Religion in Ancient PERSIA

As Persia had been conquered by Aryan tribes, we should not be surprised to find the same
pantheon of gods from the Vedic period in India. These were both beneficent and frightening at
the same time.

Their religion as very close to nature and their worship was often done outside on top of a
mountain, led by the Magi who guarded the sacred five.

Mount Elburg was believed to be the holy mountain with cosmic significance as it was from
there that souls ascended to the sky. There also one found the donkey with 9 mouths and 6
eyes along with 10 fish who guarded the TREE Gaokerena. The juice from its fruit gave the
elixir of immortality which was coveted by an evil lizard.

Vayu, the god of the wind, treated the cosmic ocean at the foot of this sacred mountain by
gathering the rains brought by the god of water, Tishtrya.

The greatest Persian god of antiquity was " AHURA-MAZDA ", the god of light and wisdom.
Zarathustra abbreviated his same to OHRMAZD.

In the beginning, the god ZURVAN AKARANA (which means "infinite time") bemoaned the fact
that he had no son. He offered a sacrifice to the Creator who gave him twins: the first was
AHURA-MAZDA, who became the god of truth and light, the second was named AHRIMAN,
which can be translated as "destructive thought". Just like Abel and Cain, the 2 brothers
represented the good and bad tendencies in humanity.

As in Vedic religion, the god of fire ATAR, (the son of Ohrmazd), was very important. He sent
the sacrifices to the gods, which enabled them to combat the forces of evil and darkness.
The god Rapithwin was considered to be like the warmth of the sun which is reborn each
spring.

The god of war, was VERETHRAGNA. (Like Vishnu) he had "10 avatars" or incarnations on
earth. He thus successively appeared as: a tempest, a bull, with golden horns, a white horse,
an impetuous boar, a camel, an adolescent aged 15, a crow, a ram, viscous stag and a man
with a golden sword.

The feminine element of the Pantheon was represented by the beautiful and noble goddess
Anahita (or Ahurani) who made a potion with hallucinogenic powers from the fruits of a third
sacred tree in the cosmic ocean. This was HOAMA (equivalent to the Indian SOMA), and taking
it guaranteed immortality !

Persian Cosmogony :

 
The first man (Gayomart), was born out of the sweat of Ohrmazd. He died 30 days later, but
from his mortal remains a human couple emerged : Mashya and Mashyoi. They had 7 pairs of
children, who in turn gave birth to 15 tribes who (according to ancient Persia) peopled the
earth.

The Reforms of Zoroaster or Zarathustra :

Around the year 650BC, into a priestly family in the region of Herat (within Afghanistan) was
born the Persian prophet Zarathustra, formerly called ZOROASTER.

He was considered to be a reformer of the ancient Persian religion, which was the sole domain
of the aristocratic military families. His notions of justice and personal conscience clashed head
on with the customs and ideas of these old families.

Persian religion did not believe in reincarnation and the cycles of earthly life (as in Hinduism),
and rather than cremating their dead they preferred to leave them on the "towers of silence"
where the vultures would eat them.

Zoroaster traveled far and wide, and one day he met a prince named Vishtaspa, who adopted
these religious reforms and offered Zoroaster his protection against the ancient religious casts.
(This is reminiscent of Martin Luther, who without the protection of Prince Frederic of Saxe
would have been burned at the stake like Jan Hus by the Inquisition.)

The religion of Zarathustra was a new concept, based on tolerance, respect for others, doing
good and struggling against evil.

This evolution of conscience which could discern good and reject the influence of demons, led

to life lived with a pure spirit under the light of heaven. Mazda was the god of light.

We do not believe in chance, (since animals who return to their birthplace to give birth
remember these places by instict.). It is more probable that Zoroaster learned and was
influenced by the Jews who had fled from Israel to avoid being taken capture by the Assyrians.

When we find the authority of a power greater than ourselves, the presence of conscience in an
individual, and above all the path towards light which is in constant struggle with the forces of
darkness, we have a doctrine comparable to that of the monks of Qirbet Qumran or the
Essenians, whose Mother-house was beside the Dead Sea.

This phenomenon appears again with more evidence when one compares the spirit of tolerance
of Cyrus with the cruel attitude of his 2 predecessors, Astyage and his father Cyaxare (who had
not the slightest respect for human life). The following records of destruction are attributed to
them :

 murder, blood baths, piles of heads at the entrance to the fortified cities.
  impalements and skinning alive of their prisoners
 corpses horribly mutilated left out in the open for wild animals and vultures to
eat.
 ferocity towards women and old people, and enslaving boys and girls after
subjecting them to terrible abuse.

How else can we explain these radical differences in behavior ?

