Lessico
Zoroastro - Zarathustra
Dettaglio
de La scuola di Atene di Raffaello - 1509
Zoroastro regge in mano un globo punteggiato di stelle
Zoroastro è la forma grecizzata del persiano Zarathustra, colui al quale la tradizione fa risalire la fondazione del mazdeismo, detto perciò anche zoroastrismo dal suo nome. Di Zoroastro non si hanno reali testimonianze storiche, tanto che gli studi più recenti (M. Molé) vedono in lui non un uomo veramente vissuto bensì un personaggio mitico, fenomenologicamente definibile come un “eroe culturale”. Nella lettura del suo mito, poi, si potrà scorgere il senso di questa “presenza”, sia che essa significhi l'azione liturgica o il sacerdozio prototipico (come è stato detto) sia che significhi altro. Sta di fatto che Zoroastro risulta un essere preesistente alla nascita materiale, inviato sulla Terra come un fuoco celeste (da cui resta gravida la donna che lo partorirà) da Ahura Mazda per predicare agli uomini la vera religione.
L'esigenza primaria del mazdeismo, quella che lo qualifica coerentemente in tutto il suo sviluppo storico, non si scorge nella contrapposizione tra monoteismo e politeismo, ma appare in tutta evidenza nella contrapposizione tra un principio positivo (che convenzionalmente diremmo “del bene”) e un principio negativo (“del male”). In altri termini: il mazdeismo è tipologicamente un monoteismo, ma si è storicamente espresso come un dualismo.
Richard
Strauss
Also sprach Zarathustra
Zoroastro
Zoroastro, forma greca (Zøroástrës)
di Zarathustra (avestico Zarathuštra; parsi Zartosht), nacque a Bactra, oggi
Balkh
(città dell'antica
Persia). Visse nel VII-VI secolo aC e fu un profeta persiano fondatore dello
Zoroastrismo. Si ritiene appartenesse a una famiglia di cavalieri chiamati
Spitama.
La religione mazdeista
Lo zoroastrismo fu la religione nazionale persiana dal periodo achemenide a quello sasanide, tra il 630 aC e il 750. Persiste ancora oggi, seppur molto ridotta per importanza, essendo stata soppiantata dall'islamismo.
Secondo le narrazioni che hanno riguardato questa importante figura filosofica, il giovane Zoroastro, figlio del sacerdote Porushaspa, dovendo seguire le orme del padre, iniziò a celebrare i rituali religiosi professati dalla sua tribù, consistenti, per mancanza di un luogo sacro, in canti di lode e sacrifici all'aperto. All'età di vent'anni, non soddisfatto di quella vita spirituale, si ritirò nel deserto a meditare e venne - in pieno stato di estasi - colto da visioni durante le quali gli apparve il signore della saggezza, Ahura Mazda (Ohrmazd in pahlavi), principe del bene, che gli dette l'ordine di combattere contro il principe del male, Ahriman.
L'elemento essenziale del dualismo di Zarathustra è la distinzione fra bene e male, una distinzione che non riguarda solo gli uomini, ma il mondo intero. Se all'umano si contrappone l'inumano, allo spirito saggio si contrappone quello malvagio e alla veracità si contrappone la menzogna. Il mondo è inteso come diviso fra coppie di antagonisti. Zarathustra concepisce una sola divinità onnipotente e creatrice, Ahura Mazda; ma la concezione monoteistica non è certa, visto che è affiancata da una dottrina dualistica, che contrappone i due spiriti del bene e del male, fin dall'inizio del mondo e in perenne antitesi tra loro, influenzando l'agire umano.
Nyberg e Zaehner hanno sostenuto che la divinità chiamata Zurvan fosse esistita in periodo pre-zoroastriano e che alcuni elementi di questo culto fossero incorporati nello stesso Mazdeismo. Zoroastro infatti affermò che Ohrmazd e Ahriman sarebbero derivati da Zurvan, il tempo assoluto, anche se resta una strutturale differenza fra lo Zurvanismo - non qualificabile come "dualista", in quanto propugnatore di una sostanziale sintesi fra forze "caotiche" e "cosmetiche" - e l'accentuato dualismo del Mazdeismo.
Le nostre conoscenze su Zoroastro ci provengono dall'Avesta (il libro sacro del mazdeismo), ma alcune informazioni sono contenute nel capolavoro epico-poetico del poeta iraniano Firdowsi, lo Shahnameh. Zoroastro è il protagonista del celebre libro Così parlò Zarathustra di Friedrich Nietzsche.
Balkh è una provincia dell'Afghanistan di 869.000 abitanti, che ha come capoluogo Mazar-e Sharif. Confina con il Turkmenistan (provincia di Lebap), l'Uzbekistan (provincia di Surxondaryo) e il Tagikistan (provincia di Khatlon) a nord e con le province di Konduz a est, di Samangan a sud-est, di Sar-e Pol a sud-ovest e di Jowzjan a ovest.
La provincia di Balkh è divisa in 14 distretti: Balkh - Char Bolak – Charkint – Chimtal - Dawlat Abad – Dihdadi – Kaldar – Khulm – Kishindih – Marmul - Mazar-i-Sharif - Nahri Shahi – Sholgara - Shortepa
Zoroastrismo
Faravahar, spirito guardiano, uno dei simboli principali dello Zoroastrismo.
Zoroastrismo è il nome dato a una delle più antiche religioni e la più importante e meglio nota dell'Iran antico o preislamico. Prende il nome da quello del suo fondatore Zoroastro (Zarathustra) vissuto in Persia approssimativamente tra il VII e il VI secolo aC. Lo Zoroastrismo si presenta come una versione riformata di una precedente tradizione religiosa persiana, caratterizzata da numerosi elementi in comune con la religione vedica indiana. L'altro nome con il quale lo Zoroastrismo è conosciuto, Mazdeismo, deriva dal nome della principale figura divina, Ahura Mazda.
Lo Zoroastrismo è stato per secoli la religione dominante in quasi tutta l'Asia centrale, dal Pakistan all'Arabia Saudita, fino alla rapida affermazione della religione islamica nel VII secolo. Il costante declino nei secoli successivi vide un brusco cambiamento di direzione negli anni Novanta, caratterizzati da un'inaspettata e repentina crescita della religione zoroastriana. Negli ultimi anni le tendenze hanno tuttavia nuovamente cambiato marcia: le ultime statistiche presentano un numero di 200.000 fedeli in continua discesa, ed è diffusa l'opinione secondo cui lo Zoroastrismo potrebbe estinguersi nel giro di pochi anni.
