The History of Antiquity Volume V Part 6

[146] "As.h.i.+ Yasht," 17; "Vend." 2, 20 ff.

[147] West, "Mainyo-i-Khard," p. x.

[148] West, _loc. cit._ c. 8.

[149] Justi, "Bundehesh," c. 1, 3, 34. [Cf. West's commentary on c. 34.]

[150] Spiegel, "Eran," 1, 507.

[151] Justi, "Bundehesh," c. 34.

[152] If the rise of Arsaces is put in the year 250 B.C. It makes no difference in the total if we choose the year 248 B.C. for the beginning of the Arsacids.

[153] Blau, "Z. D. M. G." 18, 686. Von Gutschmid, _ibid._

[154] "Farvardin Yasht," 139.

[155] Aristot. "Metaph." 13, 4. Diogen. Laert. prooem.

[156] Theopom. Fragm. 71, 72, ed. Muller.

[157] Diogen. Laert. prooem., cf. Suidas, [Greek: Magoi].

[158] "Alcib. I." p. 121.

[159] Plut. "Alex." c. 30.

[160] Plut. "Artax." c. 4, 23, 29.

[161] "Themistocl." c. 28.

[162] Dinon, Fragm. 9, ed. Muller.

[163] "Cyri Inst.i.t." 8, 1, 21.

[164] Herod. 3, 16.

[165] Herod. 1, 101, 131-140; 7, 40, 43, 113, 191; 3, 84.

[166] Inscription of Darius at Elvend in Spiegel, "Keilinscriften," s.

45, 47.

[167] Behistun, 4, 73-80; 56-61; Persop.

[168] Strabo, p. 719; Nicol. Damasc. fragm. 66, ed. Muller.

[169] Plin. "H. N." 30, 2; 28, 19.

[170] "Vita Pythag." 12.

[171] Diogen. Laert prooem.

[172] Suidas, [Greek: Magoi].

[173] Herod. 1, 100, 124, 125.

[174] Ezra, c. v., vi.

[175] The Nica of the Vendidad is the Eastern Nica, Parthorum Nisaea, not very far from Merv; above, p. 10, _n._ 1.

[176] Lepsius, "Ueber das ursprungliche Zendalphabet," Abh. B. Akad.

1862, s. 298, 306, 381.

[177] "Vendid." 4, 120; Astad Yasht, 1.

CHAPTER V.

THE G.o.dS OF THE ARIANS IN IRAN.

The examination of the traditions of the East and West has simply led to the confirmation of the result, which we gain from the Avesta--that the name and the doctrine of Zarathrustra belong to Bactria. With regard to the antiquity of the doctrine, the inscriptions of Darius and the statements of the Greeks allowed us to draw the conclusion that it became current and dominant in Bactria about the year 800 B.C.; and from the a.n.a.logy of the development of the Arians on both sides of the Ganges we a.s.sumed that it was possible to place the date of Zarathrustra himself about two centuries earlier. That the Arians of Iran were not without G.o.ds and religious wors.h.i.+p before Zarathrustra, if the fact needed proof, might be shown from the statements in the Avesta regarding the time previous to Zarathrustra. The examination of the legends of this time established kindred forms and traits in the Avesta and the Veda, and if, following this path further, we find in the Avesta views of the nature and character of the G.o.ds corresponding to those of the Veda, we might be confident in regarding them as the traditional possession of the Arians, and their earliest forms of religion. If, in fine, the coincidence of the Avesta with the Veda, on the one hand, and with the accounts of the Greeks on the other, extended to all the essential points in the doctrine and the law, the question stated above--whether in the restoration of the canon of the sacred writings in the midst of the fourth century of our era, under king Shapur II., the Avesta underwent material alterations, would have to be answered in the negative.

The poems of the Veda showed us in what directions the religious feeling of the Indians in the Panjab moved. Drought, gloom, and night were numbered among the injurious forces; the clear sky, the light, and fertilising water were beneficent. The high spirits of light, which gave new courage to the heart each morning, and exhibited the world in fresh brilliance, were praised with thanksgivings; the spirits of the highest heaven, Mitra and Varuna, the guardians of the world, the protectors of purity and justice, were invoked earnestly, but less frequently than the warlike victorious G.o.d who gave water, the G.o.d of storm and tempest, who defeated the demons which obscured the sky and wished to carry away the water (IV. 48). His comrades in the fight were the morning wind which drove away the clouds of night, the winds which shattered the gloomy clouds, and swept them from the sky. The spirit of fire, who by his brilliant glow in the darkness of night kept off the beasts of prey and fiends, who gathered men round the hearth, and summoned the G.o.ds to the sacrifice, and carried up to them the food of the sacrifice, received zealous wors.h.i.+p in the hymns of the Veda.

