Anāhitā: Transformations of an Iranian Goddess Inauguraldissertation zur Erlangung des akademischen Grades eines Doktors der Philosophie dem Fachbereich Geschichts- und Kulturwissenschaften der Freien Universität Berlin vorgelegt von Manya Saadi-nejad 2019 First Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Maria Macuch Second Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Almut Hintze Date of defense: 15 April 2019 ii Table of Contents Acknowledgements vii A Note on Transcriptions viii Abbreviations ix Introduction 1 Chapter One: Scholarly Studies on Anāhitā 10 1.1 The Yašts and “monotheism” 13 1.1.1 The Ābān Yašt 14 1.2 Anāhitā’s Roots 15 1.3 Anāhitā’s Name and Epithets 20 1.4 Anāhitā’s description 23 Chapter Two: The Primary Sources 31 2.1 The Textual Sources in Iranian Languages: Avestan Texts 33 2.1.1 The Yasna 34 2.1.2 The Yašts 35 2.1.3 The Hāδōxt Nask 37 2.2 Middle Persian Sources 37 2.2.1 The Bundahišn 38 2.2.2 The Dēnkard 39 2.2.3 The Wizīdagīhā-ī Zādspram 40 2.2.4 The Zand ī Wahman Yasn 41 2.2.5 The Dādestān ī Mēnog ī Xrad 42 2.2.6 The Ardā Wīrāz nāmag 42 2.2.7 The Abadīh ud sahīgīh ī Sag(k)istān 43 2.2.8 The Ayādgār ī Wuzurg-mihr 43 2.3 Old and Middle Persian Inscriptions and Iconography 44 2.4 The Greco-Roman Texts 45 2.5 Vedic sources 46 2.6 Mesopotamian sources 47 2.7 Archaeological Sources 49 2.7.1 Indo-European Archeological Sites 49 2.7.2 Archaeological Sites in Iran 50 2.7.2.1 Anāhitā’s Temples 51 2.8 Sources from the Islamic Period 52 2.8.1 The Šāh-nāmeh (“Book of Kings”) 52 2.8.2 Other Sources from the Islamic Period 54 2.8.3 Oral and Folk Traditions 55 2.9 Problems with the Sources 57 Chapter Three: Methodology 58 iii Chapter Four: Goddesses in the Ancient World 66 4.1 “Venus” Figures 68 4.1.1 Venus Figurines in Iran 68 4.2 Pre-Iranian Goddess Worship in the Iranian Lands 70 4.2.1 Elam 71 4.2.2 Sumer and Mesopotamia 73 4.2.3 Mesopotamian Goddesses 75 4.2.3.1 Inanna/Ištar and Nanai/Nana/Nanā 76 4.2.4 The Steppes 81 Chapter Five: Indo-European Water Goddesses 84 5.1 Overview 84 5.2 Celtic 86 5.2.1 Dānu 87 5.2.2 The Goddesses 89 5.2.2.1 Coventina/Conventina 90 5.2.2.2 Brigantia/Bríg/Brigan 91 5.2.2.3 Other Celtic Goddesses 95 5.2.2.4 The Cult of the Head 99 5.3 Slavic 101 5.3.1 Non-Indo-European Neighbors of the Slavs 102 5.4 Armenian 103 5.4.1 Anahit 104 5.4.2 Nanē and Astlik 105 5.4.3 Sandaramet (Spandaramet) and Dainanazdayašniš 107 5.5 Indo-Iranian 108 5.5.1 Vedic Deities 110 5.5.1.1 Aditi: the goddess of infinite expanse 110 5.5.1.2 Diti 112 5.5.1.3 Dānu 113 5.5.1.4 Sárasvatī 115 5.6 Conclusions 117 Chapter Six: Arəduuī Sūrā Anāhitā in the Avesta 121 6.1 Anāhitā’s Name: A Linguistic Analysis 124 6.1.1 Arəduuī 125 6.1.2 Sūrā 126 6.1.3 Anāhitā 127 6.1.4 So What is Her Proper Name? 129 6.2 Anāhitā’s Functions 132 6.2.1 A Water/River Deity Who Lives in the Sky 135 6.2.2 The Recipient of Priestly Sacrifices 142 6.2.3 Martial Aspects, Devotees, and Those Who Sacrifice to Daēuuas 146 6.2.4 A Chariot-Riding Deity, “Rich in Life-Giving Strength” 154 6.2.5 A Fertility Deity 158 6.3 Visualizations of Anāhitā in the Ābān Yašt 159 6.4 Anāhitā’s Description 169 6.5 Conclusions 172 iv Chapter Seven: Other Iranian Goddesses: Comparisons with Anāhitā 175 7.1 Spəntā Ārmaiti 177 7.1.1 Spəṇtā Ārmaiti (Spandarmad) in the Pahlavi Texts 178 7.2 Daēnā 185 7.3 Aši 191 7.4 Hauruuatāt and Amərətāt 196 7.5 Conclusions 198 Chapter Eight: Anāhitā: A Composite Goddess 201 8.1 Indo-Iranian Characteristics of Anāhitā 201 8.2 Anāhitā’s Absorption of Non-Iranian Features 202 8.2.1 The Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex (BMAC) 202 8.2.2 Elamite and Mesopotamian Features 204 8.2.2.1 The Triangulate of Deities: A Mesopotamian Inheritance? 204 8.3. The Dragon-slaying Myth, Saošiiants and Possible Connections to Anāhitā 206 8.3.1. The possible connection with Anāhitā, and the Avestan Saošiiant 209 8.3.2. The Dragon-slaying Myth in Iran 215 8.3.3 Aži-Dahāka and Fraŋrasiian 217 8.4. Conclusions 222 Chapter Nine: Anāhitā in the Historical Period 226 9.1 The Achaemenid Period 226 9.2 The Parthian and Sasanian Periods 232 9.2.1 Anāhitā as Patron Deity of the Sasanian Royal House 236 9.2.2 Sacred Place Names 240 9.3 The Panjikent Paintings 242 Chapter Ten: Anāhitā in the Pahlavi Texts 245 10.1 Women in Pahlavi Texts 247 10.2 Similarities and Transformations between the Avestan Arduuī Sūrā Anāhitā 254 and Ardwī-sūr Anāhīd in the Pahlavi Texts 10.3 A Goddess with the Features of Both Genders 264 10.4 The Connection between the Goddess and the Planet Venus 266 10.4.1 The Negative Connotations of Anāhīd as the Planet Venus 268 10.5 Wisdom and its Connection to the Water Goddess 273 10.6 Conclusions 283 Chapter Eleven: Traces of Anāhitā in Islamic Iran 287 11.1 Traces of Goddesses in the Šāh-nāmeh 288 11.1.1 The Connection to Mesopotamian Myth 290 11.1.2 Sūdābeh and Rūdābeh: Two Sides of Female Power 293 11.1.2.1 Sūdābeh 296 11.1.2.2 Rūdābeh 306 11.2 Female Beauty in the Šāh-nāmeh: Divine or Human? 