Anāhitā : a history and reception of the Iranian water goddess

"Anahita was the most important goddess of pre-Islamic Iran. From her roots as an ancient Indo-European water deity her status was unrivalled by any other Iranian goddess throughout the course of three successive Iranian empires over a period of a thousand years. The first scholarly book on Anahita, this study reconstructs the Indo-European water goddess through a comparison of Celtic, Slavic, Armenian and Indo-Iranian myths and rituals. Anahita's constantly-evolving description and functions are then traced through the written and iconographic records of Iranian societies from the Achaemenid period onwards, including but not limited to the Zoroastrian texts and the inscriptions and artistic representations of the great pre-Islamic Iranian empires. The study concludes by tracing survival of the goddess in Islamic Iran, as seen in new Persian literature and popular rituals. Manya Saadi-nejad demonstrates the close relationship between Iranian mythology and that of other Indo-European peoples, and the significant cultural continuities from Iran's pre-Islamic period into the Islamic present." -- Provided by publisher Acknowledgements -- A Note On Transcriptions -- Abbreviations -- Introduction -- Chapter One: Goddesses In The Ancient World -- Chapter Two: Indo-european Water Goddesses -- Chapter Three: Areduui Sura Anahita In The Avesta -- Chapter Four: Other Iranian Goddesses: Comparisons With Anahita -- Chapter Five: Anahita: A Composite Goddess -- Chapter Six: Anahita In The Historical Period -- Chapter Seven: Anahita In The Pahlavi Texts -- Chapter Eight: Traces Of Anahita In Islamic Iran -- Conclusion -- Bibliography -- Index. Cover 1 Contents 6 List of Illustrations 7 Acknowledgments 8 A Note on Transcriptions 9 Abbreviations 10 Introduction 12 1 Goddesses in the Ancient World 18 2 Indo-European Water Goddesses 30 3 Arəduuī Sūrā Anāhitā in the Avesta 54 4 Other Iranian Goddesses: Comparisons with Anāhitā 88 5 Anāhitā: A Composite Goddess 112 6 Anāhitā in the Historical Period 130 7 Anāhitā in the Pahlavi Texts 144 8 Traces of Anāhitā in Islamic Iran 170 Conclusion 202 Epilogue 204 Notes 206 Bibliography 234 Index 256