Tag Archives: zarathustra
The Original Holy Land
What place do most of us think of when we hear the term “Holy Land”? Perhaps we ought to think of Afghanistan. Let us begin by looking at that highly influential proto-western religion of the Persian Empire, Zoroastrianism. Though it is evident that Judaism originated in Mesopotamia and developed in and around Palestine, it is [...]
Good, Evil, and Plutarch
Henry David Thoreau, an obscure 19th Century classicist and journalist who earned a reputation as a decent translator of Greek works, once reflected on the profound presence of Evil in the world: Are there not two powers? —Journal of Henry David Thoreau, Jan 9, 1853 Among the Greek classics which Thoreau is known to have [...]
Zarathustra the Yes Man.
There is perhaps no message more essential to Nietzsche’s Thus Spoke Zarathustra than the whole-hearted affirmation of life as an individual experience. I am a blesser and a Yea-sayer, … into all abysses I carry my blessing Yea-saying. —Thus Spoke Zarathustra 3.4, Before Sunrise This affirmation of life as a whole appears to be the [...]
Also Sprach Herakleitos
Nietzsche’s choice of the Iranian (not necessarily Persian) prophet Zarathustra was far from arbitrary, and Nietzsche wanted us to know this. “I have not been asked, as I should have been asked, what the name of Zarathustra means in precisely my mouth, …” — Ecce Homo Though taking the title “the first immoralist,” Nietzsche did [...]
Gimme that Old Time Religion
Yeah, that’s right, I consider myself a Mazdean, among other things. I’m sure that there are a lot of Mazdeans who would not consider me a Mazdean, but that doesn’t matter to me. They won’t be around for long anyhow. Why, you may ask, have I adopted such an ancient, backward, and dying religion? [...]
Religious Tolerance in Ancient Persia
The Vendidad is the Zoroastrian book of laws that was supposed to have been authored, if not written down, roughly around the time of Christ. The content, though, seems quite ancient. There is very little in the Vendidad that suggests that it was written for a civilized (urban) people, or even a warring people; yet, [...]
Love, Sympathy, and Value
The September 13 episode of the Philosopher’s Zone podcast really struck a chord with me. I spent most of the episode mumbling non-verbal cues of non-committal acquiescence, but by the end I was slapping the steering wheel, saying, “that’s fucking beautiful” with tears welling up in my eyes. Your mileage, of course, may vary. The [...]
Gods of Wisdom
The wise (sophos) is one only. It is unwilling and willing to be called by the name of Zeus. —Heraclitus Zarathashtra worshiped something he called “Lord Wisdom” (Mazda). He called his religion Mazdayasna, which translates to “worship of wisdom.” Heraclitus might have been the first Greek to advocate philos-sophia, or “love of wisdom.” Heraclitus and [...]
Last of the Starry-Eyed Orientalists
Since Iran deteriorated into Islamic fundamentalism in 1979, and the Ayatollahs resurfaced to rid Iran of unclean things such as infidels, heretics, and homosexuals, we haven’t heard much from the starry-eyed orientalist; that scholar who tires of the daunting empiricism, formal scientific process, excessive prosperity, and agnostic materialism of the West, and turns to the [...]
Henry Thoreau’s Moral Universe
I’ve been a wilderness lover since the summer my brother David and I first rode our bicycles into the Sierra Nevada, but I never did think much of Henry David Thoreau, until I suddenly fell in love with him. To me, Thoreau was just some New England liberal garden-naturalist who might have liked to walk [...]