Zoroastrianism Essay

Before Zoroastrianism was introduced to Persia, Persian Religion was very nature oriented and polytheistic with Ahuramazda being considered the chief god. The Persians generally allowed their subjects to continue their own religion. That is why the ideas of a person named Zoroaster were able to spread so easily around 600 B.C.E. We are uncertain about the dates and history of Zoroaster himself, but we know he was a thinker and preacher. Zoroaster is credited as the author of a set of religious texts in the form of poems found in the Avesta called the Gathas. The teachings of Zoroaster encouraged devotion to Ahuramazda alone. This is where we see monotheistic ideas being spread. Zoroaster also believed that there was a constant struggle between …show more content…
Originally, the Persian Empire had ruled the area for fifty years. In 499 B.C.E, the Greeks who lived in Ionia decided they had had enough. With the halfhearted help of the Athenians, they rebelled, though unsuccessfully, marking the beginning of the Persian Wars (McKay, A History of World Societies, p.122). The Persians were not happy about the Athenians helping the Greeks. In retaliation, the Persians attacked the Athenians in what would be known as the battle of Marathon. The Persians came arranged in the Hoplite Phalanx, a formation which allowed them to break through the opposing army with a wall of shields and swords, thinking they would certainly be victorious (Ancient Greece, Slide 74). However, the Athenians outsmarted them by using a small army as a lure. When the Persians were close enough, the rest of the army came out and attacked the Persians from the sides, resulting in an Athenian victory (Lecture Notes). According to legend, a Greek man ran from Marathon to Athens to deliver the news of the Athenian victory. When the modern-day Olympics began, a running race of about twenty-five miles, the distance between Marathon and Athens, was included to honor the Greeks. Thus, giving the name marathon to the race (Lecture