Deck 10: Zoroastrianism

Question 1

What is the definition of the following term:
-Angra Mainyu:

Answer 1

(an'grah main'yoo; "Foul Spirit") Evil adversary of Ahura Mazda; also called Ahriman.

Question 2

What is the definition of the following term:
-asha:

Answer 2

(ah'shuh)The true, cosmic order that pervades both the natural and social spheres of reality, encompassing the moral and religious life of individuals; opposed to druj.

Question 3

What is the definition of the following term:
-Avesta:

Answer 3

(a-ves'tuh) The oldest and most important of Zoroastrian scriptures, consisting of a collection of texts including the Yasna and Gathas.

Question 4

What is the definition of the following term:
-Chinvat Bridge:

Question 5

What is the definition of the following term:
-Daena:

Question 6

What is the definition of the following term:
-daevas:

Question 7

What is the definition of the following term:
-druj:

Question 8

What is the definition of the following term:
-dualism:

Question 9

What is the definition of the following term:
-fravashis:

Question 10

What is the definition of the following term:
-haoma:

Question 11

What is the definition of the following term:
-kusti:

Question 12

What is the definition of the following term:
-Navjote:

Question 13

What is the definition of the following term:
-Nowruz:

Question 14

What is the definition of the following term:
-sedreh:

Question 15

What is the definition of the following term:
-Sedreh Pushi:

Question 16

What is the definition of the following term:
-Spenta Mainyu:

Question 17

What is the definition of the following term:
-Yasna:

Question 18

What is the definition of the following term:
-yazatas:

Question 19

What is the definition of the following term:
-Zarathushtra:

Question 20

Another name for Zoroastrianism is

A) Mazdaism.
B) Mithraism.
C) Parthianism.
D) Vedism.

Question 21

The two most notable Zoroastrian teachings are monotheism and

A) demonology.
B) dualism.
C) mysticism.
D) sanctification by grace.

Question 22

Zoroastrians believe in one God, whose name is

A) Ahura Mazda.
B) Allah.
C) Angra Mainyu.
D) Vahiguru.

Question 23

Zoroastrianism teaches that reality is divisible into which two realms?

A) Energy waves and atomic particles
B) Good intention and evil intention
C) Spirit and thought, and matter and physicality
D) Sky and heaven, and earth and the underworld

Question 24

For Zoroastrians, having children is

A) a general religious duty.
B) permissible only for those who have undergone the right of initiation.
C) not allowable for priests.
D) considered a necessary evil given the need to maintain the tradition.

Question 25

Asha is symbolized by

A) fire.
B) the lion.
C) the sword.
D) the ocean.

Question 26

Asha is opposed by

A) druj.
B) fravashis.
C) haoma.
D) I.

Question 27

Zoroastrians also came to refer their God by the name

A) Ahriman.
B) Mithra.
C) Ohrmazd.
D) Saoshyant.

Question 28

The embodied forces of order and good will do battle against the embodied forces of chaos and evil

A) in the realm of the physical world.
B) to bring about the creation of the earth.
C) on the Chinvat Bridge.
D) once Angra Mainyu has triumphed over Spenta Mainyu.

Question 29

The seven angels who help Ahura Mazda govern creation are the

A) Amesha Spentas.
B) daevas.
C) fravashis.
D) yazatas.

Question 30

Daevas in ancient Iranian originally meant "gods," but eventually came to mean

A) "angels."
B) "avatars."
C) "demons."
D) "priests."

Question 31

The fravashis were to descend into the material world once it was created, where they

A) assist the forces of evil.
B) give form to the continents, mountains, and major rivers.
C) guide human beings toward ethical lives.
D) populate creation with plants and animals.

Question 32

During the process of creation, Angra Mainyu

A) established the rule of the first king, Ahriman.
B) fell into a kind of stupor for 3,000 years.
C) filled the world with venomous snakes and other threats to human beings.
D) vanquished the archangels.

