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Safaee, Yazdan. 2020. Scythian and Zoroastrian Earth Goddesses: A Comparative Study on Api and Ārmaiti. In: Kamal-Aldin Niknami & Ali Hozhabri (eds.), Archaeology of Iran in the Historical Period. pp. 65-75.

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https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-41776-5_6
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Abstract

There is a narrative in Herodotus’ Histories that informs us of the customs, history and religion of the Scythians in which their gods are mentioned. Api, the Goddess of Earth, is one of these deities in Herodotus’ narrative which the author will observe its details comprehensively in this article. On the one hand, Aməša Spəṇta Ārmaiti is related to the Earth in Zoroastrianism and has some features which, in its comparative sense, can be compared to the Scythian Goddess, Api. They both are the goddesses of earth and likewise are related to the water. They are also the daughters/wives of the great God in Scythian and Iranian pantheons, respectively. In the case of Api, one may doubt, for some terminological reasons, the accuracy of Herodotus’ account. However, one should point out that archaeological excavations emphasises Herodotus’ knowledge of the Scythian religion. Furthermore, there is a parallel account in the Geography of Strabo that could be used as a strong argument to confirm the reliability of Herodotus’ narrative. On the other hand, Api and Ārmaiti are both associated with a river. This feature exists in Arámati, the Indian parallel of Ārmaiti. Very well attested cultural and linguistic connections between Iranophone Scythians and Iranians could be measured as the last reason for this possibility that Scythian Api and Zoroastrian Ārmaiti are connected.

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yazdan safaee
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The Iranian Concept Aša and Greek Views of the Persians
Andrew Nichols

Persian mores and practices always held a deep fascination for the Greeks, who seem to have had a rather dichotomous view of their Eastern neighbors: on the one hand, they saw them as culturally inferior, barbarous, and even effeminate in some of their customs; at the same time, they also viewed them with awe and perhaps even a hint of admiration. Of the more common attributes regularly ascribed to the Per-sians by the Greeks, their devotion to truth and justice was a central one. While on the surface, this appears simply to be a topos in how the Greeks perceived exotic peoples of distant lands 1 , a closer analysis reveals that it refl ects Persian realities. Since they were writing for their fellow countrymen, Greek writers often reported what they knew in approximate and simplifi ed terms, in a manner to which their audience could easily relate. They were also restricted by their own language, which, rich though it was, usually did not have the precise terminology for the Iranian beliefs that they were trying to convey. Nevertheless, this Greek fascination with Persian adherence to truthfulness, justice, and even piety, can be traced to a single Iranian concept: aša. Aša, the abstract principle of cosmic order that encompasses, among other ideas, the related notions of truth and justice, lies at the heart of Zoroastrian-ism. Since truth and justice also played a pivotal role in Greek thought, it is not surprising that the Iranian equivalents of these ideas piqued the interest of the Greeks. When commenting on Persian customs, Greek authors made frequent allusions to truth and justice, such as, e.g., the Persian practice of training their youth to tell the truth (ἀληθίζεσθαι) as part of their education 2. Other, more complex facets of aša can be discerned as well in the accounts of Greek writers. While modern scholars have been able to detect many such references to aša, this concept is more pervasive than often supposed. Moreover, little attention has been paid to the specifi c connotations of what is being related. A closer examination will reveal that Greek authors, far from adopting 1 For example, the Greeks often portrayed the tribes of men dwelling at the edges of the earth as, on the one hand, monstrous and primitive in their appearance and customs , but at the same time, as exceedingly just and ethical. 2 Hdt. 1, 136: for full citation and discussion below pp. 67-69.

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A Review of the Scythian Empire: Central Eurasia and the Birth of the Classical Age from Persia to China
Morteza Arabzadeh Sarbanani

A Review of the Scythian Empire: Central Eurasia and the Birth of the Classical Age from Persia to China, 2024

The Scythian Empire is a controversial book with a charming title that can attract the attention of any scholar. Christopher I. Beckwith presents claims in this book that accepting each one of them leads us to rethink many previous customary historical beliefs. Some of his theories are novel but most of them are rehabilitation of older obsolete ideas. The book wraps a wide range of specialized topics in the fields of history, archeology, and linguistics; but deals with most of them on a superficial level. Since the Scythians were an Iranian ethnic group, this work is especially recommended for scholars of Iranian history, as unfortunately, the significance of the Scythians in shaping Iranian history has not been recognized as other ancient Iranians such as the Persians. In a broader sense, this work can be also useful for scholars interested in the Iranian world and its relations with neighboring civilizations, Eurasia, Central Asia, and China.

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