Zoroaster Died: 583BC

Name:

Tutor:

Course:

Date:

Zoroaster Died: 583BC

Zoroaster, also referred to as Zarathustra, was one of the prehistoric Persian prophets responsible for the founding of a religion called Zoroastrianism (Forlong 10). This prophet’s early life is surrounded by so much mystery so I could not find the clear period of his life. However, most of the narratives written and stories told indicate that the ages between 400BC to 6000BC as the most likely era. This is because the takeover of the Zoroastrian Empire by Alexander the Great found the religion flourishing indicating that Zoroaster probably lived 300 years before this.

Most details show that Zoroaster lived in Iran, which was Northern Persia, or Afghanistan, a close neighbor at the time. From research, I found that at his early 30’s, the idea of the religion came to him through divine revelation while seeking religious insight (Forlong 13). This divine apparition came while bathing in a river at a pagan purification ceremony where a shining God called Ahura Mazda appeared to him and referred to himself as “the creator of all good things”. He was tempted to renounce his faith, and he wrestled demons and satanic beings (Zoroaster 16). Apparently, at this time, he wrote two Zoroastrianism books that were considered holy but were burned down together with the Zoroastrian library during the attack of Alexander the Great’s army.

In my opinion, many aspects of Zoroaster birth and upbringing resemble that of other religious prophets and idols like Christ. Like the story of Jesus Christ, Zoroaster’s mother felt that the child was in danger, and it turns out that the king at the time wished to kill him because he posed a future threat. In this story, however, the assassin sent to fulfil this mission became paralyzed before carrying out the command and other attacks towards him were unsuccessful as well. I found out that, the legend of Zoroaster still lives and that he is believed to return one day as the savior of humankind.

The teachings of this Persian prophet were based on man having the power to choose between the good and the evil (Zoroaster 12). In addition, the end of the world would come only when forces of light achieved victory, and surviving souls rejoice in such accomplishment (Rose 27). These teachings became the steering guide of the civilization of Persia, and the knowledge acquired slowly became evolution towards monotheism, especially in the Middle East (Forlong 14). Unfortunately, Zoroastrianism slowly began to die out with the reign of Alexander the great despite having survived in India and having created a strong basis for the Parsi Religion.

Generally, the best conclusion I could get from the biography of Zoroaster is that the similarities of his characteristics are strongly associated with today’s perception of Mohammed and closely similar to that of Buddha (Zoroaster 24). This is because Zoroaster was a human and not a god who envisioned a religion governed by moral goodness despite being recognized later on as a chosen prophet of god (Rose 31). His emphasize on the concepts of good and evil, the battles, and the final victory makes the concepts that created the monotheistic religions of Zoroastrianism. With time, the ancient religion has accumulated many legendary stories and more knowledge on Zoroaster has been identified. It is believed that murder was the cause f his death, however, to most of his followers today, Zoroaster was real, and he lives on.

Works Cited

Forlong, James G. R. Zoroastrianism. Whitefish, Mont.: Kessinger Publishing, 9-14.2008. Print

Rose, Jenny. Zoroastrianism: An Introduction. London: I.B. Tauris, 27-38. 2011. Print

Zoroaster, and M L. West. The Hymns of Zoroaster: A New Translation of the Most Ancient Sacred Texts of Iran. London: I.B. Tauris, 15-20. 2010. Print

Zoroaster, and S A. Kapadia. The Teachings of Zoroaster and the Philosophy of the Parsi Religion. London: J. Murray, 8-21. 2005. Print.

Zoroaster, and T R. Sethna. The Teachings of Zarathushtra, the Prophet of Iran, on How to Think and Succeed in Life. Karachi: T.R. Sethna, 14-19.2013. Print.