什麼是伊朗宗教

古代伊朗高原民族的宗教。米底亞人與波斯人由強勢教士部族梅格斯所統治。梅格斯負責頌揚關於諸神緣起與承繼的故事，他們也可能是二元論--後來伊朗宗教中最着名之瑣羅亞斯德教的特徵--的始作俑者。瑣羅亞斯德教以前之泛神論的主神是阿胡拉.瑪茲達，萬物的創造者以及宇宙與社會秩序的維持者。密斯拉神（Mithra）則是第二位最重要的神只，聖約的保護者。其他重要神只包括阿娜希塔（Anahita），戰爭女神；拉什努（Rashnu），正義之神；以及等同於天狼星（Sirius）的提虛特里厄（Tishtrya）等星神。古代伊朗人不建造神廟也不為諸神塑像，他們偏好户外公開禮拜。主要儀式是雅茲納（yazna），其中有項祭宴，由禮拜者獻祭動物，邀請神只入席作客。火被視為一種神聖元素。含有致幻麻藥的神聖飲料侯瑪（hauma），用來激發禮拜者對真理的洞察力，也用來激勵戰士參戰。

Iranian religions

Ancient religions of the peoples of the Iranian plateau. The Medes and Persians were dominated by a powerful priestly tribe, the magi. The magi were responsible for chanting accounts of the origin and descent of the gods, and they were probably the source of the dualism that later characterized Zoroastrianism, the best known of the Iranian religions. The chief god of the pre-Zoroastrian pantheon was Ahura Mazda, the creator of the universe and the one who maintains the cosmic and social order. Mithra was the second most important deity and the protector of covenants. Other major deities included Anahita, the war goddess; Rashnu, the god of justice; and astral deities such as Tishtrya, identified with the star Sirius. The ancient Iranians did not build temples or make images of their gods, preferring to worship in the open. The central ritual was the yazna, which consisted of a festive meal at which the worshipers made animal sacrifices and invited the deity to attend as a guest. Fire was regarded as a sacred element. The sacred drink hauma, which contained a mind-altering drug, was used to inspire worshipers with insight into truth and to stimulate warriors going into battle.