310 11.3 The Pairikās/Parīs 312 11.4 The Dārāb-nāma 321 11.5 Echoes of the Water Goddess and Water Rituals in Islamic Iran 322 Conclusion 332 v Bibliography 344 Summary 371 Zusammenfassung 373 Selbständigkeitserklärung 375 vi Acknowledgements I would like first and foremost to extend my warmest heartfelt thanks to my supervisor, Professor Maria Macuch, for agreeing to accept me as her student and for overseeing the writing of this dissertation. I would also like to thank Professor Almut Hintze for serving as my second supervisor. I am grateful to Professors Jean Kellens, Mark Hale, and James R. Russell for discussions that were as helpful as they were encouraging. My dear friend Dr. Leila Bahmany deserves recognition for first suggesting that I pursue my doctoral studies at Freie Universität Berlin. Finally, I would like to thank my husband, Richard Foltz, and my son, Persia Shahdi, for their patience and support. vii A Note on Transcriptions The transcription of Avestan is based on the system of Karl Hoffman (Hoffmann 1975). For Pahlavi I have used the system of D.N. Mackenzie (Mackenzie 1986). I have based my transcriptions from New Persian on those of the Encyclopædia Iranica (Yarshater 1982-). viii Abbreviations AM Andarz ī Ādurbād ī Mahraspandān AS Abdīh ud Sahīgīh ī Sagistān Av Avestan AW Ayādgār ī Wuzurgmihr AWN Ardā Wīrāz-Nāmag Bd Bundahišn ČAP Čīdag Andarz ī Pōryōtkēšān Dk Dēnkard GBd Greater Bundahišn HN Hāđōxt Nask HR Husraw ī Kawādān ud Rēdag-ē KAP Kārnāmag ī Ardaxšīr ī Pāpagān MP Middle Persian MX Mēnōg ī xrad N Nērangestān NM Nāmagīhā ī Manuščihr Phl Pahlavi PIE Proto-Indo-European RV Ṛg Veda ŠĒ Šahrestānīhā ī Ērānšahr Skt Sanskrit ŠN Šāh-nāmeh Vd Vīdēvdād WZ Wizīdagīhā ī Zādsprām Y Yasna Yt Yašt ZWY Zand ī Wahman Yašt ix Introduction This is a study of how the most important goddess of pre-Islamic Iran, Anāhitā, was transformed over time. Possibly having roots in the prehistoric river goddess(es) of the ancient proto-Indo- European peoples of the fifth millennium BCE or earlier, she emerges by the late the Achaemenid period as one of the three principle deities of the Iranian pantheon, alongside Ahura Mazdā and Miθra; an important Avestan hymn, the Ābān Yašt, is composed in honour of Anāhitā, establishing her role within the Zoroastrian religion. During the course of this process she acquires additional functions, presumably from pre-existing goddesses in the regions where Iranians came to live. Variations on the Iranian Anāhitā are found in the religious cultures of neighbouring lands such as Armenia, Bactria and Sogdiana. With the coming of Islam her cult disappears, yet numerous aspects of it survive in female figures from Persian literature and through folk tales and rituals, usually Islamicized, which are often connected with water. This dissertation aims to schematize these variations over time and space, in order to trace Anāhitā’s development as a major figure in Iranian religion and the constantly evolving mix of her roles and attributes within culturally diverse communities throughout Greater Iran. According to both the Avesta and the royal inscriptions of three successive Iranian empires, Anāhitā (along with Miθra) was the most powerful deity created by the supreme being Ahura Mazdā.1 Being originally a water-river goddess, Anāhitā likely incorporated aspects of pre- existing water deities in the areas where her cult flourished. She was specifically goddess of the rivers and the lakes. Temples devoted to her have been identified at Sardis, Babylon, Damascus, Persepolis, Bishapur, and Hamadan, as well as in Afghanistan and Armenia, usually alongside 1 Yt 5.6. 1 rivers.2 More such sites are being identified all the time, and numerous place-names throughout Iran (such as Pol-e doxtar, Qale-ye doxtar, etc.) may reflect her memory.