Imagining the End: Visions of
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will commence. The sun will stand still for thirty days and nights. Plants will be green for ever, and joy will reign. All forms of evil, such as illness and death, will vanish from the world, and the Resurrection will begin (for details see above), followed by the cleansing stream of molten metal, the Saoshyant’s yasna , the final battle between the forces of good and evil; Ohrmazd’s final
, and the levelling of the mountains. , : With this the Renovation is achieved. 45 Moral message and millenary scheme The sources reflect no awareness of any logical or doctrinal contradiction between the idea that the fate of the world largely depends on men’s moral choices, and this millennial scheme which seems to imply that even the details of the eventual outcome of the cosmic battle are preordained. Nor is an explanation offered for the apparent discrepancy between the expectation that the righteous will gradually but steadily rid the world of evil, and the prediction that things will go downhill from the appearance of one saviour-figure until the next. A compromise between these schemes has apparently been reached by describing the appear- ance of Zarathustra’s first two saviour-sons as causing great improvements which are then in some measure counteracted by renewed manifestations of evil.
On the History of the Zoroastrian Religion and its Textual Tradition Pre-history, Zarathustra, the Gathas
Zarathustra (Greek [Gk.] Zoroastrès ), the founder of the Zoroastrian faith, was in all probability a priest who was highly trained in the religious tradition of the Indo-Iranians. His ritual and visionary activities, it seems, led him to make claims that brought him into 40 Origins
conflict with powerful elements in his surroundings, and caused his followers to be regarded as a distinct group, and eventually as followers of a separate religious tradition. There has been much debate in the past over Zarathustra’s date; most modern scholars hold that he flourished around ,
, or slightly earlier. This probably implies that the Prophet lived before the Iranian peoples had settled in the areas they now inhabit; it is thought that he belonged to one of the peoples who later settled in the eastern part of the Iranian territory. Whatever the uncertainties as to Zarathustra’s exact date and place, there is no doubt that he lived in pre-historical times, i.e. before his people began to make use of writing. Nevertheless, the text of the Gathas , a group of hymns attributed to Zarathustra, have been transmitted almost exactly as the Prophet must have recited them. Presumably because of their status as especi- ally sacred texts, they seem to have been memorized word-for-word, or indeed syllable by syllable, so that they did not change along with the living language as other parts of the early religious tradition did. 46 The early centuries of Zoroastrianism, the non-Gathic texts While Zarathustra’s Gathas formed the core of the religious tradition of the nascent Zoroastrian faith, its early tradition probably included many other texts, not least the Yashts or hymns to the divine beings. The core of many of these texts may have been composed long before Zarathustra’s time, but it is clear that additions were made to them in the course of the history of Zoroas- trianism and it seems possible that passages which were frowned upon by adherents of the new religion were simply dropped. 47 The whole corpus of religious texts in this Old Iranian language later came to be known as the Avesta; for want of a better term its language is called Avestan. The Achaemenians (559–331 BCE
), and the fixation of the Avesta The
earlier stages of the development of Zoroastrianism thus took place in pre- history. Early believers must have brought the faith from somewhere in Central Asia to the eastern parts of the Iranian lands, whence it gradually seems to have spread to the West along ancient trade routes. 48 The first literate civiliza- tion to adhere to Zoroastrianism was that of the Achaemenian empire, 49 whose centre was in western Iran and which, unlike the eastern Iranian areas, was directly exposed to the influence of the high cultures of Western Asia, notably Mesopotamia. The fact that the Achaemenians were Zoroastrians must have done much to promote the status of the Zoroastrian priesthood, and may also have contributed to the notion that adherence to the ‘Good Religion’ brought divine blessing, which led to worldly success. This association between divine