Question 33

The final triumph of good over evil will be achieved through the separation of the evil from the good, culminating in

A) complete purification.
B) the destruction of this world by fire and the coming of the kingdom of heaven.
C) the return of Ahura Mazda from confinement in hell.
D) the vanquishing of the fravashis and yazatas.

Question 34

Saoshyant is

A) a messianic savior figure.
B) featured only in the most ancient Zoroastrian texts.
C) on the side of Angra Mainyu.
D) the heavenly destiny of the souls of the good.

Question 35

Where did Zoroastrianism originate?

A) Pakistan
B) Iran
C) North Africa
D) Afghanistan

Question 36

Scholars agree that

A) we know very little about the life of Zarathushtra.
B) our knowledge of the life of Zarathushtra is based entirely on Persian sources.
C) our knowledge of the life of Zarathushtra is based entirely on Arabic sources.
D) we are fortunate in having several biographies of Zarathushtra from the twelfth century bce.

Question 37

Similarities between early Hinduism and Zoroastrianism

A) related to their shared teachings about the origins of the world.
B) had more to do with practices than beliefs.
C) had more to do with beliefs than practices.
D) can be explained by the common origins of the peoples of northern India and Iran.

Question 38

The religion of pre-Zoroastrian Iran

A) assumed an ongoing universal struggle between order and chaos.
B) took a special interest in certain animals, such as goats and horses.
C) had no priesthood.
D) did not practice sacrifice.

Question 39

Angra Mainyu is the leader of the forces of

A) Ahura Mazda.
B) holiness.
C) the sky.
D) chaos.

Question 40

According to tradition, Zarathushtra

A) had initial difficulty in persuading others to accept his teachings.
B) traveled to India to learn about its religions.
C) traveled to Mesopotamia to learn about its religions.
D) urged his followers have large families.

Question 41

The Gathas are

A) sacred fires.
B) hymns attributed to Zarathushtra.
C) priests.
D) sacrifices.

Question 42

The oldest and most important of Zoroastrian scriptures is the

A) Yasna.
B) Vendidad.
C) Avesta.
D) Visperad.

Question 43

The coming of Islam to Iran in the seventh century resulted in

A) civil war between Iranian Muslims and Zoroastrians.
B) the rise of dynasties of Zoroastrian rulers who were sympathetic to Islam.
C) the marginalization of Zoroastrianism.
D) a synthesis of Islam and Zoroastrianism.

Question 44

Which is derived in part from Zoroastrianism in the third century ce?

A) Manichaeism
B) Zurvanism
C) Catharism
D) Philistinism

Question 45

Zoroastrianism shares teachings about _______ with Christianity and Judaism.

A) dualism and a final judgment
B) ahuras and the sacredness of fire
C) the daevas and the sacredness of fire
D) the importance of the patriarchs of ancient Israel: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob

Question 46

Today, the largest population of Zoroastrians is in

A) Afghanistan.
B) North Africa.
C) Pakistan.
D) India.

Question 47

Zoroastrians in India are known as

A) Parsis.
B) Indians.
C) Zarathustri.
D) Zoroastri.

Question 48

Zoroastrian reverence for fire means that

A) candle flames are not extinguished but rather allowed to burn out.
B) cremation is the traditional means of disposing of the dead.
C) sacred fires in temples are ritually extinguished and relit at least once per year.
D) All of the above

Question 49

Zoroastrians pray daily

A) at sunrise and at sunset.
B) during five periods determined by the position of the sun.
C) except for Sunday.
D) for about half an hour.

Question 50

The kusti ritual is performed

A) during the initiation ceremony, and then once per year.
B) in the ceremonial room of the temple.
C) on the three most holy days of the year.
D) while standing in a lighted space and reciting ritual texts.

Question 51

By definition, Zoroastrian temples are

A) circular in design, representative of the sun.
B) constructed entirely of marbles quarried in Iran.
C) set apart from the impurities of the world outside.
D) situated within walking distance of the Towers of Silence.