Caratteristiche
Lo Zoroastrismo combina elementi di monoteismo e dualismo. Molti studiosi moderni ritengono che questa religione abbia avuto una larga influenza sul Giudaismo, Mitraismo, Manicheismo, Mandeismo, Islamismo e Cristianesimo. Il libro sacro dello Zoroastrismo è l'Avesta. Di questo testo solamente i Gathas (gli inni) sono attribuiti a Zoroastro. Nodo centrale della religione è la costante lotta tra Bene e male. Agli inizi della creazione il Dio Supremo ("Ahura Mazda",che significa "Signore saggio" ed è caratterizzato da luce infinita, onniscienza e bontà) è opposto ad Angra Mainyu (o Ahriman) uno spirito malvagio delle tenebre, violenza e morte.
Il conflitto cosmico risultante interessa l'intero universo, inclusa l'umanità, alla quale è richiesto di scegliere quali delle due vie seguire. La via del bene e della giustizia ("Asha") porterà alla felicità ("Ushta"), mentre la via del male apporterà infelicità, inimicizia e guerra.
Sono legati alla dualità di bene e male anche i concetti di Paradiso, Inferno e giorno del giudizio. Dopo la morte l'anima della persona passa un ponte ("Chinvato Peretu") sul quale le sue buone azioni sono pesate con quelle cattive. Il risultato decreta la destinazione dell'anima nel paradiso o nell'inferno. Quando alla fine dei giorni il male sarà definitivamente sconfitto, il mondo sarà purificato in un bagno di metallo fuso e le anime dei peccatori saranno riscattate dall'inferno.
Storia
Lo Zoroastrismo, nel tempo diffusosi soprattutto tra i popoli iranici d'Europa (Sciti e Sarmati, per esempio) e d'Asia, fu la religione favorita dalle due grandi dinastie dell'antica Persia, gli Achemenidi e i Sasanidi. Comunque, poiché non sono sopravvissute fonti scritte persiane contemporanee di quel periodo, è difficile descrivere la natura dell'antico Zoroastrismo in dettaglio.
La descrizione di Erodoto della religione persiana include alcune caratteristiche proprie dello Zoroastrismo, come l'esposizione dei morti. I re achemenidi riconobbero la loro devozione ad Ahura Mazda nelle iscrizioni; comunque essi furono anche partecipi dei rituali religiosi locali a Babilonia e in Egitto, e aiutarono gli Ebrei a ritornare nella loro terra natia, ricostruendo i loro templi, fatti che sembrano escludere che ci fosse stata da parte loro un'imposizione dell'ortodossia religiosa sui sudditi. Secondo tradizioni tarde, molti dei sacri testi andarono perduti quando Alessandro Magno distrusse Persepoli e rovesciò il regno achemenide negli anni successivi al 330 aC. È opinione comune che i tre saggi che vennero dall'Impero persiano per portare doni a Gesù Cristo fossero Magi zoroastriani.
Quando la dinastia sasanide prese il potere in Iran nel 228, essa promosse l'utilizzo della sua religione zoroastriana. Molte fonti cristiane del periodo in questione informano che i re sasanidi perseguitarono i Cristiani in Persia. Comunque non sembra che il Cristianesimo sia stato proibito come religione nel periodo preso in esame. Molti storici credono che i Sasanidi in un primo momento si opposero al Cristianesimo per i suoi vincoli con l'Impero romano, e perciò durante il periodo considerato la chiesa nestoriana fu tollerata e anche a volte favorita dalla dinastia imperante. Quando l'impero sasanide si impossessò delle province romane vi costruì spesso templi di fuoco. Inoltre sempre nell'era sasanide divenne popolare la credenza che Ahura Mazda e Angra Mainyu fossero figli del dio del tempo Zurvan.
Una forma di Zoroastrismo fu apparentemente anche la religione di stato, o almeno la preminente, dell'Armenia precristiana. Dal VI secolo lo Zoroastrismo si espanse nella Cina settentrionale, attraverso la via della seta, ottenendo uno status di ufficialità in alcuni stati cinesi. Templi zoroastriani rimasero fino almeno al 1130 circa nelle regioni del Kaifeng e Zhenjiang, ma dal XIII secolo la religione gradatamente perse importanza nel panorama religioso cinese.
Nel VII secolo la dinastia Sasanide fu conquistata dagli Arabi musulmani e gli Zoroastriani ottennero lo status di "Popolo del Libro" (in arabo Ahl al-Kitab) da parte del Califfo. Comunque, l'uso dell'Avesta antico e delle lingue persiane fu proibito. I conquistatori islamici considerarono gli insegnamenti di Zoroastro come un culto politeistico. Lo Zoroastrismo, che una volta era stato una religione dominante in una regione che andava dall'Anatolia al Golfo Persico e all'Asia centrale, non ebbe un potente campione straniero, come lo fu l'Impero bizantino per il Cristianesimo, e lentamente perse la sua influenza.
Nell'VIII secolo un gran numero di iraniani devoti al culto zoroastriano emigrarono in India, dove trovarono rifugio presso Jadav Rana, un re Indù dell'attuale provincia di Gujarat, ma a condizione che si astenessero da attività missionarie e si sposassero tra loro. Anche se le restrizioni sono vecchie di secoli, ancora oggi i Parsi, così si chiamano in India i devoti dello Zoroastrismo, non fanno proselitismo e sono endogamici.
Principi dello Zoroastrismo moderno
Alcuni fra i concetti maggiori zoroastriani:
La filosofia zoroastriana è simbolizzata da uno dei principali motti della religione: "Buoni pensieri, buone parole, buone opere".
Uguaglianza sessuale. Uomini e donne hanno uguali diritti all'interno della società.
Attenzione per l'ambiente. La natura svolge un ruolo centrale nella pratica dello Zoroastrismo. Le più importanti feste annuali zoroastriane riguardano celebrazioni della natura: il nuovo anno nel primo giorno di primavera, la festa dell'acqua in estate, la festa d'autunno alla fine della stagione, la festa del fuoco in mezzo all'inverno.
Lavoro e carità. Pigrizia e lentezza sono malviste. La carità è vista come opera buona.
Condanna dell'oppressione tra esseri umani, della crudeltà verso gli animali e del sacrificio degli animali. Punti nodali della religione sono l'eguaglianza di tutti gli esseri senza distinzione di razza o credo religioso e rispetto totale verso ogni cosa.
Liturgia. Nello Zoroastrismo l'energia del creatore è rappresentata dal fuoco. I devoti del culto solitamente pregano alla presenza di qualche forma di fuoco (o davanti a fonti di luce). Il fuoco comunque non è oggetto di venerazione, ma è utilizzato semplicemente come simbolo e punto centrale del culto zoroastriano. Anticamente la funzione principale del culto era lo 'Yasna', il sacrificio dell'haoma, pozione a base di erba, bevuta come liquido sacrificale mentre veniva compiuta una serie complessa di rituali. Tale pratica fu osteggiata da Zarathustra. I seguaci dello Zoroastrismo pregano cinque volte al giorno.
