Ahura Mazda

Supreme uncreated creator god of Zoroastrianism, the Wise Lord and source of all good.

Parentage

Recorded default; alternative parentage accounts are listed separately below.

No parents recorded in the default.

Parentage accounts

Each account is a separate source claim. The parentage and children listed outside these accounts use the recorded default. Selecting an account in the interactive app updates its lineage, descent classification and inherited-power candidates. Linked pedigree accounts are selected together; other records retain their recorded parentage. Claims of ancestry are not proof of biological descent or attested powers.

• Uncreated creatorBoyce describes the uncreated creator in Zoroastrian teaching. This account asserts no parent.

  deity by descent in this account.

  No parents recorded in this account.

  Mary Boyce, Ahura Mazdā, Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. I, pp. 684–687 (uncreated creator and Zurvanite accounts) (secondary)
• Zurvanite accountZurvanite doctrine makes Ohrmazd a son of Zurvan; this differs from the uncreated account.

  deity by descent in this account.

  • father: ZurvanMary Boyce, Ahura Mazdā, Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. I, pp. 684–687 (uncreated creator and Zurvanite accounts) (secondary)
  Mary Boyce, Ahura Mazdā, Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. I, pp. 684–687 (uncreated creator and Zurvanite accounts) (secondary)

Children

• Ameretat
• Asha Vahishta
• Atar
• Haurvatat
• Khshathra Vairya
• Spenta Armaiti
• Spenta Mainyu
• Vohu Manah

Names and tradition associations

• Ahura Mazda Zoroastrian · same recordMary Boyce, Ahura Mazdā, Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. I, pp. 684–687 (uncreated creator and Zurvanite accounts) (secondary)
• Ohrmazd Zoroastrian · same recordMary Boyce, Ahura Mazdā, Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. I, pp. 684–687 (uncreated creator and Zurvanite accounts) (secondary)
• Hormazd Zoroastrian · same recordMary Boyce, Ahura Mazdā, Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. I, pp. 684–687 (uncreated creator and Zurvanite accounts) (secondary)
• Ormazd Zoroastrian · same recordMary Boyce, Ahura Mazdā, Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. I, pp. 684–687 (uncreated creator and Zurvanite accounts) (secondary)
• Aramazd Armenian · resolvedMary Boyce, Ahura Mazdā, Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. I, pp. 684–687 (uncreated creator and Zurvanite accounts) (secondary)

Domains

• wisdom light
• creation order
• truth asha

Powers

• Create the world through Spenta Mainyu, his holy spirit
• Know all things as the all-wise Lord of wisdom
• Uphold cosmic truth and order against the Lie

Epithets

• Ahura Mazdā avestan · Ahura Mazda · literaryThe Wise Lord; the name itself, the supreme uncreated creatorGathas, Yasna 28-34; Yasna 31.8 (primary)
• dātar avestan · datar · literaryThe Creator; maker of the material and spiritual worldsYasna 44 (the 'who created...?' litany of the Gathas) (primary)
• spǝ̄ništa mainiiu avestan · spenishta mainyu · literaryMost Bounteous/Holy Spirit; Ahura Mazda's creative beneficent aspectYasna 30.5; 45.6 (the Gathic theology of the twin spirits) (primary)

Relations

• equated with: Adbag
• enemy: Angra MainyuReciprocal of zoroastrian_angra_mainyu.enemy — The cosmic adversary: Ahriman assaults Ohrmazd's good creation and is doomed to final defeat at the renovation.Greater Bundahishn, ch. 1 (primary)
• spouse: Spenta ArmaitiReciprocal of zoroastrian_spenta_armaiti.spouse — In Pahlavi tradition Spandarmad, the Earth, is Ohrmazd's daughter and wife, the divine archetype of xwedodah.Pahlavi Rivayat accompanying the Dadestan i Denig, ch. 8 (primary)
• interpretatio: ZeusReciprocal of greek_hesiod_zeus.interpretatio — Hdt: Persians 'call the whole circle of heaven Zeus'; Commagene fuses Zeus-Oromasdes. Preserves supreme sky-sovereignty; breaks on Mazda's uncreated transcendence and lack of myth-cycle or consort.Herodotus, Histories 1.131 (primary); OGIS 383 (Nemrud Dagh: Zeus-Oromasdes) (primary)
• equated with: AramazdAramazd is the Armenian reflex of Ahura Mazda (via Parthian Aramazd), head of the pre-Christian pantheon. Preserves creator-sovereignty; the Armenian god is fully mythologized, with a temple-cult at Ani.J. R. Russell, Zoroastrianism in Armenia (1987) (secondary)
• syncretism: Zeus-OromasdesBruno Jacobs, Nemrud Dağı, Encyclopaedia Iranica (secondary)

Sources

• existence: Avesta (Gathas, Yasna 28-34) (primary); Bundahishn 1 (primary)