Primitive Zoroastrianism, more usually called MAZDEISM struggled against demons

and worshipped ONE Supreme God. Only later, the doctrine diversified and reintroduced several
ancient gods, like Mithra, in the reign of Artaxerxes (456 to 425BC), and finally even
Zarathustra was defied.

Examples of the doctrine of AHURA MAZDA :

" The Great spirit is named OHRMAZD, (Ahura Mazda). He is the creator of the world and sees
into the depths of our hearts. His law demands us to give our LOVE and respect to the Wise
Lord and his priests the Amesha Spenta. We must be pure and know the law " (Instructions
from the book of Catha.)

" The man who is wise in thought, word and action is holy, according to the Law of Spirituality.
Ahura Mazda created the ultimate definition of the integrity, immortality abundance and purity
of the sovereign power, and also food for the spirit of those who are dear to God through their
thoughts and actions." (Gatha).

In the Videvat, the rules for chasing away demons and bad spirits are outlined in order to
introduce goodness in the home and family. As in the temptation of Jesus, the temptations of
Zarathustra are related. Andra Mainyu offers him the domination of the world if he will
renounce his mission...

Other Oriental Gods :

In the book "the Yahst," (recitations) are many prayers addressed to different gods : 

 MITHRA, the great god who rises before the sun, took pity on the sins of
humanity and was incarnated on earth one 25 December before Shepherds who
helped at this birth (!) and after many great works, gave a banquet for his
disciples; and then one day went back up into the heavens (!)
  FRAVASHI " the original soul " was invoked in procreation, including the union of
male and female and the suckling of babies. This was a complete program about
life, before life and after life.
 ANAHITA, the immaculate goddess of fertility.
 The 7 AMESH SPENTAS who are "IMMORTAL BENEFACTORS" :
1. Vohu Manah (Good thought)
2. Asha Vahishta (Truth)
3. Khshatra Vairyia (dignity)
4. Spenta, Armaiti (benificent devotion)
5. Haurvatat (fulfillment)
6. Ameretat(Immortality)
7. Ashavan: the perfect being who arrives at a state of perfection called
Maga.

Those who arrive at the seventh state of perfection join the "Immortal benefactors" and
become only one spirit together with them.

Concerning death: the souls voyage for 3 days (like the 3 days necessary for Jesus to return
from the dead) then appear before 3 judges: Mithra, Shraosha and Rashnu.

The good souls go to the Kingdom of "infinite light" and the wicked to Hell and "the lukewarm
to purgatory". (Hamestagan). Whereas, according to the Gatas, the end of the world will be
shown by "the transfiguration of life and purification by fire".

The just will be saved by the appearance of SAOSHYANT (the saviour) who will announce the
coming of Frashkart, (the final spiritual revival)...

Zoroaster (who believed himself to be a prophet) revealed that fierce battles would take place
between good and evil, between light and darkness.

Humanity must one day submit to the terrible test of "fire", and Ahura-Mazda will protect all
good people and the animals. Finally, light and truth will be victorious.

As Persia had been conquered by Aryan tribes, we should not be surprised to find the same
pantheon of gods from the Vedic period in India. These were both beneficent and frightening at
the same time.

Their religion as very close to nature and their worship was often done outside on top of a
mountain, led by the Magi who guarded the sacred five.

Mount Elburg was believed to be the holy mountain with cosmic significance as it was from
there that souls ascended to the sky. There also one found the donkey with 9 mouths and 6
eyes along with 10 fish who guarded the TREE Gaokerena. The juice from its fruit gave the
elixir of immortality which was coveted by an evil lizard.

Vayu, the god of the wind, treated the cosmic ocean at the foot of this sacred mountain by
gathering the rains brought by the god of water, Tishtrya.
The greatest Persian god of antiquity was " AHURA-MAZDA ", the god of light and wisdom.
Zarathustra abbreviated his same to OHRMAZD.

In the beginning, the god ZURVAN AKARANA (which means "infinite time") bemoaned the fact
that he had no son. He offered a sacrifice to the Creator who gave him twins: the first was
AHURA-MAZDA, who became the god of truth and light, the second was named AHRIMAN,
which can be translated as "destructive thought". Just like Abel and Cain, the 2 brothers
represented the good and bad tendencies in humanity.

As in Vedic religion, the god of fire ATAR, (the son of Ohrmazd), was very important. He sent
the sacrifices to the gods, which enabled them to combat the forces of evil and darkness.
The god Rapithwin was considered to be like the warmth of the sun which is reborn each
spring.

