During their early history, around the seventh century BCE, the Persians worshiped many gods and spirits. By the time of the great Achaemenid kings (from 550 BCE), they worshiped one god, or supreme being, above all others. This god was Ahura Mazda, which means "wise lord." The Persians believed that Ahura Mazda inspired the prophet Zoroaster in a vision and instructed him in the rituals of worship.
Ahura Mazda was the force for good in the world. Everything good in life flowed from him. Persians even came to believe that Ahura Mazda had created the world and everything in it. However, Ahura Mazda was locked in an eternal struggle with his evil twin brother, Ahriman. Persians believed that Ahura Mazda needed the help of men and women in this fight to protect "justice" from an evil that they called "the lie." Followers of Ahura Mazda could win everlasting life after death if they helped the god by living good, pure lives.
The Persians did not build many temples, and they made no statues of their gods. They believed it was impossible – and bad luck – to show the shape of their god in human form. However, the image of a male figure with the wings and tail of an eagle, hovering in the air, is often found associated with an inscription involving the name Ahura Mazda. Some archaeologists believe that this may be a symbol for the supreme being.
Persian Kings and Ahura Mazda
The Achaemenid kings usually allowed their subjects to worship their own gods. Xerxes himself worshiped the goddess Arta (whose name means "truth"). It seems that Ahura Mazda was mainly worshiped by the nobles at the royal court.
The great god and the king were very closely linked. Carvings of the figure in the winged disk, which may have been Ahura Mazda, have mostly been found at the royal palace at Persepolis guarding over images of the king carrying out his duties. According to inscriptions, the Persian kings believed that their power on earth was due to the protection of the god.
|
 |
|
|
|
KING XERXES I (486–465 BCE) ORDERED THIS INSCRIPTION TO BE CARVED OVER THE MONUMENTAL GATEWAY INTO THE IMPERIAL PALACE AT PERSEPOLIS: A great God is Ahura Mazda, who created this earth, who created yonder sky, who created man, who created happiness for man, who made Xerxes king, one king of many…. By the favor of Ahura Mazda, I built this Gateway of all Nations…. All beautiful things we have built, we have built by favor of Ahura Mazda…. May Ahura Mazda protect me and this land from harm….
| |
|
|
|
|
|
In the time of the later Sasanian kings, from the third to the seventh centuries CE, the Persians worshiped many gods, such as the sun god Mithra and the goddess of beauty, Anahita. However, Ahura Mazda was still the father of the gods.
Sacrifice and Burial
Money was set aside by the kings to pay for sacrifices to the spirits of earth, wind, fire, and water. Worshipers of Ahura Mazda are said to have believed that burying or burning the bodies of the dead corrupted the earth and the air. Priests were therefore left exposed to the air and to wild birds and animals. Persian kings were covered in a layer of wax and then sealed within stone tombs. From the reign of Darius onwards, carvings of the figure in the winged disk watched over the dead rulers.
