#avesta

• Ahriman — The supreme spirit of evil, darkness, and destruction in the ancient Persian religion (Zoroastrianism or Mazdeism), representing the direct antithesis and eternal enemy of Ahura Mazda (the spirit of good and light). Also known as Angra Mainyu in Avestan texts, he commands demonic forces in a structural cosmic dualism, responsible for death, disease, and sin in creation.
• Anahita — An ancient Persian divinity of cosmic waters, fertility, healing, and wisdom, structurally venerated in Zoroastrianism and throughout the Achaemenid Empire. Fully known as Ardvi Sura Anahita (meaning 'Moist, Mighty, and Immaculate'), she is portrayed in the sacred Avesta texts as a noble maiden clad in a golden cloak, representing a universal symbol of purity, life-giving force, and divine protection.
• Avesta — The collection of sacred texts of Zoroastrianism (the ancient religion of Persia), written in the Avestan language, an ancient Iranian language closely related to Vedic Sanskrit; it comprises religious hymns attributed to the prophet Zoroaster (the Gathas), prayers, liturgical rituals, and cosmological and moral law codes. Additionally, the name may appear as a modern toponym, denoting an industrial town in Sweden renowned for its metallurgy history.
• Avestan — Pertaining to the Avesta, the sacred texts of Zoroastrianism in ancient Persia, or to the people who created them; as a masculine noun, it denotes the Avestan language, an extremely important ancient Iranian language of the Indo-European family, closely related to Vedic Sanskrit and used exclusively for liturgical and religious purposes. This idiom represents a fundamental source for the comparative study of Oriental languages and mythologies.
• Avestan — The feminine gender form for the adjective 'avestic'; it directly denotes the Avestan language (as a feminine noun), the Eastern Iranian idiom used in antiquity for drafting the Zoroastrian scriptures. As an adjective, it qualifies a writing, doctrine, historical stage, or a cultural and phonetic feature closely linked to the early Persian civilization and the texts included in the Avesta.