Altri concetti:
Matrimonio interreligioso e proselitismo. Gli Zoroastriani non hanno attività missionaria e non eseguono conversioni. In India, i Parsi, hanno l'abitudine di sposarsi tra consanguinei, in genere cugini. In Iran, a causa della discriminazione tuttora esistente, il matrimonio tra devoti di religioni diverse non è ufficialmente incoraggiato dalle autorità.
Morte e sepoltura. I rituali religiosi connessi con la morte sono concentrate sull'anima della persona e non sul corpo, considerato impuro. Alla morte, l'anima lascia il corpo dopo tre giorni. Nei tempi antichi il cadavere veniva esposto in luoghi aperti e sopraelevati, chiamati torri del Silenzio, dove l'avrebbero mangiato gli avvoltoi. Anche gli imperatori persiani quali Dario, Ciro, Serse e Artaserse, in quanto zoroastriani, sono stati spolpati dagli avvoltoi prima di essere sepolti nei rispettivi sepolcri a Persepoli e a Naqs-i-Rustam. La tradizione dell'esposizione dei cadaveri è attualmente seguita solamente dai Parsi. Gli Zoroastriani dell'Iran ricorrono alla cremazione elettrica o all'inumazione (in tal caso la bara è posta nel cemento per proteggere la purezza della terra).
Seguaci
Attualmente comunità zoroastriane si possono trovare soprattutto in India, Pakistan e Iran. La diaspora zoroastriana comprende due gruppi principali: i Parsi di ambiente sud-asiatico e gli Zoroastriani dell'Iran.
Tempio zoroastriano a Yazd
Questi ultimi sono sopravvissuti in Iran a secoli di persecuzioni, come altre minoranze religiose. Comunità zoroastriane esistono a Teheran, come anche a Yazd e Kerman, dove molti parlano ancora un dialetto diverso dalla lingua iranica. Essi chiamano la loro lingua Dari. I Parsi nell'Asia meridionale hanno goduto, invece, di una relativa tolleranza. I Parsi sono famosi per le attività svolte nel campo dell'educazione e sono diventati una specie di casta economicamente forte all'interno della società indiana.
C'è inoltre un crescente interesse fra le popolazioni Curde, soprattutto quelle del Tajikistan e Kazakhstan, per l'antica eredità zoroastriana. Infatti, l'UNESCO (su pressione del governo del Tajikistan) ha proclamato il 2003 anno della celebrazione del "3000° anniversario della cultura zoroastriana" con manifestazioni speciali in tutto il mondo. Piccole comunità zoroastriane esistono nei maggiori centri urbani degli Stati Uniti, Canada, Gran Bretagna, Australia e in altri paesi. La popolazione mondiale di Zoroastriani è stimata tra le 180.000 e le 250.000 unità. Di questi, 70.000 circa sono i Parsi in India.
Zoroaster (Latinized from Greek variants) or Zarathustra (from Avestan Zarathuštra), also referred to as Zartosht, was an ancient Iranian prophet and religious poet. The hymns attributed to him, the Gathas, are at the liturgical core of Zoroastrianism.
Avestan Zarathustra
Avestan Zarathuštra is generally accepted to derive from an Old Iranian *zarat-uštra-, which is in turn “perhaps” a zero-grade form of *zarant-uštra-. This is supported by reconstructions from later Iranian languages – in particular from Middle Persian Zartosht, which is the form the name has in the ninth to twelfth century Zoroastrian texts.
The interpretation of the Avestan zarathuštra was for a time itself subject to heated debate because the word is an irregular development: As a rule, *zarat- (a first element that ends in a dental consonant) should have Avestan zarat- or zarath- as a development from it. Why this is not so for zarathuštra has not yet been determined. Notwithstanding the phonetic irregularity, that Avestan zarathuštra “with its -?- was linguistically an actual form, [is] shown by later attestations reflecting the same basis.” All present-day Iranian language variants of his name derive from the Middle Iranian variants of Zarthošt, which in turn all reflect Avestan’s fricative -?-.
The second half of the name – i.e. -uštra- is universally accepted to mean ‘camel’. The first half of the name does not otherwise appear in Avestan, which makes it necessary to seek a meaning in the etymology of the name. Subject then to whether Zarathuštra derives from *zarat-uštra- or from *zarant-uštra-, several interpretations have been proposed:
Following
*zarat-uštra- are
“moving camels” or “driving camels,” and related to Avestan zarš-
“to drag.”
“desiring camels” or “longing for camels” and related to Vedic har-
“to like” and perhaps (though ambiguous) also to Avestan zara-.
Following
*zarant-uštra- are
“with old/aging camels,”
related to Vedic járant- and similar to Ossetic zœrond.
“with yellow camels” with a parallel to Younger Avestan zairi-.
“with angry camels,” from Avestan *zarant- “angry, furious.”
“Several more etymologies have been proposed, some quite fanciful, but none
is scientifically based.”
Greek Zoroaster
Greek Zøroástrës appears to have arisen from an association of ástra “stars” with the leading zørós meaning “undiluted.” This is the oldest attested Greek form of the name, attested in the mid-fifth century BCE Lydiaka of Xanthus (frag. 32) and in (Pseudo-)Plato’s Alcibiades Maior (122a1). This old form appears subsequently as Latin Zoroastres and - as a secondary development - Greek Zøroástris.
Greek Zøroástrës has motivated attempts to reconstruct an intermediate Old Western Iranian variant of Avestan Zarathuštra from which the European forms could then derive. The proposals include *zara-uštra- or *zarah-uštra-, which – or so it is theorized – first produced Greek *zara-óstr(es), then – by metathesis – *zaro-ástr(es) and finally – provoked by the association with “stars” – the attested Zøroástrës. Neither *zara-uštra- or *zarah-uštra- have a great following among the linguistic community since neither adequately explain the Old Iranian forms. Besides, *zarah-uštra- is a “phonologically improbable form in any Old Iranian language.”
Date
Until the late 1800s, Zoroaster was generally dated to about the sixth century BCE, which coincided with both the “Traditional date” (see details below) and historiographic accounts (Ammianus Marcellinus xxiii.6.32, fourth c. CE). However, already at the time (late nineteenth century), the issue was far from settled, with James Darmesteter pleading for a later date (c. 100 BCE) and others pleading for dates as early as 6000 BCE.
The “Traditional date” originates in the period immediately following Alexander’s conquest of the Achaemenid Empire in 330 BCE. The Seleucid kings who gained power following Alexander’s death instituted an “Age of Alexander” as the new calendrical epoch. This did not appeal to the Zoroastrian priesthood who then attempted to establish an “Age of Zoroaster.” To do so, they needed to establish when Zoroaster had lived, which they accomplished by counting back the length of successive generations until they concluded that Zoroaster must have lived “258 years before Alexander.” This estimate then re-appeared in the ninth to twelfth century texts of Zoroastrian tradition, which in turn gave the date doctrinal legitimacy.
