Nature of the Deity Ahura Mazda

The Nature of the Deity Ahura Mazda

Ahura Mazda in Old Persian >>
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By the grace of G-d
Copyright © 2009 Nathaniel Segal
(unless otherwise noted)

Ahura Mazda

Relief from Persepolis. Faravahar, the visual aspect of Ahura Mazda. Photo © Marco Prins. Used with permission (photo has been enhanced). †

Descriptions and Representations of Ahura Mazda –

King / Location

Ahura Mazda as described in Achaemenid royal inscriptions –

1. (Lines 1-8) A great god is Ahuramazda, who created this earth, who created yonder sky, who created man, who created happiness for man, who made Darius king, one king of many, one lord of many. [ Compare with DE 1-11 ]

DARIUS, at NAQSH-I-RUSTAM A. (DNa)

Translation from:
Joseph H. Peterson
CORPUS of OLD PERSIAN TEXTS
retrieved on March 5, 2009

7. (1-5) A great god is Ahuramazda, who created this excellent work which is seen, who created happiness for man, who bestowed wisdom and activity upon Darius the King.

DARIUS, at NAQSH-I-RUSTAM B. (DNb)

(Lines 1-7) A great god is Ahuramazda, who makes excellence in this earth, who makes man in this earth, who makes happiness for man, who makes good horses and good chariots. On me he bestowed them. May Ahuramazda protect me and what has been built by me.

DARIUS, at SUSA S. (DSs)

A modern stylized representation of Ahura Mazda. (Wikipedia, "Ahura Mazda" and "Faravahar"; the image has been flipped) †

1. (1-4) A great god is Ahuramazda, who created this earth, who created yonder sky, who created man, who created happiness for man; who bestowed upon Darius the King this great kingdom, possessed of good horses, possessed of good men. [ compare with DNa 1-6 and DSf 11-2 ]

DARIUS, at SUEZ C. (DZc)

1. (1-11) A great god is Ahuramazda, who created this earth, who created yonder sky, who created man, who created happiness for man, who made Darius king, one king of many, one lord of many.

DARIUS, at ELVEND. (DE)

Representation of Ahura Mazda from Darius's Behistun monument, below. (from Livius.org with permission; cropped and enhanced by Nathaniel Segal) †

1. (1-6) A great god is Ahuramazda, who created this earth, who created yonder sky, who created man, who created happiness for man, who made Xerxes king, one king of many, one lord of many.

XERXES, at PERSEPOLIS A. (XPa)

Photo © Ab Langereis, Livius.org. Used with permission. †

Representation of Ahura Mazda hovering above King Darius the Great and his captive rebels. This relief is part of Darius's Behistun monument which commemorates his first three regnal years.

Another Representation of Ahura Mazda from above Xerxes Tomb (see left, below). †

Darius styled himself as "the Great King, King of Kings, king in Persia, king of countries . . . an Achaemenian." (The Behistun Inscription, Column 1, lines 1-3)

King Darius did not style himself as a god. Instead, he represents the deity Ahura Mazda as hovering over the king.

"As below, so above." It stands to reason that Ahura Mazda is the Achaemenian "Great G-d." So, he is "the G-d of gods," but especially inclined to favor the Achaemenians.

It appears that the Achaemenian religion tended to be monotheistic. We know of no worship, cult, or priests associated with the Achaemenid Empire or with Ahura Mazda during the period.

Darius portrayed the god Ahura Mazda in the image of the Great King from the waist upward. However, he grasps a ring in his left hand and extends his right hand forward, bent at the elbow. A hoop surrounds the Great King's waist. Below his waist, Ahura Mazda is represented as possessing a stylized tail of a bird. Stylized wings extend from the hoop in both directions. Ahura Mazda has two bird legs, each with three talons.

Fire pedestals appear both on Darius's tomb and on the presumed tomb of his son Xerxes at Naqsh-i-Rustam – see below. (No inscriptions appear on the face of this tomb. It is an educated guess to say that this is Xerxes' tomb.)

The Great King faces Ahura Mazda and the fire pedestal. We do not know what the fire pedestal meant to Darius the Great.

The sun inside a crescent moon appears in the upper right corner of the relief. We also do not know what the depiction of the sun and moon meant to Darius. The king's platform is carried by people who represent the king's subjects.

In Achaemenian reliefs, Ahura Mazda hovers over the earthly scenes.

† Most or all pictures and images on this page have been retouched, which means digitally altered from their source versions, by Nathaniel Segal.

Descriptions and Representations of Ahura Mazda –				King / Location
	Ahura Mazda as described in Achaemenid royal inscriptions –		1. (Lines 1-8) A great god is Ahuramazda, who created this earth, who created yonder sky, who created man, who created happiness for man, who made Darius king, one king of many, one lord of many. [ Compare with DE 1-11 ]	DARIUS, at NAQSH-I-RUSTAM A. (DNa)
		Translation from: Joseph H. Peterson CORPUS of OLD PERSIAN TEXTS retrieved on March 5, 2009	7. (1-5) A great god is Ahuramazda, who created this excellent work which is seen, who created happiness for man, who bestowed wisdom and activity upon Darius the King.	DARIUS, at NAQSH-I-RUSTAM B. (DNb)
			(Lines 1-7) A great god is Ahuramazda, who makes excellence in this earth, who makes man in this earth, who makes happiness for man, who makes good horses and good chariots. On me he bestowed them. May Ahuramazda protect me and what has been built by me.	DARIUS, at SUSA S. (DSs)
		A modern stylized representation of Ahura Mazda. (Wikipedia, "Ahura Mazda" and "Faravahar"; the image has been flipped) †	1. (1-4) A great god is Ahuramazda, who created this earth, who created yonder sky, who created man, who created happiness for man; who bestowed upon Darius the King this great kingdom, possessed of good horses, possessed of good men. [ compare with DNa 1-6 and DSf 11-2 ]	DARIUS, at SUEZ C. (DZc)
			1. (1-11) A great god is Ahuramazda, who created this earth, who created yonder sky, who created man, who created happiness for man, who made Darius king, one king of many, one lord of many.	DARIUS, at ELVEND. (DE)
Representation of Ahura Mazda from Darius's Behistun monument, below. (from Livius.org with permission; cropped and enhanced by Nathaniel Segal) †			1. (1-6) A great god is Ahuramazda, who created this earth, who created yonder sky, who created man, who created happiness for man, who made Xerxes king, one king of many, one lord of many.	XERXES, at PERSEPOLIS A. (XPa)