gathas , the oldest texts of Zoroastrianism and credited to Zoroaster himself, the daeva s are not yet the demons that they would become in later Zoroastrianism; though their rejection

774-531: A saviour, who will descend from heaven accompanied by angels and before him a flaming sword. Hystaspes "prophesies" that the wicked king (i.e. the Roman emperor) will survive the destruction of his armies, but will lose power. It was "presumably" the prophecy of the destruction of a victorious power (i.e. the Roman empire) that caused the work to be proscribed by Rome; according to Justin Martyr ( Apologia , I. 44. 12), reading

860-531: Is Angra Mainyu said to be the creator of the daeva s or their father." The Vendidad is usually recited after nightfall since the last part of the day is considered to be the time of the demons. Because the Vendidad is the means to disable them, this text is said to be effective only when recited between sunset and sunrise. Old Persian daiva occurs twice in Xerxes' daiva inscription (XPh, early 5th century BCE). This trilingual text also includes one reference to

946-573: Is a cognate with Latin deus ("god") and Greek Zeus . While the word for the Vedic spirits and the word for the Zoroastrian entities are etymologically related, their function and thematic development is altogether different. Originally, the term was used to denote beings of cultural folklore which predate use in scripture. Equivalents for Avestan daeva in Iranian languages include Pashto , Balochi , Kurdish dêw , Persian dīv / deev . The Iranian word

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1032-543: Is a contraction of the Avestan name, while Greek 'Mnemon' is a calque of it. The Sassanid association of their dynasty with Vishtaspa's is a development dated to the end of the 4th century, and which "arose to some extent because this was when the Sasanians conquered Balkh , the birthplace of Vishtasp and the 'holy land' of Zoroastrianism. " As was also the case for the fourth century Roman identification of Zoroaster's patron with

1118-421: Is effective in keeping the demons at bay. Demons are attracted by chatter at mealtimes and when silence is broken a demon takes the place of the angel at one's side. According to Shayest-ne-Shayest 9.8, eating at all after nightfall is not advisable since the night is the time of demons. In the 9th century rivayat s (65.14), the demons are described as issuing out at night to wreak mayhem, but forced back into

1204-523: Is known by name. This work (or set of works) of the first century BCE is referred to by Lactantius, Justin Martyr, Clement of Alexandria , Lydus , and Aristokritos, all of whom describe it as foretelling the downfall of the Roman empire , the return of rule to the east, and of the coming of the saviour. Lactantius provides a detailed summary of the Oracles of Hystaspes in his Divinae Institutiones (Book VII, from

1290-482: Is likewise a theme of the 9th–11th century books, and these legends remain the "best known and most current" among Zoroastrians today. According to this tradition, when Zoroaster arrived at Vishtaspa's court, the prophet was "met with hostility from the kayag s and karab s ( kavi s and karapan s), with whom he disputed at a great assembly–a tradition which may well be based on reality, for [Vishtaspa] must have had his own priests and seers, who would hardly have welcomed

1376-530: Is notable in the Gathas themselves. The Gathas speak of the daeva s as a group, and do not mention individual daeva s by name. In these ancient texts, the term daeva s (also spelled 'daēuuas') occurs 19 times; wherein daeva s are a distinct category of "quite genuine gods, who had, however, been rejected". In Yasna 32.3 and 46.1, the daeva s are still worshipped by the Iranian peoples. Yasna 32.8 notes that some of

1462-593: Is obliquely referred to in the Anthology of Zadspram (24. 6), which seems to presume that the reader already knows it, and it is summarized in the Denkard (7. 4. 64–86), and – as "workings of popular fancy" – described in detail in the later Book of Zoroaster (942–1094). In the myth, Zoroaster cures each of the horse's four legs in exchange for four concessions: first, that Vishtaspa himself accept Zoroaster's message; secondly, that Vishtaspa's son Spentodata (MP: Esfandiar) do

1548-514: Is said to be Vishtaspa's younger brother. The allusions to conflicts (perhaps battles, see below ) are again obliquely referred to in Yasht 13. 99–100, in which the fravashis of Zoroaster and Vishtaspa are described as victorious combatants for Asha , and the rescuers and furtherers of the religion. This description is repeated in Yasht 19. 84–87, where Zoroaster, Vishtaspa and Vishtaspa's ancestors are additionally said to possess khvarenah . While