We can call to mind the invocations of the Rigveda to Ushas, the G.o.ddess of the dawn, who drives forth on the sky with red cows; to Surya and Savitar, the spirits of the sun (IV. 45, 46). In the Avesta, prayers are addressed to Ushahina and Hvare Kshaeta, the bright sun-G.o.d. Ushahina is here the pure spirit of the celestial dawn, "who is possessed of bright horses." Of the sun-G.o.d we are told: "Mount, bright sun, with thy swift horses, and s.h.i.+ne for all creatures on the way which Auramazda has created in the air, the way rich in water which the G.o.ds have created;"[178] just as in the Veda the sun is invoked to approach on his ancient firm paths in the air, which are free from dust (IV. 46).

Sacrifice is offered to the sun, according to the Avesta, when he rises above Hara berezaiti (the divine mountain).[179] The prayer to Mithra is as follows: "To the mighty Yazata (_i.e._ the worthy of prayer), the strong one, who brings good, will I offer sacrifice with libations; I will encompa.s.s him with songs of thanksgiving. With libations we offer sacrifice to Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, who speaketh true things, the wise one, comely in shape, of a thousand ears and ten thousand eyes, standing on a broad tower, strong, sleepless, and watchful, who mounts above Hara berezaiti before the immortal sun, the guider of horses--he who first in a form of gold ascends the beautiful summits. For him the creator Auramazda has prepared a dwelling above Hara berezaiti, where is neither night, nor darkness, nor winds chilling nor scorching, nor the corruption of the slain; no filth created of demons nor vapours ascend Hara berezaiti. From thence the giver of good beholds the abode of the Arians, whose horse-guiding lords govern splendid hosts, whose high mountains, rich in water and in pastures, supply nourishment for the ox, where are deep lakes with broad streams, and wide navigable rivers burst forth in tumult, on Iskata and Pourata,[180] on Mouru (Merv), Haraeva (p. 11), and Gao, cughdha (Sogdiana), and Hvairiza (Ch.o.a.resm). Where first they sacrifice to him, there Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, descends with the victorious wind. From anguish and pain, O Mithra, carry us, undeceived. Come to us for our protection; come to us with joy; come to us with mercy; come to us with healing; come to us with purification, the mighty, the strong, the all-knowing, the tamer of dragons, the undeceived. Never lulled to sleep, Mithra protects with his weapon the creatures of Auramazda. On him the lord of the land, of the canton, the village, the house, calls for help with uplifted hands, whose voice of woe, whether his voice be loud or soft, reaches up to the stars and down to the earth. He to whom Mithra is favourable, to him he cometh with aid; but with whomsoever he is angry he destroys his house and village and canton and land, and the glory of the land. Mithra gives swift horses to those who do not deceive him; to the habitation in which he is satisfied he gives troops of cattle and men. The fire of Auramazda gives the straightest path to those who do not deceive Mithra. But if the lord of the house, the village, the canton, the land deceives him, then Mithra in anger destroys house and village, canton and land. Not all evil deeds, not all deception, are seen by Mithra, saith the wicked man. But Mithra sees all that is between heaven and earth. With ten thousand eyes he beholds the man who hates and deceives him. His long arms with the might of Mithra grasp what is in Eastern India (Hendu), and what is in Western, and what is in the midst of this earth. The swiftest deceivers of Mithra do not reach the goal; they do not escape on horseback, nor reach the goal in chariots.

"Mithra, the lord of lands, whose countenance beams like the star Tistrya, travels forth to the right end of the earth from the brilliant Garonmana (the abode of the G.o.ds), equipped with golden helmet, and silver coat of mail, with sharp long-shafted lance and swinging arrow, on a beautiful chariot with a golden wheel and silver spokes, which four white horses draw, their fore-hoofs shod with gold, their hinder hoofs with silver, harnessed in the yoke which is bent over them. In his hand is a club with a hundred studs, and a hundred blades, heavy at the end, making havoc of men; bound with bra.s.s on the handle, mighty and golden, the strongest and most victorious of weapons. Before him goes Verethraghna in the form of a boar, sharp of tusk, fat, enraged, striking at once with feet, claws, tail, and back of bra.s.s.[181] Next to him goes the kindled fire, the strong, royal grace. As a protection of the chariot are a thousand bows of bone, whose strings are made of the sinews of oxen, a thousand arrows plumed with feathers of the Kahrkaca, with golden points and wooden shafts, and flakes of bone and iron, a thousand lances with sharp points, a thousand missiles of copper, a thousand two-edged swords. Strong as spirits they travel onward, strong as spirits they fall on the skulls of the Daevas.

