Religious Poetry and Rituals in Ancient Indo-Iranian Culture

Of further importance is the song of praise directed to the divine guest. Much of the poetic portions of the Avesta and almost all of the Rigveda must be understood in this ritual context. That is to say, ancient Indo-Iranian poetry was religious in nature and specifically composed for those ritual occasions when the gods required songs of praise to make them well disposed to their worshippers. The obscurity of Zoroaster’s Gāthās and of many Vedic hymns can best be understood when it is realized that the intended audience was not humans but rather the gods.

During the year there were various festivals, mostly relating to the agricultural and herding cycles. By far the most important was that of the New Year, which is still celebrated by Iranians with great festivity.

In addition to the body (tanū), it was held that an individual consisted of a number of spiritual elements that loosely fall under the category of souls. These

Since, however, in the hymn to the goddess Rti (Reward), Ahura Mazdā is identified as her father and Spenta Aramiati (Earth) as her mother, it is implied that he has taken over, to some extent, the role of the Indo-European Father Heaven (*Diēus Pater, Vedic Dyaus Pitar), who is mythologically paired with Mother Earth. Furthermore, the Greek historian Herodotus seems to have made this identification when he wrote, “Zeus, in their (the Persian) system, is the whole circle of the heavens.” Other Greek sources commonly equate Zeus with Oromazes (Ahura Mazdā), because of Ahura Mazdā’s position as father and chief god of the pantheon. As his name implies, he seems to have been sought by his worshippers for wisdom and insight, and, to judge by the intense experiences of Darius (whether or not his professions are genuine) and of Zoroaster, he was probably the object of a personal devotion that appears to have been lacking with other