1634-604: Is said to be a member of the latter. Later in the same hymn, Zoroaster is described as appealing to Mazda to "bring Vishtaspa, son of Aurvataspa, to think according to Daena (Religion), to speak according to the Religion, to act according to the Religion." ( Yt . 5. 104–105). In Yasht 9. 25–26, the last part of which is an adaptation of the Gathic Yasna 49. 7, the prophet makes the same appeal with regard to Hutaosa, wife of Vishtaspa. In Yasht 9.30, Vishtaspa himself appeals for

1720-537: Is seen to create six dew s that in Zoroastrian tradition are the antitheses of the Amahraspand s (Avestan Amesha Spentas ). Mirroring the task of the Amesha Spentas through which Ahura Mazda realized creation, the six antitheses are the instrument through which Angra Mainyu creates all the horrors in the world. Further, the arch- daeva s of Vendidad 10.9 and 19.43 are identified as the antithetical counterparts of

1806-404: Is that, as Ahriman and the dew s can only destruct, they will ultimately destroy themselves ( Denkard 3). As the medieval texts also do for Ahriman, they question whether the dew s exist at all. Since "existence" is the domain of Ormuzd, and Ahriman and his dew s are anti-existence, it followed that Ahriman and his dew s could not possibly exist. One interpretation of the Denkard proposes that

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1892-480: Is that, at the time the Gathas were composed, "the process of rejection, negation, or daemonization of these gods was only just beginning, but, as the evidence is full of gaps and ambiguities, this impression may be erroneous". In Yasna 32.4, the daeva s are revered by the Usij , described as a class of "false priests", devoid of goodness of mind and heart, and hostile to cattle and husbandry ( Yasna 32.10–11, 44.20). Like

1978-527: Is the Avestan-language name of a figure appearing in Zoroastrian scripture and tradition, portrayed as an early follower of Zoroaster , and his patron, and instrumental in the diffusion of the prophet's message. Although Vishtaspa is not epigraphically attested, he is – like Zoroaster – traditionally assumed to have been a historical figure, although obscured by accretions from legend and myth . In Zoroastrian tradition, which builds on allusions found in

2064-459: Is thematically different from Avestan daēva . While in the post-Rigvedic Indic texts the conflict between the two groups of deva s and asuras is a primary theme, this is not a theme in either the Rigveda nor in the Iranian texts, ..."returning I protect the kingdom which awaits me" (from asuras) and therefore cannot have been a feature of a common heritage. The use of Asura in the Rigveda

2150-451: Is threatening Balkh . Goshtasb promises Esfandiar the throne in return for his help, but when Esfandiar is successful, his father stalls and instead sends him off on another mission to suppress a rebellion in Turan . Esfandiar is again successful, and upon his return Goshtasb hedges once again and – aware of a prediction that foretells the death of Esfandiar at the hand of Rostam – sends him off on

2236-468: Is traditionally said to have taken place during Zoroaster's forty-second year, "a figure undoubtedly reached by later calculation". In medieval Zoroastrian chronology, Vishtaspa is identified as a grandfather of "Ardashir", i.e. the 5th century BCE Artaxerxes I (or II ). This myth is tied to the Sassanid (early 3rd–early 7th century) claim of descent from Artaxerxes, and the claim of relationship to

2322-427: Is unsystematic and inconsistent and "it can hardly be said to confirm the existence of a category of gods opposed to the deva s". Indeed, RigVedic Deva is variously applied to most gods, including many of the asura s. Likewise, at the oldest layer, Zoroastrianism's daeva s are originally also gods (albeit gods to be rejected), and it is only in the younger texts that the word evolved to refer to evil creatures. And

2408-556: The Denkard (respectively 8. 11, 8. 13, 8. 14, and 9. 33. 5), suggest that there once existed a detailed "history" of Vishtaspa and his ancestors in scripture. The Yasht 13 mentions Zairiuuairi, Piší šiiaoθna (Vishtaspa's eschatological son Pišišōtan), Spəṇtōδāta (Spandyād), Bastauuairi (Bastwar), Kauuarazman, Frašaoštra and Jāmāspa (the Huuōguua brothers in the Gathas), all of whom are featured in

