Zoroastrians: Their Religious Beliefs And Practices

Library of Religious Beliefs and Practices General Editor: John R. Hinnells The University, Manchester In the series: The Sikhs W . Owen Cole and Piara Singh Sambhi Zoroastrians Their Religious Beliefs and Practices MaryBoyce ROUTLEDGE & KEGAN PAUL London, Boston and Henley HARVARD UNIVERSITY, UBRARY.: DEe 1 81979 First published in 1979 by Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd 39 Store Street, London WC1E 7DD, Broadway House, Newtown Road, Henley-on-Thames, Oxon RG9 1EN and 9 Park Street, Boston, Mass. 02108, USA Set in 10 on 12pt Garamond and printed in Great Britain by Lowe & Brydone Printers Ltd Thetford, Norfolk © Mary Boyce 1979 No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except for the quotation of brief passages in criticism British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Boyce, Mary Zoroastrians. - (Library of religious beliefs and practices). I. Zoroastrianism - History I. Title II. Series ISBN 0 7100 0121 5 Dedicated in gratitude to the memory of HECTOR MUNRO CHADWICK Elrington and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon in the University of Cambridge 1 9 12-4 1 Contents Preface XJ1l xv Glossary Signs and abbreviations \/ I XIX The background I Introduction The Indo-Iranians The old religion I 2 3 The cult The gods Death and the hereafter J 6 12 16 Conclusion 2 Zoroaster and his teaching Introduction Zoroaster and his mission Ahura Mazda and his Adversary The heptad and the seven creations vu . . 17 17 18 19 21 Contents Creation and the Three Times Death and the hereafter 25 27 3 The establishing of Mazda worship 30 30 31 32 33 34 35 37 38 38 4 The unrecorded centuries 5 Under the Achaemenians Introduction The Zoroastrian badge The times and manner of praying The seven festivals The oldest prayers The creed The liturgy and Yenhe hattlm The Ashem vohu The hymns The early days Doctrinal developments Belief in a world Saviour The extension of purity laws Priests and worship Conclusion The Medes, the Persians and Zoroaster The early kings Cyrus Cambyses Darius the Great Xerxes Achaemenian palaces and tombs " Fires and fire altars The divine beings Icons and temples The priesthood Vlll 39 39 40 42 43 46 46 48 48 50 50 53 54 56 57 60 61 62 65 Contents - 6 The Zurvanite heresy The Zoroastrian calendar The three world Saviours Practices of the faith The spread of Zoroaster's teaching Under the Seleucids and Arsacids Alexander and Iran The Seleucids and Iran The rise of the Parthians Eastern Iranian borders: the Kushans Western Iranian borders : Armenia Fire temples and image shrines Funerary practices Developments in calendar and chronology -- The A vesta Developments in the scribal tradition Human affairs Next-oJ-kin marriages Ecclesiastical organizati