Question 52

Sacred fires are prevented from coming into contact with various polluting objects, including

A) clothing worn by nonpriests.
B) insects.
C) saliva.
D) wood from coniferous trees.

Question 53

In India, training for the initiation into the priesthood

A) begins when the candidate for initiation is still a youth.
B) coincides with the initiate's making a vow never to marry.
C) typically does not mean that the initiate will not also pursue. another career.
D) All of the above

Question 54

Texts such as the Arda Viraz Namag make clear that women

A) are to be subordinate to men.
B) are most of all expected to be obedient wives.
C) who have not been obedient to their husbands have no chance of going to heaven.
D) All of the above

Question 55

In the Zoroastrian calendar,

A) the months are named for the daevas.
B) the sixteenth day is named for Mithra.
C) there are thirty-one days in seven months and thirty days in five months.
D) twelve days are designated as obligatory holy days.

Question 56

The most popularly observed obligatory holy day is

A) Nowruz.
B) All Souls.
C) Navjote.
D) Yasna liturgy.

Question 57

Traditionally, Zoroastrians practice the exposing of corpses on elevated circular structures known as

A) dakhmas.
B) victorious fires.
C) fravashis.
D) haoma.

Question 58

The early medieval text Arda Viraz Namag

A) describes Zoroastrian theology through presenting dialogue between two priests.
B) explains in detail the interrelationship of Zoroastrianism and Islam.
C) recounts a seven-day journey of the righteous Viraz through the afterlife.
D) was likely written by a Persian king as a means of justifying Zoroastrianism as the official state religion.

Question 59

Today, a popular motto of the Zoroastrian religion is

A) "do not to unto others as you would not have them do unto you."
B) "good thoughts, good words, good deeds."
C) "live in the light of the sacred fire."
D) "morality, purity, reverence."

Question 60

According to Zoroastrian teachings, a great cosmic struggle is being played out, with forces of evil aligned against forces of good.

Question 61

Zoroastrianism teaches avoidance of the enjoyments of the body, regarding embodiment of spirit as a negative thing.

Question 62

Zoroastrianism emerged from an earlier Iranian religious perspective that already was monotheistic.

Question 63

Zarathushtra taught that Ahura Mazda ultimately will overcome evil, and that to do so he created this world.

Question 64

Among the Amesha Spentas is Ahriman.

Question 65

The daevas came to be demonic because they chose "worst purpose."

Question 66

For a human being, the opportunity to make Ahura Mazda immanent in one's own being is a blessing made possible through Angra Mainyu.

Question 67

Many Western artists, musicians, and writers have been fascinated by Zoroastrianism and have made it the subject of their work.

Question 68

Invading Christians made the practice of Zoroastrianism illegal in the seventh century.

Question 69

Scholars have identified similarities between pre-Zoroastrian Iranian religion and early Hinduism.

Question 70

Zoroastrianism has many teachings in common with Judaism and Christianity.

Question 71

Most Zoroastrian scriptures were written in Pahlavi in the eighth and ninth centuries.

Question 72

Pre-Zoroastrian Iranian religion involved the consumption of an intoxicating drink known as haoma.

Question 73

Most scholars agree that Zarathushtra lived in the tenth century bce.

Question 74

Iranian religion prior to Zoroastrianism was monotheistic.

Question 75

Some scholars doubt that Zarathushtra was a historical figure.

Question 76

Zoroastrianism is similar and may be related to other ancient religions.

Question 77

According to tradition, Zarathushtra wrote the entire Avesta under divine inspiration.

Question 78

Zoroastrians have suffered marginalization and persecution since the coming of Islam to Iran.

Question 79

According to Zoroastrian tradition, Zarathushtra learned the essential teachings of Zoroastrianism in a series of revelations from Ahura Mazda.

Question 80

Today, the largest population of Zoroastrians can be found in Iraq.