2494-467: The Vendidad ("given against the demons"). A fire (cf. Adur ) is an effective weapon against the dew s, and keeping a hearth fire burning is a means to protect the home. The dew s are "particularly attracted by the organic productions of human beings, from excretion, reproduction, sex, and death". Prayer and other recitations of the liturgy, in particular the recitation of Yasht 1 (so Sad-dar 57),

2580-505: The Avesta , Vishtaspa is a righteous king who helped propagate and defend the faith. In the non-Zoroastrian Sistan cycle texts, Vishtaspa is a loathsome ruler of the Kayanian dynasty who intentionally sends his eldest son to a certain death. In Greco-Roman literature, Zoroaster's patron was the pseudo-anonymous author of a set of prophecies written under his name. Vishtaspa is referred to in

2666-402: The Gathas , the oldest texts of Zoroastrianism which were considered to have been composed by Zoroaster himself. In these hymns, the poet speaks of Vishtaspa as his ally ( Yasna 46. 14), follower of the path of Vohu Manah ( Y . 51. 16), and committed to spreading the prophet's message ( Y . 51. 16, 46. 15, 53. 2). In Yasna 28. 1–28. 7, Zoroaster appeals to Mazda for several boons, including

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2752-564: The Mojmal al-tawarikh , Beshtashb by Al-Tabari . In several respects, for instance in Goshtasb's/Goshtasf's (etc.) mythological genealogy, the Sistan cycle texts continue the Zoroastrian tradition. So, for example, Goshtasp is identified as a member of the Kayanian dynasty , is the son of Lohrasp /Lohrasb (etc.), is the brother of Zareh /Zarer (etc.), is the father of Esfandiar /Isfandiar (etc.) and Bashutan/ Beshotan (etc.), and so on. However, in

2838-477: The Scythian gods . Old Avestan daēuua or daēva derives from Old Iranian *daiva , which in turn derives from Indo-Iranian *daivá- "god", reflecting Proto-Indo-European *deywós with the same meaning. For other Indo-European derivatives, see Dyeus . The Vedic Sanskrit cognate of Avestan daēuua is devá - , continuing in later Indo-Aryan languages as dev . Because all cognates of Iranian *daiva have

2924-582: The daeva s that they follow, "the Usij are known throughout the seventh region of the earth as the offspring of aka mainyu, druj, and arrogance. ( Yasna 32.3)". Yasna 30.6 suggests the daeva -worshipping priests debated frequently with Zoroaster, but failed to persuade him. In the Younger Avesta , the daeva s are unambiguously hostile entities. In contrast, the word daevayasna- (literally, "one who sacrifices to daeva s") denotes adherents of other religions and thus still preserves some semblance of

3010-402: The daeva s", is a collection of late Avestan texts that deals almost exclusively with the daeva s, or rather, their various manifestations and with ways to confound them. Vi.daeva- "rejecting the daeva s" qualifies the faithful Zoroastrian with the same force as mazdayasna- ('Mazda worshiper'). In Vendidad 10.9 and 19.43, three divinities of the Vedic pantheon follow Angra Mainyu in

3096-661: The dew s are hordes of devils with a range of individual powers ranging from the almost benign to the most malign. They collectively rush out at nightfall to do their worst, which includes every possible form of corruption at every possible level of human existence. Their destructiveness is evident not only in disease, pain, and grief but also in cosmic events such as falling stars and climatic events such as droughts, cyclones and earthquakes. They are sometimes described as having anthropomorphic properties such as faces and feet, or given animal-like properties such as claws and body hair. They may produce semen, and may even mate with humans as in

3182-510: The dew s were perceived to be non-existent physically (that is, they were considered non-ontological) but present psychologically. (see also: Ahriman: In Zoroastrian tradition ) For a different set of texts, such as the Shayest ne shayest and the Book of Arda Wiraz , Ahriman and the dew s were utterly real, and are described as being potentially catastrophic. In such less philosophical representations,

