The great bird Chamrosh (with a dog's body and eagle's head and wings) assists in distributing seeds from the Great Tree and also protects Persians against threats by non-Persians while, on the opposing side, is the enormous bird Kamak who seeks to thwart whatever good Chamrosh intends. It was considered invincible since its hide was so thick that no weapon could penetrate it and it moved faster than any other living thing on earth. The other major sources for Persian mythology are the Shahnameh (The Book of Kings) written by the Persian poet Abolqasem Ferdowsi (l. 940-1020 CE) drawing on the much earlier oral tradition, and the popular One Thousand Tales (better known as The Arabian Nights), written during the Sassanian Period (224-651 CE) and also based on oral tradition. He was the supreme creator, maker of heaven, earth, animals, humans, and the sacred elements of air, water, earth, and fire which allowed creation to function. Two dogs guard the Chinvat Bridge and welcome justified souls while rebuking those who lived according to lies. The creation pericope of Genesis 1-2:4a, is taken from the liturgy of the Babylonian or Persian New Year festival. Interpreting this as an evil omen, Sam abandons the newborn in the Alburz Mountains and leaves him to die. It restored health when eaten and its juice granted vision and immortality to the resurrected dead. Tishtrya is represented as a white horse with golden ears, ornamented with gold trim, who battles the demons Apaosha (drought) and Duzhyairya (bad harvest), rising from the Vourukasha Sea, the source of all waters, to fly across the sky or dive into the waters to defeat his enemies. With your support millions of people learn about history entirely for free, every month. Mithra - World History Encyclopedia Owing to the first couple's acceptance of the lie, however, paradise has been lost and humans will now live in strife with the natural world and each other. Numerous educational institutions recommend us, including Oxford University. The Persians were initially part of a migratory people who referred to themselves as Aryan, meaning noble or free and having nothing to do with race. They were considered so important that their role as guardians was preserved once the early religion of the Persians was reimagined by the prophet Zoroaster (c. 1500-1000 BCE) who kept them as the keepers of the Chinvat Bridge, the span across the abyss between the world of the living and the dead. Aesma was thought to be responsible for attacks on livestock, especially cows. This faith developed from an earlier polytheistic system featuring a pantheon of gods, led by their king Ahura Mazda, who stood against the forces of the evil spirit Angra Mainyu. Zal albino, the white-haired hero born to the king Sam and father of the champion Rustum. Please donate to our server cost fundraiser 2023, so that we can produce more history articles, videos and translations. The stories which had once made up the religious understanding of the people now became fables myths which entertained while also encouraging the same cultural values they always had, only now in a monotheistic context. The long tradition of telling these tales attests to the popularity of their rich imagery and dramatic tension as they were repeated orally for centuries before they found written form. In their time, however, they would have served the same basic purpose as the scripture of any religion does in modern times: to teach important spiritual and cultural values and assure people of order and meaning in the face of an often chaotic and frightening world. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. This page was last edited on 25 March 2023, at 20:33. Suroosh is the angel who stands on the Chinvat Bridge and Daena is the Holy Maiden who works beside him. Some, like the Peri or the Al, were considered a constant in one's life while others such as Simurgh or Azhi Dahaka represented a universal paradigm which informed one's present. Dragon-serpents (azhi) frequently appear in Persian mythology as the embodiment of evil and disorder, and Azhi Dahaka was the most fearsome of them all. He is eventually defeated and destroyed by Ahura Mazda at the end of the world. tell our story about the . In the Zoroastrian text Vendidad, it is the mountain in the afterlife on the other side of the Chinvat Bridge, the span between the world of the living and the dead. Help us and translate this article into another language! The dog was considered the best protection against these demons and also warded off cats. A Jinn might grant one wishes but could twist and betray the outcome in doing so or, conversely, could simply be helpful outright. The soul would then cross the bridge which became broad and easy for the justified but narrow and difficult for the condemned soul. Karmak the giant bird of evil so large that its wings blot out the sky and prevent rain from falling, thereby bringing drought to the land. World History Foundation is a non-profit organization registered in Canada. One of the most potent invisible spirits was the Jinn (also known as Djinn and best known as Genies) who, unlike any other entity, were collectively neutral in the war between good and evil. Zoroastrianism was developed from this earlier Persian mythology by a prophet called Zarathustra, also known by the Greeks as Zoroaster. Sassanian-style Plate with Simurghakhenatenator (Public Domain). Submitted by Joshua J. The World History Encyclopedia logo is a registered trademark. They were generally regarded with suspicion, and amulets were carried by merchants and travelers for protection against them. Jamshid - Wikipedia Some Rights Reserved (2009-2023) under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license unless otherwise noted. The other major sources for Persian mythology are the Shahnameh ("The Book of Kings") written by the Persian poet Abolqasem Ferdowsi (l. 940-1020 CE) . Source for information on Persian mythology, ancient: World . When he marries Shahrazad, she preserves her life by telling him a story the night of their wedding but not finishing it; to hear the conclusion, he lets her live, and so she continues telling her stories in the same way and escapes execution. They bring messages from the gods but might as easily fail to deliver them, or misspeak, as perform their task correctly. Only Rustum was able to ride Rakhsh as Rustum's superior strength and power would have killed any other horse, although Rakhsh would not allow any other rider through devotion to Rustum. Her name means offering and she presided over and encouraged sacrifice to the gods. Suroosh would guard the soul against demonic attack as it crossed the bridge to meet the angel Rashnu, judge of the dead, who would decide whether the soul went to the paradise of the House of Song or the hell of the House of Lies. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. Ahura Mazd, (Avestan: "Wise Lord") also spelled Ormizd or Ormazd, supreme god in ancient Iranian religion, especially Zoroastrianism, the religious system of the Iranian prophet Zarathustra (c. 6th century bce; Greek name Zoroaster).