ABSTRACT
The Zoroastrian religion is one of the oldest surviving religions. It’s most ancient texts, composed in an Old Iranian language known as Old Avestan, appear to have originated around the late second millennium bce. Although both Zoroastrians and non-Zoroastrian scholars acknowledge the uniqueness of the Zoroastrian schema, opinions are divided as to whether its understanding of the origin of evil derives from a 'monotheistic' or 'dualistic' perspective. It is generally understood that the Old Iranian usage of daevas/daivas refers to the 'old gods' common to the Indo-Iranian cosmology of pre-Zoroastrian times, rather than to 'foreign gods' who originate from outside the Iranian cultural sphere. It is not clear, however, why some of the old Indo-Iranian pantheon was rejected, but other divinities became identified as yazatas in the Zoroastrian schema. Such is the case with Mithra, Vayu, and Apam Napat.