3268-412: The " genius of Zoroaster". Subsequent scholarship (so-called progressive hypothesis) has a more differentiated view of Zoroaster, and does not follow the unprovable assumption that prehistoric Iranian religion ever had "national" gods (and thus also that the daeva s could have represented such a group), nor does it involve hypothetical conjecture of whose gods the daeva s might/might not have been. While

3354-458: The "traditional date" of Zoroaster. Daeva A daeva ( Avestan : 𐬛𐬀𐬉𐬎𐬎𐬀 daēuua ) is a Zoroastrian supernatural entity with disagreeable characteristics. In the Gathas , the oldest texts of the Zoroastrian canon, the daeva s are " gods that are (to be) rejected ". This meaning is – subject to interpretation – perhaps also evident in the Old Persian " daiva inscription" of

3440-403: The (late-6th century BCE) father of Darius I . The sixth century Agathias was more ambivalent, observing that it wasn't clear to him whether the name of Zoroaster's patron referred to the father of Darius or to another Hystaspes (ii. 24). As with the medieval Zoroastrian chronology that identifies Vishtaspa with "Ardashir" (see above ), Ammianus' identification was once considered to substantiate

3526-520: The 5th century BCE . In the Younger Avesta , the daeva's are divinities that promote chaos and disorder. In later tradition and folklore, the dēw s (Zoroastrian Middle Persian ; New Persian div s) are personifications of every imaginable evil. Over time, the Daeva myth as Div became integrated to islam . Daeva , the Iranian language term, shares the same origin of " Deva " of Hinduism , which

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3612-424: The Amesha Spentas by his "thought", is Ahriman's creation of the dew s through his "demonic essence". Other texts describe this event as being to Ahriman's detriment for his act of "creation" is actually an act of destruction. Ahriman is the very epitome (and hypostasis) of destruction, and hence he did not "create" the demons, he realized them through destruction, and they then became that destruction. The consequence

3698-518: The Amesha Spentas. The six arch-demons as listed in the Epistles of Zadspram (WZ 35.37) and the Greater Bundahishn (GBd. 34.27) are: These oppositions differ from those found in scripture, where the moral principles (that each Amesha Spenta represents) are opposed by immoral principles. This is not however a complete breach, for while in the Gathas asha —the principle—is the diametric opposite of

3784-475: The Gathas, where the daeva s, though rejected, were still evidently gods that continued to have a following. The same is true of the daiva inscription, where the daiva are the gods of (potential) rebels, but still evidently gods that continued to have a following. The issue is related to the question of how Zoroaster's own contribution to Iranian religion might be defined. In the older early/mid 20th-century view (so-called reform hypothesis), in which Zoroaster

3870-543: The Great. In Denkard 3. 420, it is Vishtaspa who is said to have been the king who had those texts made and placed in the royal library. The Yasht 's allusions to conflicts are amplified in the 9th–11th century books of Zoroastrian tradition, where the conflicts are portrayed as outright battles of the faith. So for example the surviving fragments of a fragmentary text that celebrates the deeds of Zairivairi, Vishtaspa's brother and captain of his forces against Arejat.aspa, chief of

3956-509: The Greek and Roman portraits of his person are just as fanciful as those of the other two les Mages hellénisés , Pseudo-Zoroaster and Pseudo-Ostanes . While Pseudo-Zoroaster was identified as the "inventor" of astrology, and Pseudo-Ostanes was imagined to be a master sorcerer, Pseudo-Hystaspes seems to have been stereotyped as an apocalyptic prophet. None of the works attributed to him are still extant, but quotations and references have survived in

4042-457: The Hyonas. According to that text ( Ayadgar i Zareran , 10–11), upon hearing of Vishtaspa's conversion, Arejat.aspa sent messengers to demand that Vishtaspa "abandon 'the pure Mazda-worshipping religion which he had received from Ohrmazd', and should become once more 'of the same religion'" as himself. The battle that following Vishtaspa's refusal left Vishtaspa victorious. The conversion of Vishtaspa

