Zoroastrianism Zoroastrianism ( ), also called Mazdayasnā () or Beh-dīn (), is an Iranian religions, Iranian religion centred on the Avesta and the teachings of Zoroaster, Zarathushtra Spitama, who is more commonly referred to by the Greek translation, ...

, Spenta Armaiti (, "Holy Devotion") is one of the

Amesha Spenta In Zoroastrianism, the Amesha Spenta (—literally "Immortal (which is) holy/bounteous/furthering") are a class of seven divine entities emanating from Ahura Mazda, the highest divinity of the religion. Later Middle Persian variations of the ter ...

s, the seven divine manifestations of Wisdom and

Ahura Mazda Ahura Mazda (; ; or , ),The former is the New Persian rendering of the Avestan form, while the latter derives from Middle Persian. also known as Horomazes (),, is the only creator deity and Sky deity, god of the sky in the ancient Iranian ...

. While older sources present the Amesha Spentas more as abstract entities, in later sources Spenta Armaiti is personified as a female divinity with connotations of harmony and devotion.

Name

Spenta Armaiti is known in later

Iranian languages The Iranian languages, also called the Iranic languages, are a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages in the Indo-European language family that are spoken natively by the Iranian peoples, predominantly in the Iranian Plateau. The Iranian langu ...

as ''Spandarmad'' (in

Middle Persian Middle Persian, also known by its endonym Pārsīk or Pārsīg ( Inscriptional Pahlavi script: , Manichaean script: , Avestan script: ) in its later form, is a Western Middle Iranian language which became the literary language of the Sasania ...

) and ''Isfandārmaḏ'' (in

Modern Persian New Persian (), also known as Modern Persian () is the current stage of the Persian language spoken since the 8th to 9th centuries until now in Greater Iran and surroundings. It is conventionally divided into three stages: Early New Persian (8th/ ...

). Sometimes Armaiti is paired with other Zoroastrian deity, Zam ('earth'), another being associated with the Earth, thus forming a compound ''Zam-Armaiti'' or ''Zam-Armatay''.

Cultic role

Just like every other member within the Heptad, Ārmaiti shares an intimate bond with Ahura Mazdā, a connection metaphorically described by Zoroaster as that of a "daughter" to him. She is associated with

earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...

and sacred literature describes her role as a

Mother Nature Mother Nature (sometimes known as Mother Earth or the Earth Mother) is a personification of nature that focuses on the life-giving and nurturing aspects of nature by embodying it, in the form of a mother or mother goddess. European concept tr ...

character. Thus, she is linked to fertility and to farmers. She is also associated with the dead and the underworld.

Religious legacy

In the

Zoroastrian calendar Adherents of Zoroastrianism use three distinct versions of traditional calendars for Zoroastrian festivals, liturgical purposes. Those all derive from Middle Ages, medieval Iranian calendars and ultimately are based on the Babylonian calendar a ...

, she is associated with the twelfth month ( ) and the fifth day of the month. The fifth day of the twelfth month is hence her holy day,

Sepandārmazgān Sepandārmazgān () or Espandegān (), is an ancient Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the nort ...

. Sepandārmazgān is an ancient festival to celebrate eternal love. Iranian lovers give each other gifts on this day.

Parallels

Scholarship states that Armaiti is equivalent to a

RigVedic The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' (, , from ऋच्, "praise" and वेद, "knowledge") is an ancient Indian collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canonical Hindu texts (''śruti'') known as the ...

entity named ''Aramati''. In

Armenian mythology Armenian mythology originated in ancient Proto-Indo-European religion, Indo-European traditions, specifically Proto-Armenian, and gradually incorporated Hurrian religion, Hurro-Urartian religion, Urartian, Ancient Mesopotamian religion, Mesop ...

, her name appears as Sandaramet ().

Footnotes

References

External links

Armaiti
in ''

Encyclopedia Iranica An encyclopedia is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge, either general or special, in a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles or entries that are arranged alphabetically by artic ...

'' {{Zoroastrian Calendar Yazatas Earth goddesses