Zoroaster facts for kids

Zoroaster, or Zarathushtra, was an ancient prophet who lived in Persia. He founded a religion named Zoroastrianism. This religion has a long history. It was the national religion of Sassanid Empire of ancient Iran. In Persian language, the name takes the form of Zartosht.

Most scholars agree that Zoroaster was a real person who lived long ago. No one is certain about the time when he lived. One estimate is that he lived about 3200 years ago, around 1200 BC. Some other estimates are that Zarathushtra may have lived anywhere between the 18th century BC and the 6th century BC.

Images for kids

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  Painted clay and alabaster head of a Zoroastrian priest wearing a distinctive Bactrian-style headdress, Takhti-Sangin, Tajikistan, Greco-Bactrian kingdom, 3rd–2nd century BCE

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  Painting of the events of Zoroaster's life.

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  An 8th-century Tang dynasty Chinese clay figurine of a Sogdian man (an Eastern Iranian person) wearing a distinctive cap and face veil, possibly a camel rider or even a Zoroastrian priest engaging in a ritual at a fire temple, since face veils were used to avoid contaminating the holy fire with breath or saliva; Museum of Oriental Art (Turin), Italy.

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  The School of Athens: a gathering of renaissance artists in the guise of philosophers from antiquity, in an idealized classical interior, featuring the scene with Zoroaster holding a planet or cosmos.

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  Detail of The School of Athens by Raphael, 1509, showing Zoroaster (left, with star-studded globe).

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  Zoroastrian devotional art depicting the religion's founder with white clothing and a long beard

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  An image of Zoroaster on mirrored etched glass at the Zoroastrian fire temple in Taft, Iran