4128-630: The Kayanids, that is, with Vishtaspa and his ancestors. The full adoption of Kayanid names, titles and myths from the Avesta by the Sassanids was a "main component of [Sassanid] ideology. " The association of Artaxerxes with the Kayanids occurred through the identification of Artaxerxes II's title ('Mnemon' in Greek) with the name of Vishtaspa's legendary grandson and successor, Wahman : both are theophorics of Avestan Vohu Manah "Good Mind(ed)"; Middle Persian 'Wahman'

4214-696: The Pahlavi narrative about the war between Vishtaspa and Arzāsp (Arjāsp, king of the Xiiaonas ). In Yasht 9.31, Vishtaspa prays to Druuāspā that he may successfully fight and kill various opponents and, apparently, turn Humaiiā and Varəδakanā away from the lands of the Xiiaonas. In Yasna 12, the Zarathustra, Vishtaspa, Frašaoštra and Jāmāspa, and the three Saošiiaṇts, Zarathustra's eschatological sons, and in Yasna 23.2 and 26.5,

4300-565: The Sistan cycle texts as well. The name "Visthaspa" is " Hystaspes " in the Greek and Latin texts of the Hellenistic era . Besides referring to historically attested persons named Vishtaspa, it was also applied to Zoroaster's patron, who the Greeks and Romans imagined to be a sage of great antiquity, and the putative author of a set of prophecies written under his name. Although the works attributed to Pseudo-Hystaspes draw on real Zoroastrian sources,

4386-485: The Sistan legends, Goshtasb/Goshtasf (etc.) is an abominable figure, altogether unlike the hero of Zoroastrian tradition. The reason for this discrepancy is unknown. According to the Sistan tradition, Goshtasb demands the throne from his father Lohrasp , but storms off to India ("Hind") when the king declines. Goshtasb's brother Zareh (Zareh/Zarer etc., Avestan Zairivairi) is sent to fetch him, but Goshtasb flees to " Rome " where he marries Katayoun (Katayun/Katayoun etc.),

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4472-534: The Zoroastrian ahura s (etymologically related to the Vedic asura s) are also only vaguely defined, and only three in number. Moreover, the daemonization of the asura s in India and the daemonization of the daeva s in Iran both took place "so late that the associated terms cannot be considered a feature of Indo-Iranian religious dialectology". The view popularized by Nyberg, Jacques Duchesne-Guillemin , and Widengren of

4558-423: The ability to drive off the attacks of the daeva -worshipping Arejat.aspa and other members of drujvant Hyaona family. Similarly in Yasht 5. 109, Vishtaspa pleads for strength that he may "crush Tathryavant of the bad religion, the daeva -worshipper Peshana, and the wicked Arejataspa." Elsewhere ( Yt . 5. 112–113), Vishtaspa also pleads for strength on behalf of Zairivairi (Pahl. Zarēr), who in later tradition

4644-462: The abstract druj , in Zoroastrian tradition, it is Ardawahisht , the Amesha Spenta that is the hypostasis of asha , that is opposed to by Indar, who freezes the minds of creatures from practicing "righteousness" ( asha ). Greater Bundahishn 34.27 adds two more arch-demons, which are not however in opposition to Amesha Spentas: Also mirroring Ormuzd's act of creation, i.e., the realization of

4730-619: The academic debate on the dating of Zoroaster; for a summary of the role of Vishtaspa's ancestors in this issue, see Boyce 1984 , p. 62, n. 38. Non-Zoroastrian literature in New Persian and Arabic uniformly reflects the regular development of Middle Persian wi- into gu- , with Middle Persian Wishtasp thus becoming Goshtasb in Sistan national history ( Tarikh-e Sistan ), Goshtasp in Firdausi's Book of Kings ( Shahnameh ), Goshtasf in

4816-596: The chief hero of the conflicts is said to be Vishtaspa's son, Spentodhata, ( Yt. 13. 103) in Yasht 13. 100, Vishtaspa is proclaimed to have set his adopted faith "in the place of honor" amongst peoples. Passages in the Frawardin Yasht ( Yt. 13. 99–103) and elsewhere have enabled commentators to infer family connections between Vishtaspa and several other figures named in the Avesta. The summaries of several lost Avestan texts ( Wishtasp sast nask , Spand nask , Chihrdad nask , and Varshtmansar nask ), as reported in

