Anahita at the table

In Achaemenid Iran and early Zoroastrianism, there is no separation between appetizer, main course, and dessert: one presents a myazd, an arrangement of offerings placed together before the deity or shared at the banquet. Flatbreads marked with signs, fruits (pomegranate at the forefront), milk, honey, and libations all coexist on the same mat. For a goddess of waters and fertility like Anahita, pure water from a consecrated spring opens and closes the meal, and everything that grows thanks to water—barley, fruits, milk from the herds—is offered to her in homage.

An emblematic fruit of fertility throughout ancient Iran, the pomegranate is among the objects attributed to Anahita. Its red seeds and hundreds of tightly packed kernels make it the perfect symbol of a goddess who swells bellies and herds. It is pressed into tart juice, sprinkled over dishes, and hung for winter storage.