In the twentieth century, this date (which may be any number of different years subject to when “Alexander” happened) remained acceptable to a number of reputable scholars, among them Hasan Taqizadeh, a recognized authority on the various Iranian calendars and hence became the date cited by Henning and others.
However, already in the late nineteenth century scholars such as Bartholomea and Christensen noted problems with the “Traditional date,” namely in the linguistic difficulties that it presented. Since the Old Avestan language of Gathas (that are attributed to the prophet himself) is still very close to the Sanskrit of the Rigveda, it seemed plausible that the Gathas and Rigveda could not be more than a few centuries apart. Since the Rigvedic compositions could be fairly accurately dated to about the thirteenth/14th century BCE, and because the Old Avestan was less (but only slightly less) archaic than that of the Rigveda, it followed that the oldest surviving portions of the Avesta date to around 1000 BCE (+/- one century).
This tenth/11th century BCE date is now almost universally accepted among Iranists, who in recent decades have also found that the social customs described in the Gathas roughly coincides with what is known of other pre-historical peoples of that period. Supported by this historical evidence, the “Traditional date” can be conclusively ruled out, and the discreditation can to some extent be supported by the texts themselves: The Gathas describe a society of bipartite (priests and herdsmen/farmers) nomadic pastoralists with tribal structures organized at most as small kingdoms. This contrasts sharply with the view of Zoroaster having lived in an empire, at which time society is attested to have had a tripartite structure (nobility/soldiers, priests, and farmers).
Although a slightly earlier date (a century or two) has been proposed on the grounds that the texts do not reflect the migration onto the Iranian Plateau, it is also possible that Zoroaster lived in one of the rural societies that remained where they were.
Place
Zoroaster; portrayed here in a popular Parsi Zoroastrian depiction. This image emerged in the eighteenth century, the result of an Indian Parsi Zoroastrian artist’s imagination under European influence. It quickly became a popular icon, and is now regarded by many Indian Zoroastrians as being historically based.
Yasna 9 & 17 cite the Ditya River in Airyanem Vaejah (Middle Persian Eran Wej) as Zoroaster’s home and the scene of his first appearance. Nowhere in the Avesta (both Old and Younger portions) is there a mention of the Achaemenids or of any West Iranian tribes such as the Medes, Persians, or even Parthians.
However, in Yasna 59.18, the zarathuštrotema, or supreme head of the Zoroastrian priesthood, is said to reside in ‘Ragha’. In the ninth to twelfth century Middle Persian texts of Zoroastrian tradition, this ‘Ragha’ - along with a slew of other places - appear as locations in Western Iran. While Medea does not figure at all in the Avesta (the westernmost location noted in scripture is Arachosia), the Bundahišn, or “Primordial Creation,” (20.32 and 24.15) puts Ragha in Medea (medieval Rai). However, in Avestan, Ragha is simply a toponym meaning “plain, hillside.” The same text identifies Eran Wej with medieval Aran (in historical Caucasian Albania, present-day Azerbaijan).
In the tenth century, the Iranian writer al-Shahrastani (who originated from Shahristan, present-day Turkmenistan) proposed (again) that Zoroaster’s father was from Atropatene (also in Medea) and his mother was from Rai. Coming from a reputed scholar of religions, this was a serious blow for the various regions who all claimed that Zoroaster originated from their homelands, some of which then decided that Zoroaster must then have then been buried in their regions or composed his Gathas there or preached there.
By the late twentieth century the consensus had settled on an origin in Eastern Iran and/or Central Asia (to include present-day Afghanistan): Gnoli proposed Sistan (though in a much wider scope than the present-day province) as the homeland of Zoroastrianism; Frye voted for Bactria and Chorasmia; Khlopin suggests the Tedzen Delta in present-day Turkmenistan. Sarianidi considered the BMAC region as “the native land of the Zoroastrians and, probably, of Zoroaster himself.” Boyce includes the steppes of the former Soviet republics. The medieval “from Media” hypothesis is no longer taken seriously, and Zaehner has even suggested that this was a Magi-mediated issue to garner legitimacy, but this has been likewise rejected by Gershevitch and others.
The 2005 Encyclopedia Iranica article on the history of Zoroastrianism summarizes the issue with “while there is general agreement that he did not live in western Iran, attempts to locate him in specific regions of eastern Iran, including Central Asia, remain tentative.”
Life
Information about the life of Zoroaster derives primarily from the Avesta, that is, from Zoroastrian scripture of which the Gathas - the texts attributed to Zoroaster himself - are a part. These are complemented by legends from the traditional Zoroastrian texts of the ninth to twelfth century. The Gathas contain allusions to personal events, such as Zoroaster’s triumph over obstacles imposed by competing priests and the ruling class. They also indicate he had difficulty spreading his teachings, and was even treated with ill-will in his mother’s hometown. They also describe familial events such as the marriage of his daughter, at which Zoroaster presided.
In the texts of the Younger Avesta (composed many centuries after the Gathas), Zoroaster is depicted wrestling with the daevas and is tempted by Angra Mainyu to renounce his faith (Yasht 17.19; Vendidad 19). The Spenta Nask, the thirteenth section of the Avesta, is said to have a description of the prophet’s life. However, this text has been lost over the centuries, and it survives only as a summary in the seventh book of the ninth century Denkard. Other ninth to twelfth century stories of Zoroaster, as in the Shahnama, are also assumed to be based on earlier texts, but must be considered to be primarily a collection of legends. The historical Zoroaster, however, eludes categorization as a legendary character.
Collectively, scripture and tradition provide many rote details of his life, such as a record of his family members: His father was Pourushaspa Spitama, son of Haechadaspa Spitama, and his mother was Dughdova. He and his wife Hvovi had three daughters, Freni, Pourucista, and Triti; and three sons, Isat Vastar, Uruvat-Nara, and Hvare Cithra. Zoroaster’s great-grandfather Haechataspa was the ancestor of the whole family Spitama, for which reason Zoroaster usually bears the surname Spitama. His wife and children, and a cousin named Maidhyoimangha, were his first converts after his illumination from Ahura Mazda at age 30.
According to Yasnas 5 & 105, Zoroaster prayed for the conversion of King Vištaspa, who appears in the Gathas as a historical personage. In legends, Vištaspa is said to have had two brothers as courtiers, Frašaoštra and Jamaspa, and to whom Zoroaster was closely related: his wife, Hvovi, was the daughter of Frashaoštra, while Jamaspa was the husband of his daughter Pourucista. The actual role of intermediary was played by the pious queen Hutaosa. Apart from this connection, the new prophet relied especially upon his own kindred (hvaetuš).
Zoroaster’s
death is not mentioned in the Avesta. In Shahnama 5.92, he is said to have
been murdered at the altar by the Turanians in the storming of Balkh.
