什么是伊朗宗教

古代伊朗高原民族的宗教。米底亚人与波斯人由强势教士部族梅格斯所统治。梅格斯负责颂扬关於诸神缘起与承继的故事，他们也可能是二元论--後来伊朗宗教中最着名之琐罗亚斯德教的特徵--的始作俑者。琐罗亚斯德教以前之泛神论的主神是阿胡拉.玛兹达，万物的创造者以及宇宙与社会秩序的维持者。密斯拉神（Mithra）则是第二位最重要的神只，圣约的保护者。其他重要神只包括阿娜希塔（Anahita），战争女神；拉什努（Rashnu），正义之神；以及等同於天狼星（Sirius）的提虚特里厄（Tishtrya）等星神。古代伊朗人不建造神庙也不为诸神塑像，他们偏好户外公开礼拜。主要仪式是雅兹纳（yazna），其中有项祭宴，由礼拜者献祭动物，邀请神只入席作客。火被视为一种神圣元素。含有致幻麻药的神圣饮料侯玛（hauma），用来激发礼拜者对真理的洞察力，也用来激励战士参战。

Iranian religions

Ancient religions of the peoples of the Iranian plateau. The Medes and Persians were dominated by a powerful priestly tribe, the magi. The magi were responsible for chanting accounts of the origin and descent of the gods, and they were probably the source of the dualism that later characterized Zoroastrianism, the best known of the Iranian religions. The chief god of the pre-Zoroastrian pantheon was Ahura Mazda, the creator of the universe and the one who maintains the cosmic and social order. Mithra was the second most important deity and the protector of covenants. Other major deities included Anahita, the war goddess; Rashnu, the god of justice; and astral deities such as Tishtrya, identified with the star Sirius. The ancient Iranians did not build temples or make images of their gods, preferring to worship in the open. The central ritual was the yazna, which consisted of a festive meal at which the worshipers made animal sacrifices and invited the deity to attend as a guest. Fire was regarded as a sacred element. The sacred drink hauma, which contained a mind-altering drug, was used to inspire worshipers with insight into truth and to stimulate warriors going into battle.