4902-565: The contests that will continue until the end of time, at which time the fiend will become invisible and (God's) creatures will become pure. ( Dadestan-i Denig 59) But until the final renovation of the world, mankind "stands between the yazad s and the dēw s; the [ yazad s] are immortal in essence and inseparable from their bodies ( mēnōg ), men are immortal in essence but separable from their bodies (moving from gētīg to mēnōg condition), but dēw s are mortal in essence and inseparable from their bodies, which may be destroyed." In addition to

4988-506: The daughter of the ' qaysar '. Goshtasb subsequently becomes a military commander for the Roman emperor, and encourages the emperor to demand tribute from Iran. Again Zareh is sent to fetch Goshtasb, who is then promised the throne, and is thus persuaded to return. Back in Sistan, Goshtasb imprisons his own son Esfandiar (Esfandiar/Isfandiar etc., Avestan Spentodata), but then has to seek Esfandiar's help in defeating Arjasp (Avestan Aurvataspa) who

5074-509: The demon of death that casts the noose of mortality around men's necks at birth, and Az , who is most capable of destroying the "innate wisdom" of man. Az is thus the cause of heresy and blinds the righteous man from being able to discern the truth and falsehood. A list of ten demons is provided in the Shahnameh : Besides the afore-mentioned Az "greed", Kashm "wrath" (Avestan Aeshma ), Nang "dishonor", Niaz "want", and Rashk "envy",

5160-443: The description from Yasht 5.132 in which was a prototypical winner of the chariot race. In the Gathas, Vishtaspa is repeatedly ( Y. 46. 14, 51. 16, 53. 2) referred to as a kavi , which is etymologically a term for a mantic seer, or poet-priest, and in Yasna 28. 11 is also used of Zoroaster's enemies. In the Younger Avesta the term is also applied to wise men generally, to include Vishtaspa and his ancestors. In tradition however,

5246-501: The dynasties of the world are divided into seven ages, each named after a metal. According to this chronology ( Zand-i Wahman yasn 2. 16, Dabistan 140), Vishtaspa (in Zoroastrian Middle Persian Wishtasp ) ascent to the throne ended the reign of silver, and his reign was over the age of gold. In tradition, the works of Zoroaster were said to have been kept in a royal library that was then destroyed by Alexander

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5332-443: The end of chapter 15 through chapter 19). It begins with Hystaspes awaking from a dream, and needing to have it interpreted for him. This is duly accomplished by a young boy, "here representing, according to convention, the openness of youth and innocent to divine visitations. " As interpreted by the boy, the dream "predicts" the iniquity of the last age, and the impending destruction of the wicked by fire. The divine fire will burn both

5418-523: The epic poem includes Kin "vengeance", Nammam "tell-tale", Do-ruy "two-face", napak-din "heresy", and (not explicitly named) ungratefulness. Some of the entities that in the Middle Persian texts are demons, are in the Shahnameh attributes of demons, for instance, varuna "backwards" or "inside out", reflecting that they tend to do the opposite of what they are asked to do. Although Ferdowsi generally portrays div s as being distinct from humans,

5504-413: The followers of Zoroaster had previously been followers of the daeva s; though, the daeva s are clearly identified with evil (e.g., Yasna 32.5). In the Gathas, daeva s are censured as being incapable of discerning truth ( asha - ) from falsehood ( druj- ). They are consequently in "error" ( aēnah- ), but are never identified as drəguuaṇt- "people of the lie". The conclusion drawn from such ambiguity

5590-413: The fravashi of Gaiia Marətān, Zarathustra, Vishtaspa, and Isaṯ.vāstra (another of Zarathustra's eschatological sons) are listed as the principal fighters for Asha. The meaning of Vishtaspa's name is uncertain. Interpretations include "'he whose horses have ( or horse has) come in ready (for riding, etc.)'"; "'he who has trained horses'"; and "'whose horses are released (for the race)'". It agrees with

