Zoroastrianism is one of the world's oldest religions, though it is not among the best understood. Originating with Iranian tribes living in Central Asia in the second millennium BCE, Zoroastrianism was the official religion of the Iranian empires until Islam superseded it in the seventh century AD. Centered on the worship of Ahura Mazda, the All-knowing Ruler, Zoroastrianism follows the practices and rituals set out by the prophet Zarathustra, according to the indigenous tradition. As one of the world's great religions, Zoroastrianism has a heritage rich in texts and cultic practices. The texts are often markedly difficult to translate, but in this volume, Prods Oktor Skjærvø, professor of ancient Iranian languages and culture at Harvard, provides modern and accurate translations of Zoroastrian texts that have been selected to provide an overview of Zoroastrian beliefs and practices. In a comprehensive introduction to these sacred texts, Skjærvø outlines the history and essence of Zoroastrianism and discusses the major themes of this the first fully representative selection of Zoroastrian texts to be made available in English for over a century.

Zarathustra and Zoroastrianism offers a compact, concise and accessible survey of Zoroastrianism. Chapters address Zarathustra and the origins of the religion, religious concepts and narratives, ethics and gender, priesthoods and rituals, transitions and festivals.

Entries include: Absurdism, Altruism, Antidisestablishmentarianism, Atheism, Bohemianism, Bonapartism, Buddhism, Capitalism, Careerism, Chauvinism, Colonialism, Cubism, Darwinism, Defeatism, Deism, Determinism, Eclecticism, Epicureanism, Eurocentrism, Expressionism, Fanaticism, Feminism, Freeganism, Freudianism, Futurism, Germanism, Globalism, Gnosticism, Hedonism, Heightism, Historicism, Hitlerism, Humanitarianism, Idealism, Imperialism, Institutionalism, Islamism, Isolationism, Jacksonianism, Jingoism, Judaism, Keynesianism, Lancastrianism, Leninism, Libertarianism, Localism, Maoism, Masculism, Mazdaism, Militarism, Modernism, Multiculturalism, Nazism, Neoconservatism, Nihilism, Nudism, Optimism, Orientalism, Paganism, Pan-Africanism, Phallocentrism, Poststructuralism, Quietism, Racism, Rastafarianism, Realism, Republicanism, Romanticism, Sikhism, Stoicism, Structuralism, Surrealism, Symbolism, Teaism, Taoism, Thatcherism, Unionism, Utilitarianism, Veganism, Vegetarianism, White Nationalism, Zionism, Zoroastrianism.

This obscure and ancient religion is receiving more and more attention in modern times due to its claimed influence upon Christianity. This author, however, focuses upon the relationship between Zoroastrianism and Judaism, & sets out to prove that Christianity received influence from Zoroastrianism, but that it was transmitted through Judaism.

This volume traces the history of Zoroastrianism at times and places where its existence has previously been largely ignored, or treated only episodically. Literary, archaeological and numismatic evidence has been drawn on (some of it only recently brought to light), and local developments are distinguished. In Iran itself some 200 years of Macedonian rule had little effect on the national religion. To the east, Zoroastrianism survived in the Greco-Bactrian kingdoms and under Mauryan suzereinty, where it came into contact with Buddhism. In Eastern Mediterranean lands it was maintained by Iranian expatriates well down into Roman imperial times. They adopted Greek for their written tongue, and Zoroastrian doctrines thus became known in the Greco-Roman world. Study is made accordingly of Zoroastrian contributions to Hellenistic thought, and to Judaism, Christianity and Mithraism; and an excursus provides a thorough reassessment of the Zoroastrian pseudepigrapha.

"Boyce is a, perhaps the, world authority on Zoroastrianism. . . . Prefaced by a 27-page introduction, this anthology contains selections which offer a complete picture of Zoroastrian belief, worship and practice. There are historical texts from the sixth century B.C. onwards, and extracts from modern Zoroastrian writings representing traditionalism, occultism and reformist opinion. Anyone wishing to know more about this 'least well known of the world religions' should sample these selections."—The Methodist Church "Wide-ranging. . . . An indispensable one-volume collection of primary materials."—William R. Darrow, Religious Studies Review

This is the first full treatment of the Greek and Latin references to Zoroastrianism since the pioneering works of Benveniste, Bidez & Cumont, and Clemen. It focuses on the possibilities offered by the classical reports on Zoroastrianism to reconstruct the history of that faith. The book is divided into three sections. The first section deals with introductory problems concerning ancient religious ethnography and current views of the history of Zoroastrianism. The second section consists of commentaries on five selected passages. The third section offers a thematical overview of the materials and their relevance for the history of Iranian religions. Apart from offering introductions to a wide range of debates and topics in Classics and Iranian studies, the book aims to illustrate the diversity of beliefs and practices in ancient Zoroastrianism.