Religious Beliefs of the Persian Civilization
Ka'ba of Zoroaster.
Photo by Kaveh Niazi
Persians were Polytheistic peoples. The earliest Persian religions were derived from the Aryan religious system based on the elements of nature. They had gods that were dedicated to the Sun, Wind, Fire, Water,etc. Animal sacrifices were made to these gods of nature and other special offerings were presented to them on pomegranate twigs.After using the branches of the pomegranate fruit, the Persian people would also utilize the juice from the pomegranate to make juice for the gods and themselves.
At about 600 B.C.E there was a prophet named Zoroaster; he was later known as Zarathushtra in Greek. He created the new teachings of Zoroastrianism which was a monotheistic and dualistic religion that believed that the god called Ahura Mazda (translated, wise Lord) was the greatest of them all. Ahura Mazda was said to have been the creator of all things. The Persians are believed to be one of the first peoples to practice a monotheistic religion other than the biblical monotheistic views. King Darius, Cyrus, and his son Cambyses were all Persian rulers that converted to Zoroastrianism. Although Cyrus was said to have more liberal viewpoints, he also followed the beliefs established by Zoroaster. Zoroaster completely reformed the original religions established by the Iranians and the Indian Aryans. The spiritual terms used between Avesta (ancient Zoroastrian scriptures) and Rig-Veda (ancient Hindu scriptures) happen to be extremely similar, most often only differing in one or two letters.
The Zoroastrianism religion greatly reformed the religious system of the Persian civilization. The basis of Zoroaster's religious beliefs assumption was that "if the gods do aught shameful, they are not gods." Many of the gods already worshiped in Iran were just that, they were unjust,evil gods that disrespected the "All-Wise" Spirit Ahura Mazda" and the common man. he devised a system in which there were two classes for religion. There would be beings of Ahura-Mazda and then the the beings of Anro Mainyus or the beings of the "Destroying Mind". Many of the popular gods amongst the people, were deemed evil, so Zoroaster used the word daeva to define the evil spirits associated with these more popular deities. The Zoroastrian beliefs encouraged followers to choose between the good and the bad. In the afterlife there determinant whether one would go to heaven or hell would be the balance between good and evil. If a person's good deeds outweighed the bad, they would go to heaven. If a person's bad deeds outweighed the good, then they would be banished to hell. As of 430 B.C.E. Zoroastrianism had no delegated places of worship (temples,altars,etc.) according to the accounts of Herodotus. When people would worship they would worship in the comfort of their own homes and/or in the open facing a light source. Larger groups would gather to worship at a podium where a fire was lit and even larger gathering areas would be located on a hillside or a hilltop. The religious book associated with Zoroastrian beliefs is called the Khordeh Avesta.
At about 600 B.C.E there was a prophet named Zoroaster; he was later known as Zarathushtra in Greek. He created the new teachings of Zoroastrianism which was a monotheistic and dualistic religion that believed that the god called Ahura Mazda (translated, wise Lord) was the greatest of them all. Ahura Mazda was said to have been the creator of all things. The Persians are believed to be one of the first peoples to practice a monotheistic religion other than the biblical monotheistic views. King Darius, Cyrus, and his son Cambyses were all Persian rulers that converted to Zoroastrianism. Although Cyrus was said to have more liberal viewpoints, he also followed the beliefs established by Zoroaster. Zoroaster completely reformed the original religions established by the Iranians and the Indian Aryans. The spiritual terms used between Avesta (ancient Zoroastrian scriptures) and Rig-Veda (ancient Hindu scriptures) happen to be extremely similar, most often only differing in one or two letters.
The Zoroastrianism religion greatly reformed the religious system of the Persian civilization. The basis of Zoroaster's religious beliefs assumption was that "if the gods do aught shameful, they are not gods." Many of the gods already worshiped in Iran were just that, they were unjust,evil gods that disrespected the "All-Wise" Spirit Ahura Mazda" and the common man. he devised a system in which there were two classes for religion. There would be beings of Ahura-Mazda and then the the beings of Anro Mainyus or the beings of the "Destroying Mind". Many of the popular gods amongst the people, were deemed evil, so Zoroaster used the word daeva to define the evil spirits associated with these more popular deities. The Zoroastrian beliefs encouraged followers to choose between the good and the bad. In the afterlife there determinant whether one would go to heaven or hell would be the balance between good and evil. If a person's good deeds outweighed the bad, they would go to heaven. If a person's bad deeds outweighed the good, then they would be banished to hell. As of 430 B.C.E. Zoroastrianism had no delegated places of worship (temples,altars,etc.) according to the accounts of Herodotus. When people would worship they would worship in the comfort of their own homes and/or in the open facing a light source. Larger groups would gather to worship at a podium where a fire was lit and even larger gathering areas would be located on a hillside or a hilltop. The religious book associated with Zoroastrian beliefs is called the Khordeh Avesta.