Angra Mainyu
Ahriman
10 min read
Angra Mainyu, also known as Ahriman, is the evil deity of Zoroastrianism, opposed to Ahura Mazda. The embodiment of evil, deceit, and destruction, he stands at the heart of the cosmic dualism in the ancient Persian religion founded by Zarathustra.
Frequently asked questions
Key Facts
- Angra Mainyu is mentioned in the Avesta, the sacred text of Zoroastrianism, composed between the 2nd and 1st millennia BCE.
- He stands in eternal opposition to Ahura Mazda (the Wise Lord), forming the core of the Zoroastrian good/evil dualism.
- Zoroastrianism, which arose in ancient Persia (around 1500–600 BCE), is believed to have influenced concepts of the devil in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
- Under the name Ahriman, he remains a central figure in Manichaean thought (3rd century CE).
- Zoroastrianism became the official religion of the Achaemenid Empire under Darius I (522–486 BCE), spreading the figure of Angra Mainyu throughout the Persian world.
Works & Achievements
The oldest Zoroastrian hymns, attributed to Zarathustra himself, in which Angra Mainyu (Ahra Mainiiu) is first named as the destructive spirit opposed to Spenta Mainyu. The foundation of all dualist theology.
An Avestan text detailing the malevolent creations of Angra Mainyu — diseases, impurities, demons — and the rituals used to ward them off. The primary source for understanding the cosmological role of the god of evil.
A major Pahlavi cosmological text that describes in detail the creation of the world, Ahriman's assault upon the universe of Ohrmuzd, and the final eschatology. An essential document for understanding Zoroastrian dualism in its entirety.
A nine-volume Zoroastrian encyclopedia compiling the theology, philosophy, and cosmology of the faith. Contains systematic treatments of Ahriman's nature and his role in the history of the cosmos.
The first Greek text to give serious analysis to Zoroastrian dualism, comparing Angra Mainyu (Areimanios) to the Egyptian Typhon. It helped spread knowledge of this theology throughout Western philosophical thought.
An apocalyptic text describing the portents of the end of times, the final rise of Ahriman's power, and his defeat at the Frashokereti. It illustrates the eschatological dimension of the figure of Angra Mainyu.
Anecdotes
According to the Avesta, Angra Mainyu countered each of Ahura Mazda's good creations with an evil counter-creation: to health he opposed disease, to life he opposed death, to spring he opposed bitter winter. This mirror logic illustrates the radical dualism of Zoroastrianism, where every good thing has its evil reflection.
In the Bundahishn, a Persian cosmological text, Angra Mainyu slept in darkness for three thousand years before glimpsing the light of Ahura Mazda. Seized by blind panic, he hastily created an army of demons — the daêvas — to attack the world of light. This foundational scene explains why evil, in Zoroastrian thought, is seen as reactive and fundamentally parasitic upon good.
The Vendidad tells how Angra Mainyu struck down Yima, the first legendary king, by breathing the lie (druj) into him, bringing the golden age to an end. Yima, who lived in a paradise free from death and disease, succumbed to the pride instilled by the evil god — illustrating how, for the ancient Persians, moral corruption is evil's primary weapon.
Unlike later Christian conceptions of the devil, Angra Mainyu is not a creature subordinate to God: he is God's cosmic equal, as powerful as Ahura Mazda. This theological peculiarity sparked debate among Greek philosophers, notably Plutarch, who in his treatise Isis and Osiris examined this Persian dualism with fascination as an original solution to the problem of evil.
Zoroastrian tradition teaches that Angra Mainyu will ultimately be defeated at the Frashokereti, the final renovation of the world. A messianic savior, the Saoshyant, will be born of a virgin and lead humanity to victory. This eschatological framework — final battle, judgment, resurrection, triumph of good — profoundly influenced late Judaism, and later Christianity and Islam.
Primary Sources
Truly, there were two primordial spirits, twins renowned to be in conflict. In thought, word, and deed, they are the good and the evil. Between the two, the wise choose rightly, not the foolish.
For every land created by Ahura Mazda, Angra Mainyu set a plague against it: against the blessed land of Airyana Vaêjah, he brought a terrible winter wrought by demons; against Sughdha, he sent devastating locusts.
Ahriman dwelt in darkness, filled with the desire to do evil. When he glimpsed the light of Ohrmuzd, he rushed toward it to destroy it, and he created a host of malevolent demons.
The Persians call Oromazes the good principle and Areimanios the evil principle. Oromazes was born of pure light, Areimanios of darkness. They wage war against each other, and Oromazes created six good gods while Areimanios created six evil gods in response.
Ahriman is the absolute opposite of Ohrmuzd in all things: where Ohrmuzd creates, Ahriman destroys; where Ohrmuzd gives life, Ahriman spreads death and disease. His chief weapon is the *drudj*, the lie.
Key Places
Central Asian region regarded by certain traditions as the homeland of Zarathustra and the birthplace of Zoroastrianism. It is here that the earliest conceptions of Angra Mainyu were developed in the Gathas.
Ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire where the cosmic battle between Ahura Mazda and the forces of evil (embodied by Angra Mainyu) is depicted in royal bas-reliefs, most notably the scene of the king slaying a monster.
Iranian city regarded as the living heart of Zoroastrianism, home to still-active fire temples. It shelters Zoroastrian communities that continue to maintain the rituals of protection against Angra Mainyu.
Site of the trilingual inscription of Darius I (522 BCE), in which the king invokes Ahura Mazda against the Druj (the lie associated with Angra Mainyu) to legitimize his seizure of power against rebel forces.
Landing point of the Parsis, Zoroastrians who fled persecution in Iran following the Islamic conquest of the 7th century. The Parsi community has preserved to this day the texts and rituals relating to Angra Mainyu.
