Core Deities and Characters

The driving forces of Persian mythology were two powerful gods, sometimes presented as twin brothers: Ahura Mazda (pronounced ah-HOO-ruh MAHZ-duh), the creator god of light, truth, and goodness; and his enemy Ahriman (pronounced AH-ri-muhn), the spirit of darkness, lies, and evil who created only destructive things, such as vermin, disease, and demons. The world was their battlefield, and, although they were equally matched during this period of history, Ahura Mazda was fated to win the fight. For this reason, Ahura Mazda, the Wise Lord, was the most important deity or god of Persian mythology. The Zoroastrians identified him with fire, and tended fires on towers as part of their worship.

The ancient Persian pantheon—collection of recognized gods—also included Mithras (pronounced MITH-rahs), a god associated with war, the sun, and law and order. Anahita (pronounced ah-nuh-HEE-tuh) was a goddess of water and fertility. Bahram, a god of war and victory, appeared on earth in ten forms: as wind, a bull, a horse, a camel, a boar, a youth, a raven, a ram, a buck, and a man. Zoroaster reduced the role of these and other traditional deities and emphasized Ahura Mazda as the supreme god. Religious scholars see this move as an early step toward monotheism, or the belief in a single, powerful god. However, Ahura Mazda was said to have created seven archangels, called the Amesha Spentas, who represented truth, power, immortality (ability to live forever), and other aspects of his being. These archangels may have taken over some features of the pre-Zoroastrian gods.

Perhaps influenced by stargazing Babylonian (pronounced bab-uh-LOH-nee-uhn) astronomers, the ancient Persians associated some of their deities with the stars. The star Sirius (pronounced SEER-ee-uhs) represented the rain god Tishtrya, whose main role was to battle Apausha, an evil star of drought. Tishtrya, in the form of a white stallion, and Apausha, in the form of a hideous black horse, fought for three days. Then with Ahura Mazda’s help, Tishtrya defeated Apausha. Tishtrya and other star gods who protected agriculture also took charge of battling meteors, or shooting stars, which the Persians believed to be witches.

Heroes and kings also figured in Persian myth and legend. The hero Thraetaona battled Azhi Dahaka, a three-headed demon controlled by Ahriman. When Thraetaona stabbed the demon in the chest, snakes and lizards poured from the wound. To prevent the demon from poisoning the world, Thraetaona locked him inside a mountain where he will remain until the world comes to an end. At that time Azhi Dahaka will break free, but another hero, Keresaspa, will kill him.

The legendary King Bahram Gur appeared often in poems and tales as the inventor of poetry and as a mighty hunter. The greatest hero was the warrior Rustum, whose adventures appear in the epic Shah Namah (Book of Kings), written by the poet Firdawsi around 1010 ce.