41 Millennialism in the Zoroastrian Tradition approval and worldly success presumably made the later overthrow of the Zoroastrian dynasty by the unbeliever Alexander especially painful and trau- matic for Zoroastrians. It is thought that the local western Iranian priesthood, the Magi, adopted the Zoroastrian religion. Although they must have spoken western Iranian languages (Old Persian and Median), they evidently accepted Avestan, an eastern Iranian tongue, as a liturgical language. It seems likely that the first generations of Magi were trained by immigrant priests who were native speakers of Avestan. These early Zoroastrian Magi probably had an active command of the language, which enabled them to add to, or alter, existing texts to some extent. Later generations, however, seem largely to have con- tented themselves with a passive comprehension of Avestan. Initially that language must have been about as close to the native languages of the Magi as modern Spanish is to Italian, and they presumably understood much of what they recited. 50 As Old Persian developed further, however, the Avestan texts must have become increasingly difficult to follow. No way was evidently found to teach active knowledge of this ancient language and priests must have memorized the sacred texts parrot-fashion. Thus the Avestan texts, most of which had until then continued in free and presumably fluid transmission, became ‘fixed’ at least to the extent that no major additions could be made for want of an active command of the sacred tongue. It would still have been possible to add simple sentences or fixed formulae in which a new name was substituted for another. Although Achaemenid culture was to some extent literate, the religious tradition continued to be transmitted orally. 51 Liturgical text must have been memorized by boys from priestly families from an early age. 52 A number of these went on to do higher religious studies, which, to judge by later practice, probably included exegesis 53 and other skills needed to interpret the religion. As comprehension of Avestan became so weak that measures were needed to prevent all loss of comprehension of the textual tradition, priests solved the problem by devising a system of word-for-word translation which – although grammatically and at times logically awkward – was simple enough to be memorized along with the Avestan original. 54 In the course of time this translation, known as Zand , 55 came to include explanatory comments by great teachers. Later, texts which were felt to be authoritative – and thus as having formed part of the divine revelation to Zarathustra – were also added to the
, even if no Avestan original was known to exist. In this way, knowledge of non-Iranian origin could be incorporated into the religious tradition. This must have given the religion the flexibility it needed to adapt to new circum- stances, admitting as good Zoroastrian teaching views which originated in circumstances of which Zarathustra would have had no knowledge. 42 Origins
Alexander and the Seleucids The defeat of the Achaemenian empire by Alexander the Great (known to the Iranians as ‘Alexander the Accursed’) in or around
, clearly had grave consequences for Zoroastrianism. Under Alexander and his successors, the Seleucids, the faith lost both its political influence and its cultural dominance. Outside influences – notably Hellenism, which blended elements from different cultures into a new whole – clearly had some influence on Zoroastrianism, as they affected the Zoroastrians’ public life. However, the structure of Zoroastrian religious life, with its hereditary priesthood, its emphasis on ritual, its fixed Avestan liturgy and learned
tradition, ensured that the effects of such influences were limited. The Parthians (third century BCE
to 226 CE ) and the Sasanians (226– 651) With the rise of a new Iranian dynasty, the Parthians or Arsacids, Zoroastrianism once more had an Iranian dynasty to protect it. There is no reason to assume that the Parthians were bad Zoroastrians, 56 although they were depicted as such by their successors, the Sasanians. Sasanian propaganda stressed the religious orthodoxy of the new political establishment, and priest- hood and Church were very influential during this period. Perhaps as a result of challenges from Christianity and Manichaeism, 57 both of which claimed that the purity of their tradition was safeguarded by the existence of written sources, writing apparently came to be seen as a valuable tool for the preserva- tion of the religion and in the course of the Sasanian era an alphabet was devised which could adequately render the sounds of the Avestan language. Those Avestan texts which were known in the Sasanian era were committed to writing for the first time. 58 The Islamic conquest of Iran ( c . 650
CE ) In the mid-seventh century , the conquest of Iran by the armies of Islam put an end to the political and cultural hegemony of the Zoroastrian ‘Church’ in that country. At first only a limited number of Iranians appear to have been attracted to the new religion, while a majority accepted the status of second-class citizens (
) and
continued in the faith of their forefathers. Gradually, however, Islamic culture became dominant in Iran, and increasing numbers of Zoroastrians converted. The remaining Zoroastrian communities consequently became steadily poorer and more marginal, and it may have become clear around the ninth century that they would not in future be able to support the extensive body of scholar-priests needed to keep their oral tradition alive. A group of priests then devoted itself to writing down (in Pahlavi, the language of Sasanian Iran) those elements of the religious tradition that seemed to them most relevant. The resulting works – i.e. most of the extant Pahlavi Books – were thus committed to writing under pressure in the ninth and tenth centuries
