As the regions east and west of the Indus are decidedly distinct in flora, fauna, and climate, so also are the people. Among the nations of the west a spirit of independence and a love of liberty are the main motives of action, and valor is the chief virtue; civilization and the occu pation of the land are only sporadically distributed according to the cha racter of the country. Social institutions and fixed civilization are found only in the principal cities, while vigorous shepherd-tribes with patriarchal customs and clad in leather cloaks and sheepskins, not in muslin dresses or silk caftans, roam about in the cooler climate of the mountains and the hot, changeable climate of the plateaus as far as they are habitable.
The individual, the separate tribe, predominates in public life; restless ness instead of refinement in social life, elasticity of body and mind, sober intelligence instead of calm, quiet industry, and a voluptuous imagination prevail, and, in spite of relationship, the Iranians are a pronounced con trast to the Hindoos. This is also seen in religion. Proceeding from common Indo-Germanic fundamental views, what different ends have the Indians and the Iranians attained! know the Iranian religion only in the form which was given to it by Zarathustra (Zoroaster—that is, "Golden Star;" not a name, but probably only a title) about 1200 B. C. 0 In ancient Aryan times there were many is, gods—of equal power, who have been preserved in the Vedic-Indian religion. The Iranians retained the vener ation of but one Asura, Ahura Mazda° (Auramazda, Onnuzd), who created the other deities and mankind. All good gods are gods of purity, of light, as the gods of fire, Hama (Soma), "the sun," Afitra," the moon," and the deities of the water; but they are all dependent on Ahuro Mazdao. Op posed to him are hostile demons, gods of darkness, who, though originally created by him, now battle under the command of Ahriman (Agromain yus) against the light, but who will eventually be overcome.
Man, involved in a constant struggle against sin, must take part in this battle in favor of the pure light. The seat of evil is in the north, in the darkness, in the mist. But eventually Ahuro Mazdao will conquer his enemies and erect a universal united kingdom of light. The souls of men, who are rewarded or punished immediately after death, will have a place in this kingdom, but the wicked must first endure severe punish ments.
There were no temples in ancient times, for it was deemed unworthy of an infinite God to worship him within a limited space; but the summits of mountains and other elevated places were considered sacred. The Magi, or priests, who constituted a numerous and influential caste, sacri ficed animals as an offering to the gods.
Death and Burial to the teaching of Zara thustra, the dead should neither be cremated nor buried, in order to avoid polluting the fire or the earth; for here, as elsewhere, all that is dead defiles. Consequently, they were placed on high buildings or in open
places, so that birds of prey or wild animals might devour them; and lie was deemed especially blessed whose body was devoured. The remains were collected in a waxed cloth or in earthen vessels and interred in burial-chambers, which were generally erected on the mountain-sides. At present the Iranians, being either Moslems or Christians, bury the dead in either the Mohammedan or the Christian manner.
The Persians lay out the dead on a bed of state and indulge in loud lamentations and other signs of sorrow; the horse and the weapons of the deceased are placed beside the corpse (p/. tio,fig. 5). The Armenians celebrate in October a great Feast of the Dead, at which they place burn ing tapers on the graves and light fires in other parts of the cemetery, and the women especially give utterance to expressions of their sorrow (g1. Iri,fig. I). The Armenian tombstones (p. rri,figs. 5, 6), representing rains, horses, lions, etc., are remarkable. Just as traces of the old religion of light have been retained in the feast of the dead, so We have in these tombs the remains of a belief which is much older than the doctrines of Ormnzd.
We have found everywhere the veneration of certain animals which bore some relation to the gods: such sacred animals were also known to the most ancient Indo-Germanic religion, and consequently the belief in them has adhered to all Indo-Germanic peoples. These animals could intercede with the gods, and were sometimes believed to be the incarna tion of a guardian spirit. Formerly the souls of the dead were converted into guardian spirits, and often into hostile ghosts. The rain was consid ered by the Greeks and Romans, among whom the supplicator wore in some rites the skin of a rain, to be a mediator between the gods and man; and here also the ram conducts the soul to God. Observe the sculptures having a mythological meaning on Plate i i i (fig. 6).
The lion also is a widely-known and ancient symbol: as such he was placed on the tombstones of men who fell in battle in the prime of life. He was probably a sacred animal and an incarnation of the souls of pow erful ancestors, and in this manner the emblems of the Persian flag (fii.
Iro, fig. 4) may be understood. The sun represents the servant or the eye of Ahuro Mazdao, or the god himself, and the lion in front is a power ful guardian spirit recommending the warriors and all human kind to the god. (See PERSIANS and illus. Vol. II.) After this short sketch of the Iranians we pass to the second main branch of the Indo-Germanic stock.