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Ahura Mazda (/ ə ˌ h ʊər ə ˈ m æ z d ə /; [1] Avestan: 𐬀𐬵𐬎𐬭𐬀 𐬨𐬀𐬰𐬛𐬁, romanized: Ahura Mazdā; Persian: اهورا مزدا, romanized: Ahurâ Mazdâ), [n 1] also known as Horomazes, [n 2] [2] is the creator deity and god of the sky [3] in the ancient Iranian religion Zoroastrianism.
As such, the Zoroastrian religion combines a dualistic cosmology of good and evil with an eschatological outlook predicting the ultimate triumph of Ahura Mazda over evil. [1] Opinions vary among scholars as to whether Zoroastrianism is monotheistic , [ 1 ] polytheistic , [ 2 ] henotheistic , [ 3 ] or a combination of all three. [ 4 ]
In Zoroastrianism, there are 101 names and titles used to refer to Ahura Mazda.The list is preserved in Persian, Pazend, and Gujarati. [1]The names are often taken during Baj (ceremonial prayer) as part of Yasna while continuously sprinkling with the ring made of eight metals with the hair of the pure Varasya named "Vars" [clarification needed] into the water vessel.
It is often thought that the dominant religion of the Achaemenid Empire was Zoroastrianism, but scholars believe that this was not true. For example, 20th-century French linguist Émile Benveniste points out that Ahura Mazda is a very old god and the Zoroastrians used this name to designate the Zoroastrian god.
Ahura Mazda created the material and visible world itself in order to ensnare evil. He created the floating, egg-shaped universe in two parts: first the spiritual (menog) and 3,000 years later, the physical (getig). [10] Ahura Mazda then created Gayomard, the archetypical perfect man, and Gavaevodata, the primordial bovine. [11]
With the rise of Zoroaster and his new, reformatory religion, Ahura Mazda became the principal deity, while the Daevas were relegated to the background. Many of the attributes and commandments of Varuna, called Fahrana in Median times, were later attributed to Ahura Mazda by Zoroaster. [3] [4]
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-daevas of Vendidad 10.9 and 19.43 are identified as the antithetical counterparts of the Amesha Spentas.
The relationship between Ahura Mazda and the Amesha Spenta is an altogether subtle one. In Yasna 31.11 of the Gathas, Ahura Mazda is said to have created the universe with his "thought". In other passages, such as Yasna 45.4, he is described as the metaphorical "father" of the individual Amesha Spenta, which, even though it is figurative ...