DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.5625#0109
88 Survey of the Ancient World
finally believed there was an evil group led by a great Spirit of
Evil named Ahriman. It was he who later was inherited by
Jews and Christians as Satan.
150. Spread Thus the faith of Zoroaster grew up out of the struggle of
of Zoroas- vr . ., & r „ bb. , „
trianism hie itself, and became a great power in life. It was one of trie
noblest religions ever founded. It called upon every man to
stand on one side or the other; to fill his soul with the Good
and the Light or to dwell in the Evil and the Darkness. What-
ever course a man pursued, he must expect a judgment hereafter
This was the earliest appearance in Asia of belief in a last
judgment. Zoroaster maintained the old Aryan veneration of
fire as a visible symbol of the Good and the Light," and
he preserved the ancient fire-kindling priests. The new faith
had gained a firm footing before the prophet's death, and
before 700 B.C. it was the leading religion among the Medes
in the mountains along the Fertile Crescent. Thus Zoroaster
became the first great founder of a religious faith.
151. The As in the case of Mohammed, it is probable that Zoroastef
Persian Bible could neither read nor write, for the Iranians possessed no
system of writing in his day (see § 145). Besides a fe,V|
hymns, fragments of his teaching have descended to us in
writings put together in the early Christian centuries, over a thou-
sand years after the prophet's death. They form a book known
as the Avesta. This we may call the Bible of the Persians.
Section i 7. Rise of the Persian Empire : Cyrus
152. The No people became more zealous followers of Zoroaster than
^Persians; the group of Iranian tribes known as the Persians. At the
traditiontand faI1 of Nineveh (606 b.c.) (§ 130) they had already been long
settled in the region at the southeastern end of the ZagroS
Mountains, just north of the Persian Gulf. Its shores are here
little better than desert, but the valleys of the mountainous
hinterland are rich and fertile. Here the Persians occupied
a district some four hundred miles long. They were a rude
finally believed there was an evil group led by a great Spirit of
Evil named Ahriman. It was he who later was inherited by
Jews and Christians as Satan.
150. Spread Thus the faith of Zoroaster grew up out of the struggle of
of Zoroas- vr . ., & r „ bb. , „
trianism hie itself, and became a great power in life. It was one of trie
noblest religions ever founded. It called upon every man to
stand on one side or the other; to fill his soul with the Good
and the Light or to dwell in the Evil and the Darkness. What-
ever course a man pursued, he must expect a judgment hereafter
This was the earliest appearance in Asia of belief in a last
judgment. Zoroaster maintained the old Aryan veneration of
fire as a visible symbol of the Good and the Light," and
he preserved the ancient fire-kindling priests. The new faith
had gained a firm footing before the prophet's death, and
before 700 B.C. it was the leading religion among the Medes
in the mountains along the Fertile Crescent. Thus Zoroaster
became the first great founder of a religious faith.
151. The As in the case of Mohammed, it is probable that Zoroastef
Persian Bible could neither read nor write, for the Iranians possessed no
system of writing in his day (see § 145). Besides a fe,V|
hymns, fragments of his teaching have descended to us in
writings put together in the early Christian centuries, over a thou-
sand years after the prophet's death. They form a book known
as the Avesta. This we may call the Bible of the Persians.
Section i 7. Rise of the Persian Empire : Cyrus
152. The No people became more zealous followers of Zoroaster than
^Persians; the group of Iranian tribes known as the Persians. At the
traditiontand faI1 of Nineveh (606 b.c.) (§ 130) they had already been long
settled in the region at the southeastern end of the ZagroS
Mountains, just north of the Persian Gulf. Its shores are here
little better than desert, but the valleys of the mountainous
hinterland are rich and fertile. Here the Persians occupied
a district some four hundred miles long. They were a rude