Home›Zoroastrian Deities›Historicity›Not a historical person: a divine or other-than-human beingBrowse ByNot a historical person: a divine or other-than-human beingThis page groups deities by whether their existence in belief is considered fully mythological, debated, or grounded in a historical cult that can be traced. Wikipedia defines historicity as "the historical actuality of persons and events, meaning the quality of being part of history instead of being a historical myth, legend, or fiction." Browsing this way helps a visitor separate gods with a documented historical cult from ones known only through later literary retelling.FactsLearn MoreNot a historical person: a divine or other-than-human beingSourcesComments (0)Reader Challenges (0)FactsAttestationEra of AttestationWell-attestedThe Gathas of Zarathushtra are placed on linguistic grounds in the second millennium BCE. The earliest datable attestation of the tradition's gods is the Achaemenid royal inscriptions naming Ahura Mazda from the late sixth century BCE. The religion is practised today. 2Veneration TodayWell-attestedVenerated today by the Parsi and Iranian Zoroastrian communities and their diaspora. 2OverviewWhat Defines This GroupingWell-attestedThe divine beings of Zoroastrianism: Ahura Mazda, the Amesha Spentas who personify aspects of the good creation, and the yazatas, beings worthy of worship, several of them older Iranian gods retained. Whether these amount to a pantheon at all is a live question in and about the tradition, which understands itself as monotheist while giving the yazatas cult. 2DirectoryCategoryWell-attestedDeities 1StatusStanding as a Comparative CategoryWell-attestedWhether the Amesha Spentas and yazatas are deities, aspects of one God, or a class with no equivalent elsewhere has been argued within the tradition and in the scholarship for over a century, and the answer changes what this grouping is a grouping of. 2Learn MoreThe Divine Beings of Zoroastrianism This group holds the divine figures of Zoroastrianism, the ancient Iranian religion founded on the teaching of Zarathushtra (Zoroaster). Its theology is distinctive: a supreme good creator, Ahura Mazda, opposed by the hostile spirit Angra Mainyu (Ahriman), with the cosmos the arena of their struggle, a dualism that influenced later Western religion. The browser will find Ahura Mazda; the Amesha Spentas, the beneficent immortals who personify aspects of the good creation; the yazatas, lesser worshipful beings such as Mithra and Anahita; and the adversary and his demons. The atlas notes the tradition's great antiquity and its survival among the Parsi and Iranian Zoroastrian communities today.Not a historical person: a divine or other-than-human beingFilter Results7 entriesChild OfAllAhura Mazda (1)Attested InAllAvesta (1)Interpretatio OfAllAphrodite (1)Artemis (1)Mithras (1)TheologyAllDualist: two opposed cosmic principles (7)ArchetypeAllThe Caregiver (1)The Hero (2)The Magician (1)The Rebel (1)The Sage (2)Veneration StatusAllActively venerated in a living tradition (6)No Cult Attested (1)Era Attested Start YearAll-1400 (1)-1000 (1)-400 (1)Worshipped InAllZoroastrianism (7)Domain / FunctionAllChaos and adversary (1)Cosmic order and truth (3)Creation and cosmogony (1)Death (1)Destruction and dissolution (1)Fertility and generation (1)Fire (1)Healing and medicine (1)Justice, law and oaths (1)Kingship and sovereignty (2)Protection and guardianship (1)Purification (1)Rivers, lakes and springs (1)Sun (1)Victory (1)War and battle (1)Wisdom and counsel (1)GenderAllFemale (1)Male (6)PantheonAllZoroastrian (7)Show ResultsBrowseCompareSelect all 7Ahura MazdaNot a historical person: a divine or other-than-human beingAnahitaNot a historical person: a divine or other-than-human beingAngra MainyuNot a historical person: a divine or other-than-human beingAtarNot a historical person: a divine or other-than-human beingMithraNot a historical person: a divine or other-than-human beingSraoshaNot a historical person: a divine or other-than-human beingVerethragnaNot a historical person: a divine or other-than-human beingSources1. Divinity Atlas Directory Taxonomy, First Edition Category Treetier 12. A History of Zoroastrianismtier 1Mary Boyce, Brill, 1989vol. 1, chs. 1-3View the SourceDivinity Atlas Directory Prose, First Edition Category Descriptionstier 1Comments (0)No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.Sign in to join the discussion.Reader Challenges (0)No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.