The god of war, was VERETHRAGNA. (Like Vishnu) he had "10 avatars" or incarnations on
earth. He thus successively appeared as: a tempest, a bull, with golden horns, a white horse,
an impetuous boar, a camel, an adolescent aged 15, a crow, a ram, viscous stag and a man
with a golden sword.

The feminine element of the Pantheon was represented by the beautiful and noble goddess
Anahita (or Ahurani) who made a potion with hallucinogenic powers from the fruits of a third
sacred tree in the cosmic ocean. This was HOAMA (equivalent to the Indian SOMA), and taking
it guaranteed immortality !

Persian Cosmogony :

The first man (Gayomart), was born out of the sweat of Ohrmazd. He died 30 days later, but
from his mortal remains a human couple emerged : Mashya and Mashyoi. They had 7 pairs of
children, who in turn gave birth to 15 tribes who (according to ancient Persia) peopled the
earth.

The Reforms of Zoroaster or Zarathustra :

Around the year 650BC, into a priestly family in the region of Herat (within Afghanistan) was
born the Persian prophet Zarathustra, formerly called ZOROASTER.

He was considered to be a reformer of the ancient Persian religion, which was the sole domain
of the aristocratic military families. His notions of justice and personal conscience clashed head
on with the customs and ideas of these old families.
Persian religion did not believe in reincarnation and the cycles of earthly life (as in Hinduism),
and rather than cremating their dead they preferred to leave them on the "towers of silence"
where the vultures would eat them.

Zoroaster traveled far and wide, and one day he met a prince named Vishtaspa, who adopted
these religious reforms and offered Zoroaster his protection against the ancient religious casts.
(This is reminiscent of Martin Luther, who without the protection of Prince Frederic of Saxe
would have been burned at the stake like Jan Hus by the Inquisition.)

The religion of Zarathustra was a new concept, based on tolerance, respect for others, doing
good and struggling against evil.

This evolution of conscience which could discern good and reject the influence of demons, led

to life lived with a pure spirit under the light of heaven. Mazda was the god of light.

We do not believe in chance, (since animals who return to their birthplace to give birth
remember these places by instict.). It is more probable that Zoroaster learned and was
influenced by the Jews who had fled from Israel to avoid being taken capture by the Assyrians.

When we find the authority of a power greater than ourselves, the presence of conscience in an
individual, and above all the path towards light which is in constant struggle with the forces of
darkness, we have a doctrine comparable to that of the monks of Qirbet Qumran or the
Essenians, whose Mother-house was beside the Dead Sea.

This phenomenon appears again with more evidence when one compares the spirit of tolerance
of Cyrus with the cruel attitude of his 2 predecessors, Astyage and his father Cyaxare (who had
not the slightest respect for human life). The following records of destruction are attributed to
them :

 murder, blood baths, piles of heads at the entrance to the fortified cities.
 impalements and skinning alive of their prisoners
 corpses horribly mutilated left out in the open for wild animals and vultures to
eat.
 ferocity towards women and old people, and enslaving boys and girls after
subjecting them to terrible abuse.

How else can we explain these radical differences in behavior ?

Primitive Zoroastrianism, more usually called MAZDEISM struggled against demons

and worshipped ONE Supreme God. Only later, the doctrine diversified and reintroduced several
ancient gods, like Mithra, in the reign of Artaxerxes (456 to 425BC), and finally even
Zarathustra was defied.

Examples of the doctrine of AHURA MAZDA :

 
" The Great spirit is named OHRMAZD, (Ahura Mazda). He is the creator of the world and sees
into the depths of our hearts. His law demands us to give our LOVE and respect to the Wise
Lord and his priests the Amesha Spenta. We must be pure and know the law " (Instructions
from the book of Catha.)

" The man who is wise in thought, word and action is holy, according to the Law of Spirituality.
Ahura Mazda created the ultimate definition of the integrity, immortality abundance and purity
of the sovereign power, and also food for the spirit of those who are dear to God through their
thoughts and actions." (Gatha).

In the Videvat, the rules for chasing away demons and bad spirits are outlined in order to
introduce goodness in the home and family. As in the temptation of Jesus, the temptations of
Zarathustra are related. Andra Mainyu offers him the domination of the world if he will
renounce his mission...

Other Oriental Gods :

In the book "the Yahst," (recitations) are many prayers addressed to different gods : 

 MITHRA, the great god who rises before the sun, took pity on the sins of
humanity and was incarnated on earth one 25 December before Shepherds who
helped at this birth (!) and after many great works, gave a banquet for his
disciples; and then one day went back up into the heavens (!)
 FRAVASHI " the original soul " was invoked in procreation, including the union of
male and female and the suckling of babies. This was a complete program about
life, before life and after life.
 ANAHITA, the immaculate goddess of fertility.
 The 7 AMESH SPENTAS who are "IMMORTAL BENEFACTORS" :
1. Vohu Manah (Good thought)
2. Asha Vahishta (Truth)
3. Khshatra Vairyia (dignity)
4. Spenta, Armaiti (benificent devotion)
5. Haurvatat (fulfillment)
6. Ameretat(Immortality)
7. Ashavan: the perfect being who arrives at a state of perfection called
Maga.