Philosophy
In his revelation, the poet sees the universe as the cosmic struggle between aša “truth” and druj “lie.” The cardinal concept of aša - which is highly nuanced and only vaguely translatable - is at the foundation of all other Zoroastrian doctrine, including that of Ahura Mazda (who is aša), creation (that is aša), existence (that is aša) and Free Will, which is arguably Zoroaster’s greatest contribution to religious philosophy. The purpose of humankind, like that of all other creation, is to sustain aša. For humankind, this occurs through active participation in life and the exercise of good thoughts, words and deeds.
Iconography
Detail
of The School of Athens by Raphael, 1509, showing Zoroaster
(left, with star-studded globe).
Although a few recent depictions of Zoroaster show the prophet performing some deed of legend, in general the portrayals merely present him in white vestments (which are also worn by present-day Zoroastrian priests). He often is seen holding a baresman (Avestan, MP barsom), which is generally considered to be another symbol of priesthood, or with a book in hand, which may be interpreted to be the Avesta. Alternatively, he appears with a mace, the varza - usually stylized as a steel rod crowned by a bull’s head - that priests carry in their installation ceremony. In other depictions he appears with a raised hand and reproachfully lifted finger, as if to make a point.
Zoroaster is rarely depicted as looking directly at the viewer, instead he appears to be looking slightly upwards as if beseeching God. Zoroaster is almost always depicted with a beard, usually brown. His complexion is pale, and this and other factors recall nineteenth century Jesus portraits.
A common variant of the Zoroaster images derives from a Sassanid-era rock-face carving. In this depiction at Taq-e Bostan, a figure is seen to preside over the coronation of Ardashir I or II. The figure is standing on a lotus, with a baresman in hand and with a gloriole around his head. Until the 1920s, this figure was commonly supposed to be a depiction of Zoroaster, but in recent years is more commonly interpreted to be a depiction of Mithra.
Among the most famous of the European depictions of Zoroaster is that of the figure in Raphael’s 1509 The School of Athens. In it, Zoroaster and Ptolemy are having a discussion in the lower right corner. The prophet is holding a star-studded globe.
Western perceptions
Although, at the core, the Greeks (in the Hellenistic sense of the term) understood Zoroaster to be the "prophet and founder of the religion of the Iranian peoples" (e.g. Plutarch Isis and Osiris 46-7, Diogenes Laertius 1.6-9 and Agathias 2.23-5), "the rest was mostly fantasy." He was set in the impossibly ancient past, six to seven millennia before the Common Era, and was variously a king of Bactria, or a Chaldean (or teacher of Chaldeans), and with a biography typical for every Neopythagorean sage, i.e. a mission preceded by ascetic withdrawal and enlightenment.
Most importantly however, was their picture of Zoroaster as the sorcerer-astrologer non-plus-ultra, and indeed as the "inventor" of both magic and astrology. Deriving from that image, and reinforcing it, was a "mass of literature" attributed to him and that circulated the Mediterranean world from the third century BCE to the end of antiquity and beyond. "The Greeks considered the best wisdom to be exotic wisdom" and "what better and more convenient authority than the distant — temporally and geographically — Zoroaster?"
The language of that literature was predominantly Greek, though at one stage or another various parts of it passed through Aramaic, Syriac, Coptic or Latin. Its ethos and cultural matrix was likewise Hellenistic, and "the ascription of literature to sources beyond that political, cultural and temporal framework represents a bid for authority and a fount of legitimizing 'alien wisdom'. Zoroaster and the magi did not compose it, but their names sanctioned it." The attributions to "exotic" names (not restricted to magians) conferred an "authority of a remote and revelation wisdom."
Once the magi were associated with magic in Greek imagination, Zoroaster was bound to metamorphose into a magician too. The first century Pliny the Elder names Zoroaster as the inventor of magic (Natural History 30.2.3). "However, a principle of the division of labor appears to have spared Zoroaster most of the responsibility for introducing the dark arts to the Greek and Roman worlds." That "dubious honor" went to the "fabulous magus, Ostanes, to whom most of the pseudepigraphic magical literature was attributed." Although Pliny calls him the inventor of magic, the Roman does not provide a "magician's persona" for him. Moreover, the little "magical" teaching that is ascribed to Zoroaster is actually very late, with the very earliest example being from the 14th century.
One factor for the association with astrology was Zoroaster's name, or rather, what the Greeks made of it. Within the scheme of Greek thinking (which was always on the lookout for hidden significances and "real" meanings of words) his name was identified at first with star-worshiping (astrothytes "star sacrificer") and, with the Zo-, even as the living star. Later, an even more elaborate mytho-etymology evolved: Zoroaster died by the living (zo-) flux (-ro-) of fire from the star (-astr-) which he himself had invoked, and even, that the stars killed him in revenge for having been restrained by him.
The second, and "more serious" factor for the association with astrology was the notion that Zoroaster was a Chaldean. The alternate Greek name for Zoroaster was Zaratas/Zaradas/Zaratos (cf. Agathias 2.23-5, Clement Stromata I.15), which — so Cumont and Bidez — did derives from a Semitic form of his name. The Pythagorean tradition considered the mathematician to have studied with Zoroaster in Chaldea (Porphyry Life of Pythagoras 12, Alexander Polyhistor apud Clement's Stromata I.15, Diodorus of Eritrea, Aristoxenus apud Hippolitus VI32.2). Lydus (On the Months II.4) attributes the creation of the seven-day week to "the Chaldeans in the circle of Zoroaster and Hystaspes," and who did so because there were seven planets. The Suda's chapter on astronomia notes that the Babylonians learned their astrology from Zoroaster. Lucian of Samosata (Menippus 6) decides to journey to Babylon "to ask one of the magi, Zoroaster's disciples and successors," for their opinion.
While the division along the lines of Zoroaster/astrology and Ostanes/magic is an "oversimplification, the descriptions do at least indicate what the works are not." They were not expressions of Zoroastrian doctrine, they were not even expressions of what the Greeks and Romans "imagined the doctrines of Zoroastrianism to have been." The assembled fragments do not even show noticeable commonality of outlook and teaching among the several authors who wrote under each name.
Almost all Zoroastrian pseudepigrapha is now lost, and of the attested texts — with only one exception — only fragments have survived. Pliny's 2nd/3rd century attribution of "two million lines" to Zoroaster suggest that (even if exaggeration and duplicates are taken into consideration) a formidable pseudepigraphic corpus once existed at the Library of Alexandria. This corpus can safely be assumed to be pseudepigrapha because no one before Pliny refers to literature by "Zoroaster," and on the authority of the 2nd century Galen of Pergamon and from a 6th century commentator on Aristotle it is known that the acquisition policies of well-endowed royal libraries created a market for fabricating manuscripts of famous and ancient authors.