5676-441: The future; and fourth that his body should not leave his soul until the resurrection. Zoroaster replies that these are too great to all be given to one man, and that he should choose one. Vishtaspa agrees, and chooses the first. Zoroaster then gives him consecrated wine to drink, which puts Vishtaspa in a trance in which he has an epiphany; he sees his spirit ascend to heaven where it beholds the glories of God. Vishtaspa's conversion

5762-607: The image of Hystaspes. So for example in Lydus ' On the months ( de Mensibus II. 4), which credits "the Chaldeans in the circle of Zoroaster and Hystaspes and the Egyptians" for the creation of the seven-day week after the number of planets. The fourth century Ammianus Marcellinus (xxiii. 6. 32) identifies Zoroaster's patron with another Vishtaspa, better known as Hystaspes in English,

5848-422: The kavis are kings, "evidently because Vīštāspa and his forebears, the 'kavis' par excellence , were princely rulers. Presumably the gift of prophecy, of mantic poetry, was hereditary in their family. " Both scripture and tradition refer to Vishtaspa's ancestors but do not mention Vishtaspa's successors; Vishtaspa was apparently the last of his line, and the last of the kavis. In Zoroastrian apocalyptic chronology,

5934-463: The late-6th century BCE father of Darius I (see below ) – the identification of Vishtaspa as a grandfather of "Ardashir" (Artaxerxes I/II) was once perceived to substantiate the "traditional date" of Zoroaster, which places the prophet in the 6th century BCE. The traditional descriptions of Vishtaspa's ancestors as having chariots (a description that puts them fully in the Bronze Age) also contribute to

6020-444: The original meaning in that the daeva- prefix still denotes "other" gods. In Yasht 5.94 however, the daevayasna- are those who sacrifice to Anahita during the hours of darkness, i.e., the hours when the daeva s lurk about, and daevayasna- appears then to be an epithet applied to those who deviate from accepted practice and/or harvested religious disapproval. The Vendidad , a contraction of vi-daevo-dāta , "given against

6106-470: The other pseudepigrapha. " Although "[p]rophecies of woes and iniquities in the last age are alien to orthodox Zoroastrianism", there was probably a growth of Zoroastrian literature in the late fourth-early third centuries denouncing the evils of the Hellenistic age, and offering hope of the coming kingdom of Ahura Mazda. The Greco-Roman obsession with Zoroaster as the "inventor" of astrology also influenced

6192-572: The power to vanquish their foes for Vishtaspa and himself. Considered collectively, the Gathas celebrate Vishtaspa as the "patron of Zoroaster and the establisher of the first Zoroastrian community. " The Gathic allusions recur in the Yashts of the Younger Avesta . The appeal to Mazda for a boon reappears in Yasht 5. 98, where the boon is asked for the Haugvan and Naotara families, and in which Vishtaspa

6278-446: The progressive hypothesis gives Zoroaster credit for giving Iranian religion a moral and ethical dimension, it does not (with one notable exception ) give Zoroaster credit for the development of the daeva s into demons. It assumes that the development was gradual, and that a general distrust of the daeva s already existed by the time the Gathas were composed. Although with some points of comparison such as shared etymology, Indic devá-

6364-515: The region of the daeva s which the Vendidad sets in the north and/or the nether world ( Vendidad 19.47, Yasht 15.43), a world of darkness. In Vendidad 19.1 and 19.43–44, Angra Mainyu is the daevanam daevo , " daeva of daeva s" or chief of the daeva s. The superlative daevo.taema is however assigned to the demon Paitisha ("opponent"). In an enumeration of the daeva s in Vendidad 1.43, Angra Mainyu appears first and Paitisha appears last. "Nowhere

6450-489: The reign, Lohrasp only quarreled with his son Gushtasp, and Gushtasp intended to take his father's place, but the father would not allow it. Finally, Gushtasp goes to Rûm . This article related to the Shahnameh is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Vishtaspa Vishtaspa ( Avestan : 𐬬𐬌𐬱𐬙𐬁𐬯𐬞𐬀 Vištāspa ; Old Persian : 𐎻𐏁𐎫𐎠𐎿𐎱 Vištāspa ; Persian : گشتاسپ Guštāsp ; Ancient Greek : Ὑστάσπης Hustáspēs )

