the commencement of our era, the popular religious system of the whole 

 of Europe. 



We have now to deal with the Central Aryans, or Eranians ; and, in 

 doing so, must bear in mind that, while the Eastern Aryans, or Hindus, 

 and the Western Aryans of Europe, were almost altogether uninfluenced 

 for many centuries by the mythologies of surrounding tribes of other 

 and distinct families of the human race, this was far from being the 

 case with the Eranians, who were almost entirely cut off from their 

 Western brethren ; and, although still in comparatively close contact 

 with the Eastern Aryans, were yet completely wedged in between the 

 Turanian Urals on the north, and the great Semitic stream of life on 

 the south and west. Such being the case, it is at once apparent that the 

 religion of the Eranian people would quickly lose many of its distinc- 

 tive Aryan marks and acquire many Turanian and Semitic character- 

 istics. Bactria, in Eastern Eran (Persia), appears to have been the 

 ancient birthplace of this semi-Aryan religion, which afterwards deve- 

 loped, under the influence of that great reformer, Zoroaster (Zarathustra), 

 into the cultus called Mazdeism, or Parsism. From the Avesta, the 

 sacred writings of the Parsis, written in the old Zend language, we 

 derive considerable knowledge of Mazdeism. Ahura Mazdao (Ormazd), 

 the all-wise spirit, is supreme god, far above all gods, being creator of 

 the world, god of light and truth, existing from the beginning, and 

 eternal. Inferior to him are Mithra, god of light ; Nairyo Sanha, god of 

 fire ; Apan Napat, god of water ; Haoma, god of the drink of immor- 

 tality ; and Tistrya, the dog-star god. The chief goddess of fruitfulness 

 was Anahita, who in later time became an important deity in association 

 with the worship of Mithra, the son of Ormuzd. Mazdeism also recog- 

 nised a god of evil, Ahro Mainyus (Ahriman), who, with the evil Devas, 

 inhabit the underworld, and oppose Ormuzd on every occasion ; the 

 world lying between the two kingdoms of righteousness and evil, ruled 

 over respectively by Ormuzd and Ahriman. This dualism is the most 

 marked feature of Mazdeism, and runs through the whole religion, being 

 found in every myth, and giving rise to the most hideous conceptions 

 of morality. In the cosmogony of the Parsis the great creator, Ormuzd, 

 after making a perfect world and introducing a perfect pair of human 

 beings, is defeated by the wicked Ahriman, who creates evil, and seduces 

 the man and woman to sin, thus placing in opposition to each other 

 upon this earth the two forces, good and evil. To avoid the influence of 

 this evil force, and to gain that of the good power, was the great aim of 

 all true Mazda-worshippers ; and the means whereby this much-desired 

 end could be attained was the fire-god, Nairyo Sanha, to whom constant 

 supplications were made for this purpose. So great was the influence 

 of Ahriman upon human beings that the god of light, Mithra, was 