"Before him of a truth, Angromainyu (the evil spirit) trembles, the deadly one; before him trembles Aeshma, the wicked-minded, and body-destroying; before him trembles Bushyancta, the long of hand, and all invisible Daevas and the sinners from Varena. When the evil one, who works wickedness, runs forth with swift step, Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, swiftly harnesses his chariot, and craosha, the pure and strong, and Nairyocangha, the herald, beats him and his ranks. When Mithra comes where the lands are against him (_i.e._ do not honour him) he brings down his club on horse and rider. Against them he brings mighty destruction and terror; he bears away the heads of the men who deceive Mithra. Their arrows, swift-feathered, sent swiftly forth by the string from the well-stretched bow, strike the air only; the lances, sharp and running out with long shafts from the arm, strike the air only; the missiles from the strings strike the air only; the well-directed swords and well-slung clubs beat the air only; meanwhile, angry, enraged, and not propitiated, Mithra approaches, the lord of wide pastures. Thou, O Mithra, angry and mighty, takest the force from their arms; thou takest the force from their arms, and the sight from their eyes, and the hearing from their ears. The wind carries away the lances which the opponents of Mithra throw; even though he throws well and hits the body he inflicts no wound. Standing on the field of battle Mithra annihilates the ranks; the wings quake, and he makes the centre to tremble. They say: Our war-horses were led away by Mithra; by him were our strong arms and swords annihilated. Mithra scares men before and behind; craosha, the pure, a.s.sists in slaying on all sides. Mithra sweeps them away, slaying them by fifties and by hundreds; by hundreds and by thousands; by thousands and tens of thousands, and without number. We cannot sustain the weight of the angry lord who with the force of a thousand meets the foe; who dashes on in his rage, and rests not from the slaughter; who destroys all at a blow. May not the mightiest, the swiftest, the most victorious of the Yazatas fall upon us. Come to our help, O Mithra, high lord, when the arrow hisses aloud and the horse neighs in his nostrils, and the missiles whizz, and the strings speed forth the sharp, bony arrows. Whomsoever Mithra protects, him the well-sharpened lance cannot reach, nor the arrow flying past him.

"In his might Mithra approaches; in power he goes forth to dominion, and beholding from afar directs his glance with his eyes. Thou protectest the lands which seek after the beneficence of Mithra, lord of wide pastures; thou destroyest the lands which are wicked. O Mithra, lord of wide pastures, master of the house, of the villages, the land!--let us be protectors of thy fields, not the destroyers of them. As the sun arises above Hara berezaiti so may I obtain my desires over the evil Angromainyu. With uplifted arms, Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, conveys us to immortality. With sacrifice named by name, with becoming speech, O strong Mithra, will I make offerings to thee with libations.

Listen, O Mithra, to our sacrifice. Come to our sacrifice; come to our libations. Carry them away to the place of meeting (_chinvat_); deposit them in Garonmana. Thou, O Mithra, art the saviour and helper of lands and men. Thou makest the dwellings, from which impurity is removed, famous for women and chariots. Thou hast power over the peace and the disquiet of lands; prosperous art thou in the battle, and strong. Give us the gifts for which we entreat thee; abundance and power, prosperity and purity, renown and bravery, and victory given by Ahura, the overwhelming power of the highest purity (_asha vahista_), and instruction in the sacred word, that so we may slay all enemies and haters, and annihilate the hate of men and Daevas, of magicians and Pairikas, of the violent, blind, and deaf. Stretch out thy widely grasping hand, O Mithra; thou art the protector of the dwelling, and of them that deceive not. Protect us in both worlds, the corporeal and incorporeal, from the evil death, the evil Aeshma, the evil hosts, who seek to raise their cruel banners, from the attacks which Aeshma may make with Vidhatu the Daeva-created."[182]

The modern traits which have been introduced into this poem are easily distinguished and removed. The relation in which Mithra is placed to Auramazda, the chief of the good spirits, to the corporeal and incorporeal world and the maintenance of the law, to Rashnu, the spirit of justice, and other spirits of an abstract nature, and to the instruction in the sacred word, are like the "Western and Eastern India," obviously of the later origin. Setting them aside, the old form of the G.o.d of light of the Arians in Iran meets us in vigorous and powerful outlines. Indeed we have here more original conceptions of Mithra than in the Veda, and find that idea of the G.o.d which formed part of the yet undivided stock of the Arians in Iran and on the Indus (IV.

