Angra Mainyu ("the Destructive Spirit," later Persian Ahriman) is the hostile mind of Zoroastrian thought, the source of the Lie, disease, and death.
Imported citation, not independently checked: Yasna 30:3-5; 45; Bundahishn
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Who Is Angra Mainyu (Ahriman)?
Who Is Angra Mainyu (Ahriman)?
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The spirit who chose the Lie, and why he was never God's equal
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The oldest layer of Zoroastrian scripture (the Gathas, hymns attributed to Zarathushtra (Zoroaster) himself) names Angra Mainyu only sparingly, and never as Ahura Mazda's mirror-twin.
Imported citation, not independently checked: Gathas; A. de Jong, Traditions of the Magi (1997)
The decisive text is Yasna 30.3-5, which speaks of "two spirits" (mainyu) who, "in the beginning," chose: one chose life and truth, the other chose non-life and the Lie (Druj).
Imported citation, not independently checked: Yasna 30.3-5
Some priestly currents (the much-debated Zurvanism) even made Ohrmazd and Ahriman twin sons of Zurvan, primordial Time, which pushes the two toward genuine parity.
Imported citation, not independently checked: M. Boyce, Zoroastrians (1979); A. de Jong, Traditions of the Magi
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