Those who arrive at the seventh state of perfection join the "Immortal benefactors" and
become only one spirit together with them.

Concerning death: the souls voyage for 3 days (like the 3 days necessary for Jesus to return
from the dead) then appear before 3 judges: Mithra, Shraosha and Rashnu.
The good souls go to the Kingdom of "infinite light" and the wicked to Hell and "the lukewarm
to purgatory". (Hamestagan). Whereas, according to the Gatas, the end of the world will be
shown by "the transfiguration of life and purification by fire".

The just will be saved by the appearance of SAOSHYANT (the saviour) who will announce the
coming of Frashkart, (the final spiritual revival)...

Zoroaster (who believed himself to be a prophet) revealed that fierce battles would take place
between good and evil, between light and darkness.

Humanity must one day submit to the terrible test of "fire", and Ahura-Mazda will protect all
good people and the animals. Finally, light and truth will be victorious.

http://www.historel.net/english/orient/08perse.htm

Assyrian Empire

Religion

Asshur, king of the Gods

Ashurism was the first religion of the Assyrians, it comes from the god Asshur, who was the
believed to be the king of all the gods. Ashurism is polytheistic religion very similar to the
religion of the Babylonians in that, their main gods were based around nature. they believed a
spirit possessed every object in nature. Aside from the king of all the gods, Asshur. The other
primary gods are based around nature such as, Anu- the god of heaven, Bel- the god of region
inhabited by man, beast and birds, Ea- the god of water, Sin- the moon god, Shamash- the sun
god, and Ramman- the god of storms. Many other gods follow these such as the five planet
gods and hundreds of lesser gods they would make make offerings to in order to get what they
want.
Ashurism was the first religion established in the Assyrian Empire. The religion was deprived of
and focused on the supreme god Ashur in the first century A.D. The Assyrians used mythology,
royal rituals, and visual arts to express their Ashurism religion. Ashurism is a classical example
of a polytheistic religon. The religon is also known as Babyloinan and Assyrian religion even
though they are organized diffrently and favor diferent gods. All that we know of Ashurism has
been dirived from archaeological finds.
  Modern Assyrian people still use the same worship style as their ancestors but add a little
more  christianity to their practices.

The first religion of the Assyrian empire was Ashurism; in fact, the word "Assyrian" is derived from the
name for their supreme god, Ashur. As Ashurism was a polytheistic religion, there were several other
gods and goddesses who were seen as parts of Ashur, while Ashur was the total god. Ashur was a
winged god who was pictured coming out of a sun disc. Ashur's consort was Ishtar, a goddess who
represented love, fertility, war, and sex. Ashurism was very similar to the earlier Babylonian religion,
except that the supreme Babylonian god, Marduk, was replaced by Ashur. Ashurism has a number of
stories that continued into Judaism and Christianity, including the story of the flood and the Tower of
Babel. The Assyrians began to practice Christianity around 256 BCE, and Assyria became the first
Christian country. The Assyrian church was founded in 33 CE
The Assyrian Empire is the name given to an ancient and vast kingdom in the northern part of
Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq). When the Assyrian Empire was first formed, in around 1365 B.C., its
people practiced a religion called Ashurism. This was polytheistic in nature but had a principal god,
called Ashur, whom the Assyrians worshipped the most. This worship took place in a temple, with one in
each of the two capital cities, Ashur and Kar-Tukulti-Ninurta. 
Over time Ashurism declined in popularity, and the Assyrians were first among the ancient cultures to
accept Christianity in 33 A.D. because of the preaching of the Apostles Bartholomew, Thomas and
Thaddeus. Only a few years after Jesus' crucifixion, Christianity was officially established. After the fall
of Assyria, Assyrian and (similar) Babylonian gods continued to be worshiped for several more centuries.
Sources:
http://www.aina.org/brief.html
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/assy/hd_assy.htm
https://samtemple.wordpress.com/religion/
PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY
URDANETA CITY CAMPUS

DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE

RSW:” PERSIAN and ASSYRIAN RELIGION”

JAYVEE L. BARCELONA
15-UR-1106 B.S. ARCHI. 2
S.Y. 2016-2017

ARCH. ZALDY F. CORPUZ, uap

ARCHITECTURE FACULTY