51). In the Avesta Mithra is still in direct conflict with the evil spirits, from which in the Veda he is displaced by the storm-G.o.d, who first came into prominence in the Panjab. That Mithra was once the supreme deity of the Arians of Iran, is clear, not only from his position as the most victorious opponent of the demons, but also from the difficulty--which the Avesta betrays in more than one pa.s.sage--of subordinating him to Auramazda, who subsequently became supreme, and establis.h.i.+ng the precedence of the latter. In Mithra's habitation it is never night. Highest of the spirits of light, he goes before the sun, and first plants himself on the summits of the mountains. He is the mightiest warrior against night and the spirits of night who tremble before him. His light overpowers and destroys them. Thus he is able to give victory in the battle to the army which wors.h.i.+ps him in truth; the host with which he fights he fills with courage and power; that with which he is angry he fills with terror, and causes their arrows to fly forth in vain. In brilliant armour he travels onward, his club in his hand; before him is victory, and beside him is fire. Mithra's club is called Vazra, Indra's club is Vajra; the word is the same, the distinction is due to the change of sound which separates the old Bactrian from the language of the Veda and Sanskrit.[183] Lord of the lands and nations, he looks down on the abode of the Arians; most brilliant of deities, he sees all that is between heaven and earth. He cannot be deceived and beguiled; the most secret wickedness is not hidden from him; the swiftest criminal does not escape from him, and the strongest succ.u.mbs to his anger. G.o.d of purity and truth, he watches over purity and truth among men, punishes falsehood, rewards justice and fidelity; he blesses the nations and houses which wors.h.i.+p him with goodly increase in men and flocks.

We saw what importance the Veda ascribed to the conquest over Vritra, the cloud serpent, the black demon. The Arians in Iran also are acquainted with the slaying of Vritra. The prayer to Mithra represents Verethraghna as going before Mithra's victorious car (p. 110).

Verethraghna means slayer of Verethra, or Vritra, and is the same word as Vritrahan. Hence the attribute of Indra, which denotes the most important achievement among his actions, is among the Iranians an independent spirit. As the club of Indra belongs in the Avesta to Mithra, so is Verethraghna his companion. No doubt at one time Mithra had himself the surname Verethraghna in Iran, the attribute signifying the conqueror of the worst and strongest of the evil spirits. But just as in the Panjab, owing to the tropical storms of that region, the form of Vritra came into prominence, and with it the form of Indra, so in the Avesta did Verethraghna fade away when separated from Mithra. Here Verethraghna is only the victorious strength, the conquest and slaughter of the enemy,--victory itself. Verethraghna is the best armed of the heavenly spirits, the strongest in might, the most victorious. Yet even in the Avesta the Soma is offered to Verethraghna before the battle, as in the Veda it is offered to Indra. Auramazda says to Zarathrustra: "When the armies meet in battle, the orderly ranks are not defeated in which sacrifice is liberally offered to Verethraghna, whom Ahura created. The Arian lands should offer him sacrifice, and strew sacrificial branches for him. They should offer beasts to him, bright and gold-coloured." "To him the pure Zarathrustra offered sacrifice, and Verethraghna came to him in the form of a strong wind, in the form of a beautiful bull with golden ears and golden hoofs, in the form of a s.h.i.+ning horse, of a large, biting, and fierce camel, in the form of a boar with strong tusks (as also in the prayer to Mithra), in the form of a youth, in the form of a man carrying a sword with a golden handle, in the form of the swiftest and largest of birds, in the form of a ram, and a fighting goat. And Verethraghna gave Zarathrustra strength of arms, health and vigour of body, and power of vision, like that of the horse which sees in the night, and the gold-coloured vulture." In the battle Verethraghna hastens through the ranks and inquires with Mithra and Rashnu: "Who lies against Mithra? to whom shall I give death and destruction, for I have the power?" "Verethraghna, the created of Ahura, the bearer of splendour, I will praise"--such is a prayer in the Avesta--"with audible praise, with offering. To Verethraghna will I sacrifice. I will bring Haoma in order that I may conquer this army, which comes up behind me. Verethraghna holds back the hands of the ranks of the men who lie against Mithra; he veils their sight, and dulls their ears, and suffers not their feet to advance. Verethraghna brings the ranks together in battle; he destroys the ranks, and annihilates them."[184]