The exception to the fragmentary evidence (i.e. reiteration of passages in works of other authors) is a complete Coptic tractate titled Zostrianos (after the first-person narrator) discovered in the Nag Hammadi library in 1945. A three line cryptogram in the colophones following the 131-page treatise identify the work as "words of truth of Zostrianos. God of Truth [logos]. Words of Zoroaster." Invoking a "God of Truth" might seem Zoroastrian, but there is otherwise "nothing noticeably Zoroastrian" about the text and "in content, style, ethos and intention, its affinities are entirely with the congeners among the Gnostic tractates."
Among the named works attributed to "Zoroaster" is a treatise On Nature (Peri physeos), which appears to have originally constituted four volumes (i.e. papyrus rolls). The framework is a retelling of Plato's Myth of Er, with Zoroaster taking the place of the original hero. While Porphyry imagined Pythagoras listening to Zoroaster's discourse, On Nature has the sun in middle position, which was how it was understood in the 3rd century. In contrast, Plato's 4th century BCE version had the sun in second place above the moon. Ironically, Colotes accused Plato of plagiarizing Zoroaster, and Heraclides Ponticus wrote a text titled Zoroaster based on (what the author considered) "Zoroastrian" philosophy in order to express his disagreement with Plato on natural philosophy. With respect to substance and content in On Nature only two facts are known: that it was crammed with astrological speculations, and that Necessity (Ananké) was mentioned by name and that she was in the air.
Another work circulating under the name of "Zoroaster" was the Asteroskopita (or Apotelesmatika), and which ran to five volumes (i.e. papyrus rolls). The title and fragments suggest that it was an astrological handbook, "albeit a very varied one, for the making of predictions."[A third text attributed to Zoroaster is On Virtue of Stones (Peri lithon timion), of which nothing is known other than its extent (one volume) and that pseudo-Zoroaster sang it (from which Cumont and Bidez conclude that it was in verse). Numerous other fragments (preserved in the works of other authors) are attributed to "Zoroaster," but the titles of whose books are not mentioned.
These pseudepigraphic texts aside, some authors did draw on a few genuinely Zoroastrian ideas. The Oracles of Hystaspes, by "Hystaspes," another prominent magian pseudo-author, is a set of prophecies distinguished from other Zoroastrian pseudepigrapha in that it draws on real Zoroastrian sources. Some allusions are more difficult to assess: in the same text that attributes the invention of magic to Zoroaster, Pliny states that Zoroaster laughed on the day of his birth. This notion (like that of "two million verses") also appears in the 9th-11th century texts of genuine Zoroastrian tradition, and for a time it was assumed that origin of those myths lay with indigenous sources. The Iranians were however just as familiar with the Greek writers. The provenance of other descriptions are clear, so for instance, Plutarch's description of its dualistic theologies: "Others call the better of these a god and his rival a daemon, as, for example, Zoroaster the Magus, who lived, so they record, five thousand years before the siege of Troy. He used to call the one Horomazes and the other Areimanius" (Isis and Osiris 46-7).
Zoroaster was known as a sage, magician, and miracle-worker in post-Classical Western culture. Though almost nothing was known of his ideas until the late 18th century, by that time his name was already associated with lost ancient wisdom. Zoroaster appears as “Sarastro” in Mozart’s opera Die Zauberflöte, which has been noted for its Masonic elements, where he represents moral order (cf. Asha) in opposition to the “Queen of the Night.” He is also the subject of the 1749 opera Zoroastre, by Jean-Philippe Rameau. Enlightenment writers such as Voltaire promoted research into Zoroastrianism in the belief that it was a form of rational Deism, preferable to Christianity. With the translation of the Avesta by Abraham Anquetil-Duperron, Western scholarship of Zoroastrianism began.
In the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche's seminal work Also sprach Zarathustra (Thus Spoke Zarathustra) (1885), Nietzsche creates a characterization of Zarathustra as the mouthpiece for Nietzsche's own ideas against morality. Nietzsche did so because — so says Nietzsche in his autobiographical Ecce Homo (IV/Schicksal.3) — Zarathustra was a moralist ("was the exact reverse of an immoralist" like Nietzsche) and because "in his teachings alone is truthfulness upheld as the highest virtue." Zarathustra "created" morality in being the first to reveal it, "first to see in the struggle between good and evil the essential wheel in the working of things." Nietzsche sought to overcome the morality of Zarathustra by using the Zarathustrian virtue of truthfulness; thus Nietzsche found it piquant to have his Zarathustra character voice the arguments against morality.
Richard
Strauss’s Opus 30,
inspired by Nietzsche’s book, is also called Also sprach Zarathustra.
Its opening theme, which corresponds to the book’s prologue, was used to
score the opening sequence of Stanley Kubrick’s movie 2001: A Space
Odyssey.
Zoroaster was mentioned by the nineteenth-century poet William Butler Yeats. His wife and he were said to have claimed to have contacted Zoroaster through “automatic writing.” The 2005 edition of the Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy places Zoroaster first in a chronology of philosophers. Zoroaster is ranked #93 on Michael H. Hart’s list of the most influential figures in history.
In 1997, the British gothic rock band Tammuz released a song named ‘Zarathustra’ on their album Yezidi. The track features an Avestan language verse from the Gathas. The name ‘Zarathustra’ appears in passing in Bryan Ferry’s ‘Mother of Pearl’, a Roxy Music song from the band’s 1973 Stranded album. The protagonist and narrator of Gore Vidal’s 1981 novel Creation is described to be the grandson of Zoroaster, with whom the narrator has several philosophical discussions and whose death he is a witness of.
In Manichaeism
Manichaeism considered Zoroaster to be a figure (along with Jesus and the Buddha) in a line of prophets of which Mani (210–277) was the culmination. Zoroaster’s ethical dualism is - to an extent - incorporated in Mani’s doctrine, which viewed the world as being locked in an epic battle between opposing forces of good and evil. Manicheanism also incorporated other elements of Zoroastrian tradition, particularly the names of supernatural beings; however, many of these other Zoroastrian elements are either not part of Zoroaster's own teachings or are used quite differently from how they are used in Zoroastrianism.
In the Bahá'í Faith
Zoroaster appears in the Bahá'í Faith as a “Manifestation of God,” one of a line of prophets who have progressively revealed the Word of God to a gradually maturing humanity. Zoroaster thus shares an exalted station with Abraham, Moses, Buddha, Krishna, Jesus, Muhammad, the Báb, and the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, Bahá'u'lláh. Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith, saw Bahá'u'lláh as the fulfillment of a post-Sassanid Zoroastrian prophecy that saw a return of Sassanid emperor Bahram: Shoghi Effendi also stated that Zoroaster lived roughly 1,000 years before Jesus.
Balkh is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. It is in the north of the country. Its capital is Mazar-e Sharif. Tajiks make up the majority of the province, followed by Uzbeks as the second largest group. The current governor of Balkh is Ustad Atta Mohammed Noor.
