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Divine procreation of the world in Zoroastrian Pahlavi texts

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 December 2021

Amir Ahmadi
Amir Ahmadi*
Affiliation:
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
*
[email protected]
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Abstract

There are two schemes of creation in Zoroastrianism. According to one, Ohrmazd fashions the world in the manner of a skilful craftsman. According to the second, Ohrmazd gestates and gives birth to the world. This article is about the latter. The relevant Pahlavi texts are presented and discussed. The article argues that Pahlavi authors used macrocosm-microcosm correspondence theory to elaborate the doctrine from Avestan rudiments.

Keywords

Zoroastrian Pahlavi literatureCosmologyCreation mythMacrocosm-microcosm theoryTheogony
Type
Article
Information
Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies , Volume 84 , Issue 3 , October 2021 , pp. 443 - 467
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of SOAS University of London

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