In the Veda, the winds, the swift and strong Maruts, aided Indra against the demons; Vayu, _i.e._ the blowing, the morning wind which chases away the dark clouds, was Indra's charioteer (IV. 49). In the Avesta also, Vayu, who blows before the morning light and the sun, and scares away the goblins of the night, who first drinks "the Soma draught at the morning sacrifice," takes a prominent position, and under his Vedic name. The heroes of ancient days cried aloud to Vayu for victory, and he brought help to them all. He is the strongest of the strong, the swiftest of the swift, girded up and active, higher in stature, broader in the hips and shoulders, than the rest of the G.o.ds. He sits on a golden throne (p. 35); wears a golden helmet, golden armour, a girdle and neckband of gold, and rides on a golden chariot. He says to Zarathrustra: "I am called the beneficent, because I do good for Auramazda. I am called the pure, the strong-winged, the mightiest, the swiftest, the powerful for defeat, the expeller of the Daevas. I am called the Hurling one, the Biting one, the sharp lance, the flas.h.i.+ng lance. I am called the Conqueror. These names must thou invoke at the shock of the ranks in battle, in the stress of the conflict."[185] In the Avesta, as we saw, Verethragna also appears in the form of the wind.

The "pure swift winds," the air, "which works on high, which purifies the heaven from the right hand," are frequently invoked; the "strong wind, created by Ahura," brings the rain-clouds which Tistrya (p. 120) has liberated over the earth; the wind carries away the lances, which those hurl who are hostile to Mithra. We saw above, how the Bactrians were defeated by Artaxerxes I., "because the wind blew in their faces"

(p. 25). If in the Avesta, in accordance with the character of the doctrine, the purifying force of the winds and fresh air is made prominent, the other traits quoted are sufficient to permit us to recognise the original conception formed by the Iranians of the spirits of the winds.

The pure waters, the well-flowing, the waters of the springs, pools, and rivers are often mentioned in the Avesta and highly extolled. As with the Arians in India, so in the Avesta, the great waters are placed high up in the sky. The stars contain the seed of water; just as among the Arians in India certain constellations at the appearance of which rain fell, were considered to be the home of the waters. In the Avesta also the water of the sky is the source and origin of the waters on earth. In that book a female deity is the guardian of these waters, the G.o.ddess Ardvicura Anahita, _i.e._ the lofty, stainless one, "to whom Auramazda gave the waters in charge." She is at one and the same time the source of the heavenly water, which springs up on the golden height of Hukairya, the summit of the divine mountain, and the spirit of this source and of the water coming from it. At the height of a thousand men, the spring Ardvicura flows down from the golden Hukairya; it has a thousand basins, and a thousand streams, each stream is forty days'

journey in length for an active traveller.[186] The G.o.ddess who pours out this water is a strong, well-grown maiden of brilliant countenance, and beautiful arms, which are more brilliant and larger than horses. On her brow she bears a golden diadem, adorned with a hundred stars; she has golden ear-rings and neck-band, a flowing lower garment with many folds of gold, and golden shoes on her feet. Her b.r.e.a.s.t.s fall down over her girdle; her upper robe is of bright otter skins, _i.e._ of the smooth skins of the animal of the water. She carries a golden Paitidana, and holds the reins of her chariot which is drawn by four white beasts of draught. The deity of the water of the sky is in the Avesta the most beneficent of the G.o.ddesses; the source of water is also the source of fruitfulness and life. She cleanses the seed of men, and gives a happy delivery to women; those who are with child entreat her a.s.sistance. To men she gives swift horses and strong comrades, if duly invoked and wors.h.i.+pped. We have already seen how the heroes of old days, Yima, Thraetaona, Kerecacpa, Kava Uca, Kava Hucrava, Vistacpa, sacrificed horses, cows, and smaller cattle to Ardvicura, in order to win victory over the evil spirits, the dragons, the giants, and the enemies of Iran (p. 32, 34 ff.). Zarathrustra asks the stainless Ardvicura what sacrifice he must offer to her, in order that Auramazda may not hold back his course in the height above the sun, that serpents may not injure the water by their sweat and poison. And Ardvicura gave command that prayer and sacrifice should be offered to her from the ascent of the sun till daybreak; the sacrifice was to be consumed by the sacrificers and priests in honour of the G.o.ddess; the impure, blind, dumb, and all afflicted with infirmities were to be kept far from it.