The districts of Balkh are: Balkh - Chahar Bolak - Chahar Kint - Chimtal - Dawlatabad - Dihdadi - Kaldar - Khulm - Kishindih - Marmul - Mazari Sharif - Nahri Shahi - Sholgara - Shortepa – Zari.
Zoroastre
ou Zarathushtra (Zarathuštra en avestique), a été un personnage religieux
important, connu comme prophète et fondateur du Zoroastrisme, ancienne
religion de la Perse. Il est difficile, étant donné l'époque et l'importance
du personnage, sources de nombreuses affabulations, de donner des dates et des
lieux précis à son sujet. On suppose qu'il est né au nord de l'Iran, mais
certaines traditions le font naître à Balkh.
dans le nord de ce qui est aujourd'hui l'Afghanistan.
On connaît quelques bribes de sa vie, à travers les hymnes gathiques de l'Avesta, rédigés dans une langue indo-iranienne archaïque, l'avestique, vieille d'entre 2500 et 3000 ans. Celle-ci se montre très proche des textes védiques indiens du Rig Veda, où l'on retrouve le même type de grammaire que dans le livre saint de Zoroastre. On le connaît aussi à travers la tradition qui rapporte un récit épique de la vie de Zoroastre, tel un scénario exemplaire empli d'événements surnaturels et de miracles. On considère généralement Zoroastre en tant que personnage historique, mais les dates à son sujet sont très discutées. La version la plus courante est de considérer qu'il a vécu aux alentours de l'an -600, mais d'autres estimations le font naître plus tôt (-1000) ou plus tard (-400).
Le nom de Zoroastre
Zarathuštra: celui qui a des vieux chameaux.
Le nom zarath-uštra est un composé Bahuvrihi en avestique de zarata- "ancien, faible" et de uštra "chameau", qui se traduit par "celui qui a de vieux chameaux".Une ancienne traduction erronée rapprochait zarata- de zaray (or ou jaune) qui donnait "celui qui possède les chameaux jaunes" - traduction certes plus romantique, qui a, par cumul d'erreurs, amené des traductions encore plus fantaisistes : "le porteur de l'aurore dorée" (zaray ushas). D'autre part Uštra devenu Ashtra en Perse ancien, puis Shotor en Perse actuel pourrait signifier en même temps L'Astre, en Français. La relation venant du voyage de l'Astre dans le ciel, en comparaison de celui du Chameau dans un Désert sans fin. Ainsi, la composition zarath = Or et uštra = Astre, pouvait donner l'Astre doré.
Bien que ces dernières fantaisies n'aient pas été très correctes, elles semblent démontrer un certain désir de grandeur, au-delà de "celui qui a de vieux chameaux". Une autre traduction propose «le conducteur de chameaux». En persan moderne, le nom de Zoroastre prend la forme Zartošt ou Zardošt; en kurde il prend la forme Zerdust.
Les débuts du zoroastrisme
Zoroastre, d'après la tradition, aurait commencé sa vie comme prêtre de la religion alors régnante en Perse, le mithraïsme, qui comportait entre autres de nombreux rites sacrificiels, en particulier d'animaux. Il aurait alors eu une série de visions, dans lesquelles il voit Ahura Mazda, la divinité suprême. Il commence alors une prédication passionnée, prêchant:
la venue du Royaume de Justice, la coopération à l'œuvre de Dieu (Ahura Mazda), sous peine de châtiment total;
le dieu Ahura Mazda, élevé au rang de dieu suprême, reléguant les autres divinités de la religion à un rang secondaire;
la critique des pratiques de la religion traditionnelle notamment le culte de Mithra – ce qui lui attire les foudres des prêtres –, car ses sacrifices d'animaux étaient particulièrement cruels (du fait de sa conviction qu'eux aussi possédaient une âme) et qu'il constituait une source de revenus pour les dirigeants religieux;
la condamnation de la consommation de boissons enivrantes, haoma (cf. le soma, voir: sanskrit), qui empêche l'homme de réfléchir avec clarté et qui avait cours dans le mithraïsme.
L'ancienne religion perse était soutenue essentiellement par les familles aristocratiques guerrières. Or les arguments de justice et de conscience personnelle heurtèrent profondément les coutumes et les mentalités de ces mêmes vieilles familles. Non seulement ses idées ne plurent pas, mais surtout elles remettaient en cause le pouvoir établi. Pourchassé par le peuple, il a dû s'enfuir pour sauver sa vie.
Après plusieurs années d'exil au cours desquelles il aurait eu des entretiens mystiques avec Ahura Mazda, il finit par trouver à Bactres un protecteur puissant, Hystaspe, le père de Darius Ier. Hystaspe suivra son enseignement à travers un parcours initiatique. Cette première « victoire » de Zoroastre va en engager d'autres: Hystaspe contraint ses sujets, puis les sujets qu'il a vaincus à la guerre, à se convertir au Zoroastrisme. La religion s'étendit, surtout en Perse et chez les Parthes qui en firent une religion officielle, et la dotèrent d'une véritable institution ecclésiastique – la caste des Mobads – qui eut une grande influence dans les affaires de l'État.
Zoroastre dans l'Histoire
Encore une fois, les dates de naissance et de mort de Zoroastre sont des données imprécises et discutées, qui varient grandement selon les sources. Dans la mythologie perse, notamment le Šahnama, mais également dans ce que l'on peut entendre de la tradition orale, Zoroastre aurait vécu entre l'an -1000 et l'an -400. Zoroastre était célèbre durant l'Antiquité pour avoir fondé la religion des Mages. Son nom est cité par Xanthus, Platon, Plutarque, Pline l'Ancien et Diogène – citations révélatrices d'une certaine influence philosophique. Les estimations grecques, influencées par la mythologie perse, prétendent que Zoroastre a vécu au cours du VIIe siècle av. J.-C. C'est également une datation reconnue par les Pârsî.
Les preuves archéologiques remettent en cause les théories religieuses: Asgarov (1984) démontre à partir d'excavations en Ouzbékistan que Zoroastre a vécu après -2000. L'analyse linguistique du Gathas, seuls textes directement liés à Zoroastre, et la comparaison avec les langues actuelles et passées de l'Iran, notamment le sanskrit, donnent une estimation globale autour du premier millénaire avant J.-C.; entre -1400 et -1000 (Mary Boyce, A History of Zoroastrianism, 1989).
L'approche historique compare les coutumes sociales décrites dans le Gathas à celles connues par l'étude historique – mais à cause du caractère ésotérique du Gathas, qui est donc très sujet à l'interprétation libre, l'estimation est plus difficile. Les estimations actuelles situent l'époque de Zoroastre autour de -1000 (Gherardo Gnoli).
Le Bundahišn (Création), un texte important du zoroastrisme, indique que Zoroastre vivait 258 ans avant la conquête de la Perse par Alexandre le Grand (en -330), c'est-à-dire en -588. Certains chercheurs ont postulé des dates plus tardives, aujourd'hui contestées: l'estimation à l'an -100 (Darmesteter) est rejetée depuis 1938.
