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Antiochus and the Yazata Dae-pa-Meher or Mithra (right, with radiate phrygian cap)

A Yazata is one of a group of divinities in Mazdaism and Zoroastrianism. Image File history File links Mithra&Antiochus. ... Image File history File links Mithra&Antiochus. ... Mithra (Avestan Miθra, modern Persian مهر Mihr, Mehr, Meher) is an important deities or divine concepts (so called Yazata) in Zoroastrianism and later Persian mythology and culture. ... Phrygian can refer to: A person from Phrygia The Phrygian language This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Zoroastrianism is the religion and philosophy based on the teachings ascribed to the prophet Zoroaster (Zarathushtra, Zartosht). ...

Etymology

Yazata- is the stem form of a noun that in Avestan has the inflected nominative forms yazatō, pl. yazatåŋhō. These forms reflect Proto-Iranian *yazatah and pl. *yazatāhah. In Middle Persian the term became yazad or yazd, pl. yazdān; cf. modern Persian یزدان yazdān "God" and ایزد izad "angel". Avestan is an Eastern Old Iranian language that was used to compose the hymns of the Zoroastrian holy book, the Avesta. ... The nominative case is a grammatical case for a noun. ... Pahlavi is a term that refers: (1) to a script used in Iran derived from the Aramaic script, and (2) more broadly, to Middle Persian, the Middle Iranian language written in this script. ... Persian, also called Farsi or Parsi, is an Indo-European language spoken in Iran (Persia), Afghanistan, Tajikistan and by minorities in Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Southern Russia, neighboring countries, and elsewhere. ...

Yazata- is originally an adjective derived from the verbal root yaz- "to worship, to honor, to venerate". From the same root comes Avestan yasna "worship, sacrifice, prayer". A yazata is accordingly "a being worthy of worship" or "a holy being".

Related terms in other languages are Sanskrit yájati "he worships, he sacrifices", yajatá- "worthy of worship, holy", yajñá "sacrifice", and Greek ἅγιος hagios "devoted to the gods, sacred, holy". The Sanskrit language ( , ) is a classical language of India, a liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, and one of the 22 official languages of India. ...

History of the concept

Many of the Yazata pre-date Zoroastrianism where they were deities or divine concepts, and where Yazata was synonymous with 'inexplicable' or 'mystical'. Many of the characters have Vedic equivalents as well. The Vedas (Sanskrit: वेद) are the main scripture in Hinduism, and are a large corpus of texts originating in Ancient India. ...

The Yazata that were worshipped in proto-Indo-Iranian religions as deities and divinities were divided along the lines of being either devas (Persian: div) or ahuras. Ahruras are synonymous with Asuras in the Vedic tradition. The doctrinal modifications introduced by Zarathustra (Zoroaster) retained the multitude of these deities, but reorganized them into a strict and complex hierarchy under the supremecy of the Creator Ahura Mazda. now. ... Ahura Mazda is the Avestan language name for an exalted divinity of ancient proto-Indo-Iranian religion that was subsequently declared by Zarathustra (Zoroaster) to be the one uncreated creator of all. ...

In Zoroastrianism

Following Zoroaster's ministry, the Yazata were reduced to the position of angels. In their new role, they primarily served as assistants or collaborators (Hamkars) of the Amesha Spenta (Bounteous Immortals), the 'divine sparks' of Ahura Mazda personified as the archangels of Zoroastrianism. The Annunciation - the Angel Gabriel announces to Mary that she will bear Jesus (El Greco, 1575) An angel is a supernatural being found in many religions. ... Ahura Mazda is the Avestan language name for an exalted divinity of ancient proto-Indo-Iranian religion that was subsequently declared by Zarathustra (Zoroaster) to be the one uncreated creator of all. ... Zoroastrianism is the religion and philosophy based on the teachings ascribed to the prophet Zoroaster (Zarathushtra, Zartosht). ...

Nonetheless, the Yazata remained an important part of both Zoroastrian culture and Persian mythology. Many of the Yazata have hymns of the Yašts dedicated to them (see Avesta), and the Yašts were in turn an important source of inspiration to Ferdowsi, who incorporated many of the figures in his Shahnameh epic. Most of the divinities had month or day names dedicated to them, a tradition that continues to exist both in present-day Zoroastrianism (see Zoroastrian calendar) and the official national calendar of Iran. Zoroastrianism is the religion and philosophy based on the teachings ascribed to the prophet Zoroaster (Zarathushtra, Zartosht). ... The beliefs and practices of the culturally and linguistically related group of ancient peoples who inhabited the Iranian Plateau and its borderlands, as well as areas of Central Asia from the Black Sea to Khotan (modern Ho-tien, China), form Persian mythology. ... See Avesta Municipality for the Swedish town Yasna 28. ... Ferdowsi Tousi (فردوسی طوسی in Persian) (more commonly transliterated Firdausi, Ferdosi or Ferdusi) (935–1020) is considered to be one of the greatest Persian poets to have ever lived. ... Shahnameh Scenes from the Shahnameh carved into reliefs at Tus, where Ferdowsi is buried. ... The Zoroastrian calendar is a religious calendar used by members of the Zoroastrian faith, and it is an approximation of the (tropical) solar calendar. ... The Iranian calendar (also known as Persian calendar or the Jalaali Calendar) is a solar calendar currently used in Iran and Afghanistan. ...

The best known of the Yazata is Mithra, a figure that predates Zoroastrianism, but as Dae-pa-Meher, is one of the three Hamkars of Ahura Mazda. Mithra (Avestan Miθra, modern Persian مهر Mihr, Mehr, Meher) is an important deities or divine concepts (so called Yazata) in Zoroastrianism and later Persian mythology and culture. ... Ahura Mazda is the Avestan language name for an exalted divinity of ancient proto-Indo-Iranian religion that was subsequently declared by Zarathustra (Zoroaster) to be the one uncreated creator of all. ...

See also

• Zoroastrian angelology
• Yazdanism