6536-399: The righteous and the wicked, but only the wicked will be hurt and neither will be destroyed. During the eschatological inferno, the "followers of truth" will separate themselves from the wicked and ascend a mountain. The evil king who dominates the world will be angered on hearing this, and he will resolve to encircle the mountain with his army. The righteous implore to "Jupiter", who sends them

6622-443: The same; third, that Vishtaspa's wife Hutaosa (MP: Hutos) also convert; and finally that the men who maligned Zoroaster be put to death. When these four wishes are granted, the horse stands up rejuvenated. Vishtaspa, having accepted the faith from Zoroaster, then asks for four favours in return: first, that he, Vishtaspa, should know his place in the next world; secondly, that he should become invulnerable; third, that he should know

6708-462: The six arch-demons (see above) that oppose the six Amesha Spentas, numerous other figures appear in scripture and tradition. According to Bundahishn XXVII.12, the six arch-demons have cooperators ( hamkars ), arranged in a hierarchy (not further specified) similar to that of the yazata s . These are " dew s [...] created by the sins that creatures commit." ( Bundahishn XXVII.51) Other entities include: The most destructive of these are Astiwihad ,

6794-560: The statement was politically motivated and daiva s were gods that were followed by (potential) enemies of the state. In the Middle Persian texts of Zoroastrian tradition, the dew s are invariably rendered with the Aramaic ideogram ŠDYA or the more common plural ŠDYAʼn that signified "demons" even in the singular. Dew s play a crucial role in the cosmogonic drama of the Bundahishn ,

6880-418: The tale of Jam and Jamag ( Bundahishn 14B.1). But with the exception of the Book of Arda Wiraz , the dew s are not generally described as a force to be feared. With fundamental optimism, the texts describe how the dew s may be kept in check, ranging from cursing them to the active participation in life through good thoughts, words and deeds. Many of the medieval texts develop ideas already expressed in

6966-465: The underworld by the divine glory ( khvarenah ) at sunrise. The Zoroastrianism of the medieval texts is unambiguous with respect to which force is the superior. Evil cannot create and is hence has a lower priority in the cosmic order ( asha ). According to Denkard 5.24.21a, the protection of the yazata s is ultimately greater than the power of the demons. The dew s are agents ("procurers— vashikano —of success") of Ahriman (Avestan Angra Mainyu ) in

7052-413: The work was punishable by death. Unlike the works attributed to the other two les Mages hellénisés , the Oracles of Hystaspes was apparently based on the genuine Zoroastrian myths, and "the argument for ultimate magian composition is a strong one. [...] As prophecies they have a political context, a function, and a focus which radically distinguish them from the philosophical and encyclopedic wisdom of

7138-526: The works of others, especially in those of two early Christian writers – Justin Martyr (ca. 100-165 CE) in Samaria and the mid-3rd century Lactantius in North Africa – who drew on them by way of confirmation that what themselves held to be revealed truth had already been uttered. Only one of these pseudepigraphic works – referred to as the Book of Hystaspes or the Oracles of Hystaspes or just Hystaspes –

7224-405: Was borrowed by Old Armenian as dew , Georgian as devi , Urdu as deo , and Turkish as dev with the same negative associations in those languages. In English, the word appears as daeva , div , deev , and in the 18th century fantasy novels of William Thomas Beckford as dive . It has been speculated that the concept of the daevas as a malevolent force may have been inspired from

7310-522: Was involved in the Kay Khosrow war but was not very famous. Zāl in his argument describes a weak and powerless person. Kay Khosrow was great during the war, but after all his victories, he broke once and closed all the doors of the palace and worshiped all the time. Shahnameh reports that Kay Khosrow chose Lohrasp but is not very trusted. Lohrasp is the other land and is very far from the Kay Khosrow . In

7396-446: Was perceived to be a revolutionary reformer, it was assumed that the daeva s must have been the "national" gods (see comparison with Indic usage , below) of pre-Zoroaster-ian Iran , which Zoroaster had then rejected. This attribution to Zoroaster is also found in the 9th/10th-century books of Zoroastrian tradition, and Gershevitch and others following Lommel consider the progression from "national" gods to demons to be attributable to

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