La vie de Zoroastre
Ce que l'on sait de la vie de Zoroastre nous vient principalement de l'Avesta, du Gathas, des textes grecs, de la tradition orale, et des preuves archéologiques. Le Spena Nask, 13e section de l'Avesta, décrit la vie de Zoroastre. Ce chapitre, transmis oralement, n'a plus aucune cohérence. Les biographies dans les sept livres du Denkard (IXe siècle) et le Šahnama ont été démontrées fausses. Il est aisé cependant d'affirmer que Zoroastre a vécu au nord-est de l'Iran actuel. Les Grecs s'y réfèrent en l'appelant le Bactrien (un habitant de la Bactriane, l'actuel Afghanistan, un Mède ou un Perse d'il y a 5000 ans). Sa femme est dénommée Hvovi. Ils ont trois filles: Freni, Friti et Pourucista, ainsi que trois fils: Isat Vastar, Uruvat-Nara et Hvare Cithra. Sa mère s'appelait Dughdova; son père était Pourushaspa Spitama. Son grand-père s'appelait Haecadaspa Spitama.
Zoroastre aurait eu une illumination à Mazda, âgé de 30 ans. Il créa les bases de sa religion et y convertit sa femme, ses enfants et son cousin Maidhyoimangha. Les Grecs ont beaucoup fabulé sur la vie et notamment l'enfance de Zoroastre. D'après Pline, Zoroastre aurait ri le jour de sa naissance et vécu dans la sauvagerie. Plutarque le compare à Lycurgue et Numa Pompilius (Numa, 4). Dion Chrysostome compare l'Ahura Mazda de Zoroastre à Zeus. Plutarque, en s'inspirant de Théopompe, compare le zoroastrisme et l'histoire d’Isis et Osiris.
Le Gathas est un recueil de prophéties et d'admonitions sous forme poétique, qui relate un dialogue entre le Dieu et les « Immortels » (en pahlavi Amahraspandan). Cependant, ces textes contiennent des allusions personnelles — sa difficulté à transmettre la religion, les insultes de l'entourage…
Il est important de reconnaître deux personnages différents, ou plutôt deux différentes visions du personnage: le Zoroastre tel que décrit dans l'Avesta, et le Zoroastre du Gathas. Dans l'Avesta, on le décrit se battant avec les Daeva (démon immortel, en pahlavi Dewan), et, dans le Nouveau Testatement, il est tenté par Ahriman qui lui demande de renoncer à sa foi (Yasht, 17,19).
Le personnage historique, cependant, n'a plus rien de légendaire. Le Gathas en fait un prophète. Le Vendidad relate les dialogues entre Ahura Mazda et Zoroastre. Ce sont les dernières traces de son discours au sujet de sa doctrine exposé à la cour du Roi Vištaspa.
Zoroastre dans la culture européenne
Zoroastre est plus connu comme un sage, un magicien, dans la culture moderne, bien qu'on ne découvrit ses idées qu'à la fin du XVIIIe siècle. On l'associait alors avec les franc-maçons et autres groupes prétendant que Zoroastre avait atteint un "savoir". Un personnage nommé Sarastro apparaît dans l'opéra La Flûte enchantée de Mozart, et représente l'ordre et la morale – par opposition à la Reine de la Nuit.
Les écrivains et philosophes des lumières, dont Voltaire, engagèrent des travaux sur le Zoroastrisme, y voyant une forme de Déisme éclairé, préférable au christiannisme dogmatique. Avec la transcription de l'Avesta par Abraham Anquetil-Duperron, l'étude du Zoroastrisme put réellement débuter.. Au XIXe siècle, le philosophe allemand Friedrich Nietzsche utilisa, de façon parodique, le nom de Zoroastre dans son livre Ainsi parlait Zarathoustra. Nietzsche en fait un personnage dramatique et critique envers ses œuvres et prétentions philosophique, développe la mort de Dieu. Poète-prophète, Zarathoustra se retire dans la montagne et revient parmi les hommes pour leur parler. Il leur parle des vertus, du Surhomme, de l'éternel retour, des prédicateurs de la mort, des faibles et des forts, des nobles et des esclaves...
Nietzsche parodie le personnage de Zoroastre, l'associant au manichéisme. Il aurait, selon lui, inventé le dualisme moral, sous la forme de la Daeva (les forces naturelles) et de l'Ahuras (la raison, le "bien" et le "mal", la morale). C'est ce dualisme que Nietzsche proposa d'abolir.
Richard
Strauss, inspiré par Nietzsche, écrivit l'Opus 30, nommé également Also
sprach Zarathustra. La séquence d'ouverture est restée célèbre pour
avoir mis en musique le film de Stanley Kubrick, 2001, L'odyssée de l'espace.
Zoroastre dans les arts
Zoroastre est le titre d'une tragédie lyrique de Jean-Philippe Rameau;
Ainsi parlait Zarathoustra est une œuvre philosophique de Friedrich Nietzsche (1885);
Ainsi
parlait Zarathoustra est une œuvre musicale de Richard Strauss;
Sarastro est un personnage de la Flûte enchantée de Mozart.
Freddie Mercury (chanteur du groupe Queen) s'est inspiré des textes de Zoroastre pour écrire The Prophet's Song (1974).
Ainsi parlait Zarathoustra op. 30 (Also sprach Zarathustra) est un poème symphonique écrit par Richard Strauss de février à août 1896. Il est inspiré librement par le livre du même nom de Friedrich Nietzsche et le compositeur en voit la transition de l’homme à ses origines jusqu’au « surhomme ». Une citation du philosophe est mise en exergue au début de la partition:
« La musique a trop longtemps rêvé; nous voulons devenir des rêveurs éveillés et conscients. »
Chronologiquement, l’œuvre se situe au milieu des pièces symphoniques du musicien, entre Till l’Espiègle et Don Quichotte, bien avant ses opéras majeurs. Son ouverture comporte un tutti célèbre annoncé par des trompettes, et suivi par des timbales, répétées trois fois en crescendo. Ce thème a été repris en musique de film de 2001, L'odyssée de l'espace de Stanley Kubrick, ainsi que par Elvis Presley comme introduction musicale pour ses concerts à partir de 1971. C’était aussi l’introduction musicale pour les concerts de Dalida a l’Olympia en 1974, et la musique d'entrée du "nature boy" Ric Flair.
La première eut lieu à Francfort le 27 novembre 1896 sous la direction du compositeur. L’œuvre comporte neuf parties et son exécution dure environ trente minutes:
Introduction
De ceux des mondes de derrière
De l’aspiration suprême
Des joies et des passions
Le Chant du tombeau
De la science
Le Convalescent
Le Chant de la danse
Chant du somnambule