43 Millennialism in the Zoroastrian Tradition after a lengthy oral transmission. They are the product of a cultural tradition that had not yet acquired the sophistication of a developed written tradition, and in many cases appear to have been written down exactly as they had been transmitted in oral form. This means that the extant Zoroastrian textual tradition is by its very nature ahistorical: with the exception of the Gathas and a few Pahlavi Books written by known authors, it can be assumed that both the Avesta and the Pahlavi literature are the final versions of texts which evolved in oral trans- mission over long periods of time, often absorbing various and heterogeneous traditions. Eschatological ideas in Zarathustra’s teachings The Zoroastrian tradition on the whole claims to be a unified one, based wholly on Ahura Mazda’s revelation to Zarathustra; this implies that what is found in the Pahlavi Books was held to be representative of Zarathustra’s time as well as much later periods. Although it is true that a degree of continuity can be shown to exist from the earliest period until well into the post-Sasanian era, 59 such claims are of course too sweeping. The following pages will be devoted to an examination of the sources with a view to ascertaining which elements of Middle Persian eschatological and millenary accounts can be attributed to Zarathustra and the early history of Zoro- astrianism, and which entered the tradition later. On the difficulties of interpreting the Gathas
The Gathas of Zarathustra belong to an intricate tradition of mantic poetry of which we know almost nothing. Moreover, they are the products of a pre-historic culture at whose realities we can only guess. If the exact meaning and implications of many passages thus escape us, there can be no doubt that the opposition between the forces of good and evil, and the human beings belonging to either, plays a central role there, and that each person’s choice in this matter will have grave consequences both for the individual and for the world. Judgment of the soul after death That the individual soul will find recom- pense after death is suggested by Yasna [Y] .
: He who may approach the truthful one, splendor will be his (reward), (as) contrasted with weeping, a long life in darkness, foul food, (and) the word ‘woe’: to that existence (your) religious view will lead you, O you deceitful one, on account of your own actions. 60 The same seems to be implied by Y . , where Zarathustra says: 44 Origins
That man or woman, O Wise Ahura, who will grant me (those things) which Thou knowest (to be) the best of existence … with all those, I shall cross over the Bridge of the Separator. 61 Zarathustra, in other words, will lead his flock at the time of the judgment of the soul, causing them to reach paradise, unlike the evil traditional priests and rulers, whose souls will recoil from them when they reach the bridge, to be ‘for all time 62 guests in the house of deceit (i.e. hell)’ 63 (Y
. ). This passage (Y .
, ) could perhaps also be taken to mean that, at an early stage of his career, Zarathustra expected the world to become perfect during his lifetime and hoped to lead his followers to the Best Existence himself, while his opponents would be left to face the consequences of their wicked- ness. The image of a bridge to be crossed, however, seems to suggest the passage of souls to the hereafter rather than the ‘making perfect’ of this world. In later Zoroastrianism the image of the Bridge is certainly understood in this way. The final battle and the End of Time Besides a judgment of the individual soul,
64 the
Gathas also refer to a final contest between the forces of good and evil. Fire and molten metal are repeatedly mentioned in such contexts. Y .
speaks of a time ‘when the two armies which have nothing in common will come together.’ Y .
refers to a battle in which fire and molten metal play a role:
The satisfaction which Thou shalt give to both factions through Thy pure fire and the molten iron, Wise One, is to be given as a sign among living beings, in order to destroy the deceitful and save the truthful. 65 The Gathas emphatically mention recompense at this final point. In Y .
we find: ‘Bad for the bad, a good reward for the good (each to be given) through Thy skill at the final turning point of creation.’ 66 Similarly, Y . says: And thus, when the punishment for these sinners shall come to pass, then, for Thee, Wise One, shall the rule of good thinking be at hand, in order to be announced to those, Lord, who shall deliver deceit into the hands of truth. 67 When this process is completed, the world will become Yüklə 4,01 Mb. Dostları ilə paylaş:
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